Weaving To Woo - Zoom Loom Heart Pin
By Jane Patrick
Pinning is a term many might know if they grew up in the 1950s, but has gone out of fashion in the modern era. When a couple decided to commit to each other before getting engaged, the guy would give his girlfriend his fraternity or club pin. This now meant the couple was "going steady" and they wouldn't date anyone else.Though this tradition has since disappeared, you can still express your love for someone with a heart pin.
What You'll Need
-
red sportweight yarn that will felt—I used Brown Sheep Nature Spun in N46S Red Fox
-
embroidery floss
-
beads and 2 decorative buttons
-
2” pin clasp
-
thin cardboard
-
thin decorative paper—I used origami paper
-
gem glue
-
white glue
-
Zoom Loom with weaving needle
-
heart-shaped cookie cutter, no more than 2-¼” at widest point (or cut out a cardboard pattern to fit your felted square)
Materials
Equipment
Directions
Make one Zoom Loom square and sew in the ends. Hand wash the square to felt. I used Dawn dish detergent and as hot of water as I could bare, rubbing the square vigorously until felted. Iron if necessary after the square has dried. It will measure about 2 ¼” across.
Place the cookie cutter over the square with the point at a corner of the square. Cut around to make your heart.
With off-white embroidery floss, trim the outside of the heart shape with a blanket stitch. I made the stitches about 1/8” apart and 1/8” deep.
Place one button on top of the other, place in the center of the heart side-to-side but slightly above the center line top to bottom. Sew to secure.
Using embroidery floss, create 10 strands, each 6” long. To secure, tie in a square knot. Thread the strands with beads, making some short and some long strands. Secure the beads with knots or thread the end of the embroidery thread back through the holes. (I tied knots in the ends and then applied a dab of gem glue to the ends for added security.)
Make the backing: Cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the heart. Cut the decorative paper a ¼” bigger than the cardboard heart. Place the paper over the heart and cut little slits from the edge of the paper to the heart.
Smear the wrong side of the paper with a thin layer of white glue. Place over the cardboard and fold the paper around the cardboard to the back side. Allow to dry.
Glue the backing to the wrong side of the heart. Let dry.
Glue the pin clasp to the backing using gem glue, placing it in the upper third of the heart. Dry.
