Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted! I am a terrible blogger. Life just never slows down, does it? I guess you can make these fast and easy little hearts for Mother's Day, though, or do you really need a holiday to say I love you, or pass on a little love? They would be very cute as pins and small enough to stick in the mail, too, just because.
For most of the hearts I made for the girls, I used a B hook (2.25 mm). The yarn was sport weight (DK) I think, a little thinner than worsted. They finished up about 1" across, but I used a thicker hook (a D maybe?) and worsted weight yarn to make a bigger guy, about twice the size. Of course, you can make any size you'd like by experimenting with yarn and hook sizes. This is really good for short odds and ends you might have lying around. You'll be working in the round and only have to weave in the ends when you're done. I use one of the ends to sew up the middle of the heart, which probably makes no sense to you now, but hopefully will be clear later...
Heartstrings pattern:
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
st(s) - stitch(es)
Start off with a magic circle. If you don't know what that is, click on the link (which will take you to a YouTube video) and be prepared to have your crocheting life changed. Anyway, then ch 1, and make 3 sc into the circle. Close up your circle, as tightly as possible.
Round 1: Make 2 sc in each sc around. (6)
Round 2: *Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around. (9)
Round 3: *Sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around. (12)
Round 4: *Sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around. (15)
Round 5: *Sc in each of next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around. (18)
Round 6: Sc in each of the next 9 sts, skip the 9 sts remaining. (9)
Round 7: Sc in each of the next 9 sts (which are ones you created in Round 6). (9)
Round 8: *Sc next 2 sts together, sc.* Repeat from * to * around. (6) Fasten off.
Weave end through the last six stitches, pulling tightly to gather. Stuff the heart and stick the yarn tail to the inside, using it as extra stuffing. You really need very little stuffing if you're making the same size I did.
Now, join your yarn to one of the unworked stitches of Row 6, and repeat Rounds 6-8. If you have a bit of a gap in the valley between the humps of the heart, just use the tail of this second hump to kind of sew them together and then hide the end back inside the finished heart. Finish up with two teeny puffy paint dots for eyes, string on some satin cord or glue on a ¾" pin back, and you're done.
You can make a whole slew of these really quickly, much more quickly than it took me to get this post written! Sorry, and thanks for waiting.
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