DIY Fabric Valentine

By craft contributor Lauren

There’s no beating around the bush with this valentine. Give it to ’em straight. You want your valentine to call you? Tell them. Want them to kiss you? Tell them. Take a little advise from conversation hearts and keep it simple. Not only will you show your valentine a lotta love, you’re also giving them a fabulous piece of decor they can hang at home or in their office.

Here is what you’ll need to craft up this fabric banner valentine:

Supplies: a small piece of unbleached muslin (or any plain, paintable fabric), twine, a wooden dowel slightly longer (about one inch) than the width of your finished banner, 2 colors of craft or fabric paint (one dark, one light), sewing machine or needle and thread, 1 large and 1 small paint brush, and some ribbon, a tag and pen for wrapping.

1. Cut your banner width (about 12″, or as large/small as you’d like). Wrap the top of the banner around the dowel to create a slot to insert the dowel for hanging. Remember to leave about 1/2 inch of space to sew. Mark the bottom of your fabric, you will line the edge up when sewing.

2. Sew one straight line along the edge of the fabric creating the slot for the dowel.

3. Draw out your heart in a light pen or pencil, then start to fill in with your darker paint color.

4. Once the heart has dried and your have decided on a short phrase (i chose ‘kiss me’, but you can look at the history here and some fun lists of other phrases), go back in with your thinner brush and carefully letter your note.

5. To finish of the banner, slide your dowel through the slot you created earlier. You should have at least 1/2″ hanging out on each end of your banner. Tie one end of your twine tightly to the left side of the dowel. Measure how much slack you’d like for hanging, then cut and tie tightly to the right side of the dowel.