Introduction: Valentine Heart Hair Clips

About: Just a simple chick from Texas. I love photography, gaming and working with my hands. I skip around between projects so I never get bored. Right now I am working on a paper art mural AND hair stuff...lol That'…

I do a LOT of hand sewing these days.  Since Valentine's day is upon us I decided to get busy on sewing some heart themed hair stuff.

Step 1: Things You Will Need

You will need scissors, Loctite indoor safe adhesive, hair clips, thread(color depends on your preference...I use contrasting colors), needles(the thinnest you can safely sew felt with preferred), paper, stuffing, cardboard, seed beads, and lastly...felt.  Now I am NOT a color Nazi....  And by that I mean...  Just because I am using red felt does NOT mean you have too....  Mix it up!  Be your own creative boss...

Step 2: Folding the Paper

First things first.  You have to make a heart, and the best way to do this(and keep it symmetrical)  is by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting it out.  When you are done and have the right size you want then lay it on a piece of cardboard(or other thicker paper material).  Then trace and cut it out.  I am going to throw this out there as well..  Do NOT use the same scissors you use to cut material, felt, and thread to cut paper.  It really does ruin the the sharpness of the blade after awhile.

Step 3: Lay It Down

Lay the cardboard down on your felt, trace it twice and cut it out.

Step 4: Placing Together and Getting Started....

The next thing you want to do is lay the sides that have pen on them facing inward so you cannot see the pen marks at all.  Get about 24 inches of string and then get them even and tie the ends together.  You should have double thread at this point.  Decide which side you want to be the top then insert the needle into only ONE heart and make sure the knotted end stays hidden.  Now you take it around and put it thru the back piece and pull it thru the front(making sure to pull it in the middle of the two threads).  Pull it tight, but not too tight.  Now you are ready to add the beads....

Step 5: Adding the Beads and the Blanket Stitch

I used pearlescent and red seed beads.  You are going to find if you use a big needle(like I did) that you may have a hard time finding beads that will slide over the eye hole of the needle.  So DON'T be like me and forget your smaller needles before starting your project.  Don't use beading needles either...  They are far too thin and they will just bend, warp and break.  
So what you want to do first is add a red, then a pearl bead(or whatever colors you choose...).  Take it all the way down to the felt.  Then measure how far your beads go and insert the needle so there are no gaps in between the pairs(unless you want gaps).  Then you wrap the thread around the needle(as shown in the third picture) and pull gently.  You keep repeating this until you are a little more than half way done with the heart.
NOTE:  If you need more instructions on the blanket stitch, or video(since it won't let me post mine for some reason) just type in Blanket stitch in a search menu or hit it up on youtube.

Step 6: Stuff It!

So....  Get that stuffing out.
I am extremely picky about the way I stuff something.  First I shape it a little bit and THEN I start stuffing it.  I find that it is easier to stuff and I don't OVER STUFF it.  Also, let me be super clear about this....  Over stuffing is BAD....very, very bad....!  Don't do it...lol
So, as you see in the second picture I have started inserting the stuffing....  You will need to use something to help push and shape it into the other side of the heart.  Pens work, but smaller paper clips are the bomb for this.  Once you get the one half filled sew it up a bit more until you have one lil top of the heart open.  Add more stuffing(I preshaped the little ball for the top)...  Again...try not to over stuff it......  Continue sewing until you get back to where you started.

Step 7: Finish the Heart.

So...  Now you are back to the beginning.  If you gapped it that's great....just make sure it comes out even when you meet back in the middle.  Now insert needle a little down on the back side of the heart.  wrap the thread around it a few times and pull it tight to make a knot.  Then insert the needle in between the tow felt layers and wiggle the needle thru until it's showing thru between the two layers of felt at the bottom of the heart.  Pull the string a little tight and carefully snip the thread.  You just hid the end inside your heart!  The last picture is right after you snip the thread.

Step 8: Stick It!

You probably have little pieces of felt laying here and there.  Make sure to keep some of them.
Put some Loctite on both sides of the hair clip.  Lay the clip on the heart as shown and then add a felt scrap(after you shape it up a bit) to the exposed glue and press down firmly.  I recommend having a place to put the clips to dry.  It takes Loctite about an hour to form a soft set and 24 hours to full set.  This glue means business too.  I gave some clips to a friend of mine whose daughter is NOTORIOUS for tearing up all her hair things.  She's had a flower clip I made her for 6 months now and I haven't had to repair it yet.

Step 9: Done and Done(r)

As I said before.  I am not a color Nazi.  You can use whatever color felt, thread and beads you like.  You can even leave the beads off completely.  I put together a group that I made over the weekend(one is not heart themed...but it's still awesome).  I also added a picture of what happens if you use a needle that is too big for the beads...  Also...as you can see there is a bit of dog hair on this heart.  If you get any weird junk on your felt projects(and you will because it's very static prone), just use a pair of tweezers or a piece of tape to remove the unwanted stuff.

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