This easy DIY heart shaped fabric brooch tutorial shows you how to sew a lace-trimmed brooch in under 30 minutes. It’s a beginner-friendly Valentine’s Day sewing project and a great way to use fabric scraps.
A few weeks ago I made a poppy shaped fabric brooch that my daughter loved very much. It looked so cute on her that I wanted to make something else for her.
The handmade brooch takes so little material that it would be an ideal scrap busting project.
Materials Needed to Sew a Heart Shaped Brooch
To sew this easy heart shaped brooch you will need the following items:
- a red or pink coloured cotton fabric
- cotton lace trim or edging (you absolutely can crochet the lace trim yourself)
- stuffing (I am using cotton balls to make it sustainable project but you can reuse old pillow stuffing, fabric offcuts, wool yarn or a dedicated stuffing)
- matching thread
- heart shaped template
- scissors
- matching thread
- hand sewing needle
- sewing machine
- safety pin
How to Draft a Simple Heart Shaped Pattern
On my earlier blog post on heart shaped patchwork coaster pattern I created a heart shaped pattern. I am going to reuse the same pattern for this DIY brooch but you can draft a new one following the same simple steps:
- draw a heart shape freehand
- mark a line through the middle vertically
- fold the heart shape in half along the vertical line
- cut out the heart template from the side that you think looks the best
My previous post provided visual guide on how to do the above steps.
How to Cut Heart Shaped Fabric Pieces
Next, place the heart shaped template on the wrong side of the fabric and trace around with an erasable fabric pen, soap or chalk, marking an opening hole along the lower part of the fabric heart but before the tip of the heart. You need to cut two pieces of heart shaped fabric so I pin two layers together with the traced heart shape atop.
Then either cut along the traced line for the fabric brooch or cut around with a seam allowance.
How to Sew Lace Trim onto a Fabric Heart
The next step is to sew a lace trim along the right side of one of the heart shaped fabric pattern. To do that, you need to place the lace trim with the straight edge running along the edge of the fabric. My trim is quite small so I set it in by a half a centimetre.
Then carefully and slowly sew along the edge of the heart shaped fabric with a scant 3/8″ (1cm) seam allowance. You will need to slow down and lift the pressure foot when going around the corners and curves, to make the seam smooth on the finished fabric brooch. You may also need add some pleats along the curved edges to reduce the chance of lace trim curving when the heart shaped brooch is fully assembled. This is crucial if you are using a synthetic trim that cannot be iron to smooth out the edges later on.
This step with sewing on the lace trim to the heart shaped brooch is probably is the longest step in the whole Valentine’s Day sewing project.
How to Assemble a Fabric Brooch
Once the lace trim has been attached to the heart shaped fabric, place the other heart shaped fabric on top of the one with lace trim, with right sides together.
Then sew along the edge of the fabric brooch with 3/8″ (1cm) seam allowance, starting from one side of the turning hole, all the way to the other. Backstitch at the start and the end to secure the threads (this is important to maintain the fabric brooch shape once you turn the heart right side out. Be careful to catch the edge of the lace in the new seam. If you miss a bit, you can always go back and sew over it again, smoothing the start and end points for a seamless transition.
How to Stuff a Fabric Brooch
Next, press the seams to blend the stitching and trim the seam allowances with pinking shears.
Then turn the sewn heart inside out and press, smoothing out and blending the lace trim. This will reduce the width of the lace trim slightly but will make it from rolling on the curves.
Once the fabric brooch is thoroughly pressed, fill it with the cotton balls or filling of your choice. I first break the cotton balls in smaller pieces to fluff it up a little.
The filling may create a lot of fluff on the right side of the heart shaped brooch. To remove it, use a lint remover or piece of sellotape or a sticky tape.
Slip stitch the opening hole on the heart shaped brooch
When you have filled the DIY brooch to your heart content, you will need to slip stitch the opening with a matching thread and hand needle.
How to Attach a Safety Pin to a Fabric Brooch
The last step is to add a safety pin to the back of the fabric brooch. Decide which side is going to be the back, then place an open safety pin in the middle of the brooch. Then hand stich with short passes over the straight side of the pin to secure it. You need to keep the pin open to not to forget which side of the pin to attach to the DIY brooch.
It is important at this step to secure the pin from one end to the other. If you only sew in the middle, the heart shaped brooch will slip to one side and it will hung weirdly rather than standing proud once attached to the blouse or bag or item of your choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusions and final thoughts
This DIY heart shaped fabric brooch is a quick, beginner-friendly sewing project and a lovely handmade Valentine’s Day gift. It probably took me only 30 min max (and that’s with taking photos along the way).
You can use the fabric brooch is multiple applications – a pin to a lapel, a decoration on a dress or blouse, attached to a scarf or bag etc. You can even make the hart out of a patchwork of scrap fabric pieces like I did with the coasters. If you omit the pin and create a few of these, you can create a garland, connecting each heart with a ribbon for a romantic bunting.
You also do not need to make the brooch quite as large as the one I made but I feel like this one would get approval from Esme Young. Though she may say that I needed to make it even bigger!
If you enjoy scrap-busting accessories, explore my other fabric accessory tutorials.
