Every year I drool over the Pottery Barn Kids Valentine’s Day chair backers, shaped into hearts and giant envelopes and ready for cute love mail from family. This year I decided to take matters into my own hands and make our own Valentine’s Day chair backer hearts for our family.
The Pottery Barn Kids version costs just under $19, and I made mine for FREE using felt that I already had (felt is cheap at Joann, especially when you have a coupon) and some scissors. I also used a Sizzix alphabet die for my daughter’s name, but you could also use fabric letters, felt alphabet stickers, embroider the name, or even leave off the name altogether. It’s up to you!
VALENTINE’S DAY CHAIR BACKER HEART
- Red felt (white too if you are going to use the Sizzix die to cut the letters)
- White embroidery floss
- Needle (large enough for the embroidery floss)
- Fabric scissors
- Straight pins
- Ribbon
- Sizzix Bigz XL Alphabet Die- Billboard (optional- you could also add fabric letters, stickers, or embroidery instead)
- Sizzix Big Shot Die Cut Machine (optional)
STEP 1. Look at your chair that this will be going on and see how big you would like your heart to be. I would have provided a template, but everyone’s chairs are different, and what might work for mine might not work for yours. I wanted my heart to peek above the top of the chair and go almost to the edges, so I cut a rough square out in that general shape.
STEP 2. Use a pencil to lightly sketch your heart onto the felt. Make two layers with the felt and then cut through both layers on the pencil lines. Once the heart is cut in half, you can fold it over and make sure both sides are even. If not, simply trim them up with scissors! Use straight pins to attach the two hearts together to make it easier to sew.
STEP 3. Stitch around the heart using a simple straight stitch with a needle and the embroidery floss. Start at the bottom, stitching through both pieces of felt until you get near the top. Once you get to where you would like the heart to open towards the top (since the heart is going to be a giant envelope), then you need to just stitch through the front piece of felt.
The stitching at the very top is for decorative purpose only, and if you stitch through both pieces you’ll end up with a heart that won’t open. Keep following the shape of the heart and stitch to until the heart should be closed, even with the other side. Once you get to that point, start stitching through both hearts again, to close it up.
When you get to the bottom of the heart, tie a knot on the inside edge of the heart by looping the needle through a few times, then tying it off and cutting off the excess string.
STEP 4. Make the letters for the name on the heart using one of the methods I mentioned above. I cut an entire felt alphabet by stacking a cutting pad, white felt, the Sizzix Alphabet die, then another cutting pad, and rolling it all through my Big Shot. This gave me all the letters and numbers perfectly cut from felt!
Although I love the shape of these letters, I wanted them to look a bit more feminine for my daughter’s heart, so I trimmed off some of the excess felt from the ends of the letters and glued them onto my heart.
While the Big Shot and Sizzix alphabet die are optional, I really do get TONS of use out of my Big Shot and dies, and they’re great tools to have in my crafting arsenal! I use them all the time for party decorations, cupcake toppers, garlands, favors, cards, decorations, and more.
These dies are so versatile and the Bigz dies can cut through thick things like balsa wood, felt, sandpaper, and more, which is pretty awesome!
STEP 5. Hold the heart up to the chair it will hang on and see where you would like it to hang. You’ll be attaching ribbon to the back to hang the heart, so decide where you want the ribbon to go and either attach using a glue gun or stitch it on.
Tie the heart onto the chair and you’re ready for all those valentines, cards, and treats to start coming your way!
These Valentine’s Day chair backer hearts are a really cute way to decorate your home for Valentine’s Day, and are a great way for family members to show each other they care.
How do you decorate for Valentine’s Day?
