Hive 4 May Tutorial- Ooooo Hearts
I n case you missed the convo- Doretta in May and I in June swapped months due to life being life. So please make sure you mail these to Emily in Richland Hills, Texas and not the other lovely Emily or Doretta just yet.
I’m actually NOT a hearts and pink and lovey-dovey kinda
person. I even struggled to find fabrics from my stash for this because this
kind of thing is so far out of my normal realm- so I apologize for the
meagerness of the fabric pull examples. But something about this pattern just
made me go Ooooo….so here we are.
It’s a slightly modified version of
the Candy Boxes pattern by Heather Davis in the February 26 American Patchwork
and Quilting magazine- issued in December 2025. My version of the pattern
should finish at 15 ½” square for you (including seam allowance). Inspo photo
of her quilt here, note lighter/pastel-ly hearts with brighter/darker ribbons
& bows:
Fabric pull:
This quilt is really for blenders and solids, or subtle
patterns. No words, holiday prints, novelty fabric, large or bold patterns. Try
to think “subtle” with both color and pattern choices. See the inspo image above for the feel I’m
going for, though those are all solids and I’m ok with blenders and subtle
patterns- especially for the hearts themselves.
Primary Heart pull Ribbons/Bows pull
Need 4 colors-
1.
Background: cream, white, light tan….
something very light. I used a Moda Grunge cream for example.
2.
Primary: light to medium pink, peach or
lavender- needs to be non-directional and not too medium/dark or dark toned.
Needs to read clearly as the primary color. Think soft candy-like colors- muted pastel. Note:
Like my soul, photos in my sewing room are always darker than reality- at least
for light colors. The actual primary colors are much more pastel or pale than
what you see here. The INSPO picture provided is far more accurate. Think soft pastels like those little candy hearts for Valentine's Day.
3.
Ribbon: medium or medium/dark tone red or
purple or pink, preferably something that reads as a solid- strong enough of a
difference from the primary fabric that it pops out obviously.
4.
Bow: Dark or medium/dark tone red or purple
or pink, preferably something that reads as a solid- and is a little darker
than the ribbon fabric.
Cutting:
Assume quarter inch seams for all sewing- already included
in the cutting instructions
Background fabric (white-ish)
A A. 6 ½” squares- need 2
B. B. 3 1/2” squares- need 4
C. C.
2” x 12 ½” rectangle- need 2 for sashing
D. D.
2” x 15 ½” rectangle- need 2 for sashing
Primary fabric (pastel)
E. E.
6 ½” x 7 ½” rectangle- need 1
F. F.
3 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1
G.G.
2 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1
H.H.
4 ½” x 6 ½” rectangle- need 1
I. I.
3 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1
J. J.
2 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1
K. K.
6 ½” x 7 ½” rectangle- need 1
L. L. 1” x 2” rectangle- need 2
M.M.
1” squares- need 4
Ribbon fabric (darker solid-ish)
N. N.
1 ½” x 7” rectangle- need 1
O. O.
1 ½” x 6 ½” rectangle- need 1
P. P.
1 ½” x 4” rectangle- need 1
Q. Q.
1 ½” x 2” rectangle- need 1
R. R.
1” x 1 ½” rectangle- need 2
Bow fabric (dark solid-ish)
S. S.
2 ½” squares- need 2
T. T.
1 ½ square- need 1
Let’s get the hardest part done first- Let’s make a Bow!
Start with the 4 M blocks- draw a diagonal line corner to
corner on the backside of each of those. Place them right sides together on 2
adjacent corners of each of the 2 R squares. Sew along the line, trim off ¼
inch from the outer corner side of the seam, press open. Make 2 of these half
snowballs.
Now the 2 R ribbon pieces are sewn to opposite sides of the
S square.
The 2 L background pieces are sewn to opposite long sides of
the Q rectangle
Press all of these flat an open and then arrange them to
make the bow in this order, then sew them together
Whew- hard part done! It’s pretty easy from here on out!
Unit AA
Need pieces I, J and P. Sew the 4” side of I to one of the
4” sides of P, then sew J on the opposite side of P. Pres flat and Unit AA is
now done!
Unit BB
Need pieces F, G and N. Sew the 7” side of F to one of the
7” sides of N, then sew G on the opposite side of N. Pres flat and Unit BB is
now done!
Unit CC
Need pieces E, H and 0. Sew the 6 ½” side of E to one of the
6 ½” sides of O, then sew H on the
opposite side of P. Pres flat and Unit CC is now done!
Combined Unit AA/Bow/BB
Next you need unit AA, unit BB and the Bow
You will sew the units together with the bow in the middle-
be sure to add AA and BB to the bow by starting you stitching on the side where
the bow lines up with the edge.
Tip: try to line up the ribbon in all 3 pieces so it
looks like the ribbon runs straight through the bow.
There should be a little bit of extra ribbon hanging out to
the right when it’s all together. I did this intentionally so that you could
then trim that off for a nice straight side. It only works if you start sewing
both of these joins from the bow end though. Press open and trim off the little
bit of extra ribbon on the right. Done!
Next we make the left half of the heart
You will need unit CC, 1 of piece A and 2 pieces of B.
Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the backside of
each of the background squares.
Place piece A right sides together at the bottom of unit CC.
Align it so the diagonal starts in the middle of the left side of the unit, and
finishes in the bottom right corner. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra
outside fabric and press open.
Place 1 piece of B right sides together at the top left of
unit CC. The diagonal should start on the left side and finish in the middle of
the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and press
open. Complete this before adding the 2nd B piece as there is some
overlap and if the first one isn’t completed and pressed open- it will get
stuck behind the second one and won’t open properly.
(forgot to take a picture
of the left side, but here it is on the right side.)
Place the other piece B right sides together at the top
right of unit CC. The diagonal should start on the right side and finish in the
middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and
press open.
Left side of heart is now complete!
Now right side of heart is pretty much the same as left side
but using the AA/bow/BB unit.
You will need unit AA/bow/BB, 1 of piece A and 2 pieces of
B.
Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the backside of
each of the background squares.
Place piece A right sides together at the bottom of unit
AA/bow/BB. Align it so the diagonal starts in the middle of the right side of
the unit, and finishes in the bottom left corner. Sew down the diagonal, trim
off the extra outside fabric and press open.
Place 1 piece of B right sides together at the top left of
unit AA/bow/BB. The diagonal should start on the left side and finish in the
middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside fabric and
press open. Complete this before adding the 2nd B piece as there is
some overlap and if the first one isn’t completed and pressed open it will get
stuck behind the second one and won’t open properly.
Place the other piece B right sides together at the top
right of unit AA/bow/BB. The diagonal should start on the right side and finish
in the middle of the top. Sew down the diagonal, trim off the extra outside
fabric and press open.
Right side of heart is now complete!
Sew the 2 halves of the heart together. Press flat.
Add the 2 C sashing
pieces to opposite sides of your heart- be careful with your points! Press
open. Finally sew on the 2 D sashing pieces to the remaining sides of your
heart.
Give everything a good press- That’s it!! Thank you!!
