Making hearts
It uses basic sewing skills with a few little tricks, and the kits come with instructions and the template for the original 1000 Hearts pocket heart.
If you'd like to bring heart-making to your corner of the world, you can start a heartist's group with friends, colleagues and others in your community. If you're starting a group, the workshop session plan in our shop will be helpful as well as our heart-making kits and materials.
You are welcome to share the resources and ideas from this page with your group - please let people know that you (and they) are part of 1000 Hearts and encourage them to read the website and join our community on social media. This helps our community to grow and helps everyone understand the story behind the hearts.
Please Be Kind to Our Planet Too
To keep our project eco-friendly, I encourage you to use pure wool felt for your hearts and stuffing and to use biodegradable packaging. I've included recommended stockists in the "Materials" section.
You might have other ideas about making hearts in an eco-friendly way and that's OK - you are free to do it in a way that suits your ethics, ideals and budget. This may include using recycled materials or using up what you already have - I am supportive of sustainable heart-making in all its forms.
Please feel free to get in touch with any questions and to let me know what you're doing - I'd love to hear from you and share your story with the 1000 Hearts community.
Be warned: making hearts is addictive, especially once you see peoples’ response when you start giving them away.
Heartist Resources
Materials
Felt: I use only 100% wool felt, as it’s beautiful to work with and kind to the environment. It creates a quality heart that will withstand a lot of squeezing, holding and pocket-dwelling. I only use pure wool felt for my heart-making and all the hearts and kits I sell. If you prefer not to use wool, I encourage you to find an eco-friendly option to suit your needs.
Stuffing: I started out using synthetic stuffing which you can get at craft stores. However, in the spirit of kindness to our planet, I prefer to use natural fibres. You can get wool and eco stuffing from specialist stores and online. My recommended suppliers are Winterwood: www.winterwoodtoys.com.au and Lily Rose Artisan Fibres on Etsy. As a rough guide, 100 grams of wool stuffing will fill about 100 hearts.
Thread: If you’re using six-strand embroidery thread, I recommend using only two strands when stitching your heart (this is what I do). If you don’t want to split the thread, the single strand perle cottons work well and can be easier for groups, young Heartists and beginners.
Packaging: It's a great idea to wrap your hearts before sharing them - this allows you to include the 1000 Hearts mini-flyer and keeps hearts clean and hygienic, especially if you're offering them in hospitals, aged care, schools etc. For eco-friendly, biodegradable cellophane bags, I recommend Buy Eco Green: www.buyecogreen.com.au
Tools of the trade: Make sure you have good scissors; a big pair for cutting out hearts and a little pair for snipping thread and trimming edges. I use size 24 Chenille needles which have a larger eye for embroidery thread and are sharp for neat stitching.
Our Heart-Starter kits are the perfect starting point for becoming a Heartist – they come in packs appropriate for beginners and more advanced crafters, and are available in our store.