"Not all heroes wear capes"; an undoubtedly accurate statement. With the coronavirus pandemic affecting the world and making people stay home in lockdown, health care workers and volunteers rush to the front lines. Risking their lives and working overtime to take care of those with the virus and prevent it from spreading further, they are true heroes wearing scrubs.

These amazing people need to know that we are so extremely grateful for them, so spread thanks and love to your heroes however you can; every little thing counts.

When I saw the Yarn Challenge contest, I knew I had to get crafty and make a window ornament, and in this Instructable you will learn how to make a Fun and Easy Wrapped Yarn Heart. This craft is very simple for anyone of any age to get entertained by during quarantine. So get your supplies and let's get crafty!

Supplies

For your Wrapped Yarn Heart you will need...

Styrofoam or a clean take-out container
A marker or pen (choose a light colour, not a dark colour! Find out why on the next step)
Sewing pins
Ruler
Yarn - colours of your choice
Scissors
A paint palette or any non-reusable bowl
Liquid glue
Non-reusable fork
Tape or push pins - for hanging on a window or wall

Step 1: Drawing the Heart

Before getting to the fun part, its essential to draw your design before doing the project. Take the piece of styrofoam and your light-coloured marker, and draw your heart clearly on the surface.

If you have enough sewing pins, you can draw multiple designs so you have more pretty decoration pieces all at the same time!

IMPORTANT TIP: I suggest using a light-coloured marker, rather than a dark coloured marker or pen so that if the glue on the yarn gets into contact with the marker colour on the styrofoam, the colour won't bleed onto the yarn.

Step 2: Placing the Pins

For placing the sewing pins, begin with marking the important points of the heart that define the shape (like the first photo above). Afterwards, fill in the rest of the hearts outline with the pins.

TO MAKE THINGS EASIER: Note that sewing pins come in different heights, which is a problem in this project. Make sure to choose sewing pins that have a fairly equal height so that it's easier to wrap the yarn around.

Step 3: Creating the 'Sticky' Yarn

For making the heart, it takes up a lot of yarn --but thats up to you. In this project, you can decide if you want to use a small amount of yarn to create a more mosaic-like heart with lots of space, or use a large amount of yarn to create a layered yarn masterpiece that's just as pretty.

For a medium sized heart, I used about 200 cm of pink yarn, for a partly layered and mosaic heart.

For the sticky yarn...

Put the yarn in the paint palette and gradually pour glue over (don't start with a lot, the yarn doesn't need too much glue to get very sticky).
Evenly distribute the glue with the non-reusable fork (like spaghetti :P)
Take one end of the sticky yarn and bring it through the slots of the fork to get rid of any lumps or excess glue on the yarn.

Step 4: Looping Yarn Around Pins

Choose one pin on your design to start on, and follow the instructions, using the photos above as a reference.

Loop the yarn on your starter pin, holding down the shorter end with your finger and away from the design
Pull the longer strand around your starter pin towards the shorter end
Bring it back, (so you have made a full 360 around the starter pin) facing the direction you will be looping the rest of the yarn around. Go to the next pin and repeat. Don't let go of the shorter end.
Continue on the rest of the pins until you have a full outline of your shape
Randomly loop the yarn around opposite pins in different directions until you have filled in the entire shape and run out of yarn
Stick the two loose ends into the design with glue so they don't unravel

Step 5: Dry, Remove Pins, and Make Tie.

Before letting your project dry, press on the yarn and make sure the yarn is suspended up from the styrofoam. If it touches the styrofoam, some of the styrofoam bits might stick onto the yarn and makes it harder to take off.

Let it dry overnight.

Once it's dry, pull out the heart, then individually take out each pin (they might be stuck; twist first, then pull out).

To make the tie...

Cut about 15 cm of yarn
Loop it through one of the holes at the top of the heart (if you are struggling, try pulling the yarn through a sewing needle, and bringing the needle through the hole)
Take the top ends of the tie, and double knot the yarn so that you have a big loop for hanging

Step 6: Spread Thanks and Kindness! ❤️

You are now done making your Wrapped Yarn Heart! You can make more of different shapes, colours, and sizes --just remember that different amounts of material will be needed for different designs.

You can hang your hearts on a window with tape, or use push pins to decorate your interior walls. Do whatever you want with your designs, but be sure to stay inside, stay safe, wash your hands, and thank our unseen heroes who are saving lives with their superpowers!