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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tic-Tac-Toe Valentine

I love felt.  I love that it is cheap.  I love that it comes in so many rich colors.  I love that you can poke small holes in it, and shortly thereafter they are practically non-existent.  I love that felt doesn’t fray.  I love, love, love, love felt.
When I was a kid, my mother made these valentines with my sister and me.  They were fun to make, and play with later.  This easy to make tic-tac-toe board is also a pocket to hold the pieces in.  This would make a great addition to the diaper bag, or church bag for a quiet game to play.  These are so fun and inexpensive, you will want to make them for all of your valentines this year.  Maybe you will even want to host a Valentine’s Day party so that everyone can make and decorate their own.
Materials/Supplies
  • 2 pieces red felt
  • 1 piece white felt
  • 1 piece pink felt
  • Scissors
  • Sewing supplies (either a machine, or needle and thread)
  • 5/8 inch thick pink ribbon
  • Optional—yarn and large yarn sewing needle
Directions
  1. Cut a large heart out of one piece of red felt.  I folded the felt in half and cut 1/2 a heart, so I would have two even sides.
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  3. Place the cut heart on top of the other piece of red felt.  Cut the second piece to match the heart.
  4. Now you need to make the tic-tac-toe board.  I used a fatter stitch to make the four lines of the board.  I just eyeballed where I wanted the lines to go, but you can measure for exact sizes.  It will all depend on the size of your original hearts.***Let the kids do this part with a large needle and yarn.  You could use a pencil to draw a line for them to sew along.***
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  6. Using a 1/2” seam allowance, sew around the outside of both hearts leaving the top open for the pocket.
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  8. Cut 5 small hearts out of the pink felt and 5 out of the white felt.  I made a template from a scrap of red felt, then I cut all the other hearts to match.  You will want the small hearts to fit between the lines of your tic-tac-toe board.
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  10. I embellished the edge with the ribbon.  I pinned the ribbon in between the two sides of the felt heart, and pleated as I pinned.  Then I sewed around the edge again placing my presser foot on the edge of the original stitching.
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  12. Decorate according to your supplies and tastes.  I decided to sew little “x’s” and “o’s” along the opening for the pocket before I sewed the two pieces together.
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  14. Place the small heart pieces inside your valentine and give to a loved one.  (Take pictures of course, then email them to me, so I can show how you designed your own style)

2 comments:

  1. I remember playing with these all the time, but not making them. I suppose my anti-craftyness started early. You could also make other shapes, a clover for St. Patrick's day in green, and egg or a bunny for Easter, a pumpkin for Halloween, a tree for Christmas with cute little ornaments for the pieces, a turkey for thanksgiving, or a big bowl of mashed potatoes. I think I would be good at the mashed potatoes one. You could also embroider on the little hearts for valentines sayings that are on conversation hearts.

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