Heart T-Shirts

Want a really easy, 15 minute project you can do for Valentine's?  Well today is your day!
I do my appliques a little different from everyone I've seen, but I still continue to do it this way because it works for me.  Let me know if you have a better way or if you ending up liking this method (or not).

Heart T-Shirt

Supplies:
heat n' bond light (available at Michael's)
Fabric scraps
t-shirt
coordinating or contrasting thread

Step 1:  Audition fabrics. You'll need 4 scraps about 3" square. 
I have to say, I bought my t-shirt in this shade of plum thinking it would work really well with Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush line, but now I am tempted by Heather Ross' Far, Far Away II.  FYI - I choose the Innocent Crush voile, thinking the voile will be cool with the heat n' bond and the linen of FFA might fray too much, and it is not.  The heat n' bond comes through the voile, making a mess of my iron.  I settled on some older Heather Ross prints.


Step 2:  Cut a heart template (about 2 inches tall) from card stock or freezer paper.  Freezer paper is pretty cool because you can iron it (shiny side down) onto your fabric, peel it off and then iron it on the next piece.  Cut 4 square pieces of the heat n' bond a little larger than the template.


Step 3:  Iron the heat n' bond to the back of your 4 fabric scraps, do this on a corner to conserve fabric.  Now make sure the heart is centered on the heat n' bond section of the fabric.  If you used freezer paper, iron the heart in place, or just hold it in place if you used card stock and trace around it with a marker.



Step 4:  Peel the paper backing off the fabric (and the heart template) and cut out the heart keeping inside your lines. You'll have a nice, clean edge on the fabric hearts.  Repeat with the remaining three hearts and they are ready to iron on your shirt.

Step 5:  Use a ruler to help you center the hearts on your shirt and keep them straight in relation to each other. Once you are happy with their position, take the ruler away and press them with the iron to fuse them on your shirt.



Step 6:  Either hand stitch or machine stitch around the edge of each heart.  I used a bright orange thread, but you can use something that blends better if you don't want the stitching to stand out.  The straight stitch will give you a slightly frayed edge after a wash or two. You can do a zig zag stitch with a tiny stitch width if you do not want your edge to fray.


I decided to use some FFAII fabric as well for a second shirt for me...


Step 7: Wear it with pride!



You could also change the number of hearts or place them differently.  I was tempted to do some sort of "heart on my sleeve" theme but couldn't come up with a placement I liked enough.

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