vintage velvet heart.....artful thursday #6 tutorial

welcome to artful thursday today. i was so looking forward to just sitting and stitching today since i knew i would be cutting into the vintage silk velvet dress i found for my project. i had to make myself stop sewing just so i could take a few photos.
the day was cloudy with a few snow flurries, i sat and looked out my window and pulled the needle and thread through the velvet as i added each bead and dreamed. after yesterday's craziness that started at 4am and went non-stop even through lunch until 11pm last night i needed a quiet day today.

if you have ever come across a piece of vintage silk velvet you know how luxurious the velvet feels. it feels warm to the hand and incredibly light and supple. i found this beautiful pink velvet dress for just a few dollars at the antique mall. it was hanging on a nasty wire hanger, torn in several places with its covered buttons hanging limply in place. i folded it over my arm and carried it through the store, almost too distracted to keep shopping.


at home in my studio the dress has been waiting for valentines day.....
the heart pattern came from a piece of blue cotton fabric i found outside on the ground, already in the shape of a heart. weird huh.
i thought about maybe using the back of a worn out handstitched quilt to stitch the heart on, but then chose the flowered linen instead.

step 1 cut out the velvet heart

step 2 sew the velvet heart to your background with small running stitches close to the heart edge. leave a one inch opening for stuffing.




step 3 use a wooden chopstick to poke the stuffing in your heart. sew the opening closed.


step 4 sew tiny seed beads around the heart edge.




*tip* keep your tiny beads from rolling all over by placing them on a square of wool felt.



the beads i chose to use came from this vintage beaded bag. it must have been gorgeous when it was first made, lined with silk and adorned with a lovely beaded tassel. the seed beads are cut steel made popular in France around 1830. the cut steel beads were sewn around buckles and on buttons. i love how the beads look nestled into the velvet.


step 5 sew a tiny bunch of buds and leaves to your heart.

here is the spray of millinery flowers i unpicked from a squashed hat and some vintage crocheting thread i use for stitching.


thats how my little heart turned out. i can't decide if i want to use it as the cover of a book, the top of a pincushion, or sewn to some watercolor paper for a lavish card like this one i made last year.


a few more hearts to get you thinking about what you might want to make.
here is the lovely linen heart that came in cheryl's baby book swap package. love, love how she covered the tyvek envelope with red dots and sewed on all the labels.


the heart that was in somerset life magazine sewn around with pearls from a broken necklace on a stack of flocked vintage hankies.


my all time favorite sewn heart.


have fun sewing your own little stuffed hearts. until next time, julie