It’s November! It’s okay to make and post Christmas crafts openly now, right?
For the past few years I have made felt ornaments for our tree. This year I fancied doing something a little different, and adapted a traditional Scandinavian Christmas craft, woven hearts, and turned it into placemats.
Scandinavian woven hearts are usually made from paper, with strips of paper glued to the inside to make handles. The baskets are then filled with sweets and treats for the kids and hung on the Christmas tree. I like making them as favours on Valentine’s Day too.
Supplies
* 2 sheets of felt, 45 cm x 45 cm (for a traditional look, choose red
* 1 sheet A4 paper
* Pen or pencil
* Ruler
* Fabric marker
* 1 skein embroidery floss
* Embroidery needle
* Scissors
* Circle template of some sort (I used a dinner plate- fancy!)
Instructions
1. Mark your A4 sheet of paper at 22.5 cm on the long side and 12.6 cm on the short side. Cut off the excess and put aside.
2. Carefully fold the remaining piece of paper in half lengthwise. Place the circle template in one corner and mark the curve with you pen or pencil, starting at the fold and going about one quarter of the way down the long, open side of the paper.
3. Now fold your first piece of felt in half, making sure the edges line up. Open up the paper template and place on top of the felt, with the short, straight side on the fold. Trace the outline of your template onto the felt using your fabric marker. These 2 sheets make 3 hearts.
4. Mark the felt at 4.2 cm intervals across a couple of times, then turn your ruler and make two straight lines 13 cm long,using your previous marks as guides.
5. Cut out your felt shape while it is still folded, then cut down the straight lines inside your shape. Clean off excess marks if your brand of fabric marker requires it.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 on your second piece of felt.
7. Place the two folded pieces of felt in front of you so they resemble a heart. Gently pull the top red strip through the middle of the top white one.
8. Now pull the white strip through the centre of the middle red one. Finally pull the red through the white. Do the same with the next two strips.
9. Line up the edges and smooth the heart out. You now have a woven basket that looks the same on both sides. To turn it into a placemat, cut off a 90 cm piece of embroidery floss and separate it into two lots of three threads. Tie a knot one end, thread the needle and, starting from the inside of the botton corner, pass the needle up and down through all the pieces of felt in a straight line creating a running stitch. Carry on all the way around. Finish it off by tying a small knot at the end in a hidden place.
10. Use as a placemat at your Scandi style Christmas dinner, or as a pot holder.
Happy to link up with:
I love, love, love these!! We always used to go visit my Swedish aunt at Christmas and I always loved her decorations, so much!! I must try this out and bring a bit of Scandanavia into our home!!
Oh yes, please do! Tag me on instagram or something if you make them (I’m @artfullycarin), I’d love to see them!
These are too lovely to only use at Christmas!
Thanks Louisa! I’m seriously considering making them in other colourways too 🙂
I love this! And yes, I think it’s okay to shift into the season! I’m ready for it this year. 🙂
So am I Angie! I know you guys still have thanksgiving, but I feel like I can launch straight into Christmas over here!
What a great idea, they look lovely! I might try them out too, especially as it doesn’t require a sewing machine.
Thanks! It’s one of the many reasons I love felt- no need to use a sewing machine!
So cute! I love Scandinavian anything especially for the holidays!
Thanks Jennifer! I grew up in Sweden, so it’s my little bit of home away from home every year!
These are so cute! They remind me of some holiday placemats I had as a child–love that this would be a cute craft to do with the kiddos over winter break, too 🙂 Thanks for sharing on The Makers!
Thank you so much for visiting Amy! Love that they remind you of some holday placemats you had when you were a child. It actually brought me right back to my own childhood and some red and white woven plastic placemats we had!
HOW beautiful! I love the idea of hearts with Christmas and I LOVE the fact that you’re so on the ball! I however . . . um. . . 🙂 xoxo
Ha ha! Thanks Kristin! You’ll get there (breathe!)
What a cute idea this is! More hearts this Christmas!
More hearts any time of the year 🙂