DIY Yarn Heart Garland: Easy Valentine’s Day Craft

I’m back from a two-month break from crafting and by extension my blog. After a layoff and four months searching for a new job, and keeping up with my Etsy shop, I finally found one. Between the holiday season and starting a new job, I’ve been a little overstretched.

So, today, I’m back! And just in time for an easy Valentine’s Day craft. All the Christmas decorations are put away and it’s time to turn our attention to Cupid’s big day.

I decided to start off with a yarn heart garland to add a touch of vintage charm to my living room. Whether you string it across your mantel, drape it over a doorway, or add it to a festive Valentine’s Day centerpiece – it’s bound to bring a farmhouse feel to your decor!

Supplies:

• Hot glue gun
• Yarn
• Pre-cut wood hearts
• Jute string
• Needle large enough to thread the string

Step 1: Prepare your supplies.

The first thing you need to know is that you will use a LOT of yarn. Those little hearts don’t look like they will need much but, trust me, they do. Be sure you have plenty on hand. I used a vintage red skein I had on hand and purchased an antique white wool skein. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the supplies before I started the project so what you see in the picture is what I had leftover. My two-month break from posting on my site has messed with my process!

Anyways, plug in your hot glue gun and get it warmed up before you start. While you are warming up the hot glue gun, measure the jute string. You need to have some idea how long you want the garland and how far apart the hearts should be. Don’t forget to leave extra for tying loops on each end for hanging.  

I cut my jute string to 70 inches and used five inches on each side for the loop. My hearts have three inches between them.

TIP: If you don’t want to use pre-cut wooden hearts, you can cut out hearts from cardboard boxes. Print and cut out this heart. You can use it as it pattern to draw hearts on a piece of cardboard then cut out your hearts. The rest of this process is the same whether you use pre-cut wood hearts or cardboard hearts.

Step 2: Wrap your hearts with yarn.

Using the hot glue gun, glue the end of your yarn onto the back of your heart.

Once it’s firmly in place and dried, start wrapping the yarn around the heart. It doesn’t matter what direction you wrap but be sure you are pulling the yarn tight. Sometimes the yarn will slip. Don’t worry! Use the hot glue gun to secure any suborn areas of yarn as you wrap. It may be especially necessary along the curved areas of the heart.

Keep wrapping – and alternating with hot glue when needed – until the heart is completely covered.

Set it aside and move on to the next heart.

Wrapping each heart is a time-consuming process but kind of meditative too.

When you’ve finished wrapping your heart, glue the tail of the yarn down on the back.

Step 3: String your garland.

Once you’ve finished wrapping all your wooden (or cardboard) hearts, string your large needle with the jute string.

Run your string through the yarn on the back of each heart. It’s important that you do this at the top of your heart and not the middle. If you string it through the middle, the hearts will be top heavy and lean over when you hang your garland.

String each heart onto your jute string and space them out evenly.

After all the hearts are in place, tie each end into a loop for hanging.

Step 4: Find a place to hang your creation!

Valentine’s Day is almost here. Find a place to string up your garland; hopefully, along with a new bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates.

Check out these other Valentine’s Day crafts: