14 Days of Love- I Wear My Heart on My Sleeve Tees

Hello There! Welcome to day seven of my 14 Days of Love special! Today I have a super fun project for you! I am going to show you how to add a reverse applique heart to a plain tee to show your love for Valentine’s Day. Reverse appliques are really easy! You can do them by machine or by hand. I chose to do mine by hand. I think it gives the tee more of a sweet feel. You can use solid or patterned fabric. I used vintage sheeting.

Here’s What You Need:

*Tee Shirt

*Sweet Fabric

*Lightweight interfacing

*Disappearing ink Marking Pen

*Embroidery Floss

*Needle

*Embroidery Hoop

*Sharp Small Scissors

*Heart Shape Cutout (I just drew a heart onto some cardstock and cut it out, you could print one on cardstock as well if there is a shape you really like too)

Instructions:

The first thing you want to do is cut a small piece of fabric a few inches larger than your heart. Iron your interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric. Trace your heart onto the fabric with your template and marking pen. Inside the heart write the name you want to be on the heart. Put your fabric into your hoop. Thread your needle with the floss color of your choice. Now stitch the name. I used a simple back stitch, but you can use a satin stitch as well. Once you have embroidered the name knot the end and clip the excess thread. Now, decide where you want to have your heart. Mark the spot and turn your shirt inside out. Trace your heart on the wrong side of your fabric. Now lay your fabric with your right side of your fabric onto the wrong side of your tee where marked. Sandwich the tee and fabric into the hoop. Now, stitch around the heart you drew, making sure that the right side of the sleeve has the right side of the stitching. Once you have stitched your heart down, finish it off with a knot and clip threads. Trim the excess fabric around to about a quarter inch around the heart. It should now look like a patch on the inside, and the outside should look like an embroidered heart. Now snip into the top layer of your tee and cut the fabric all the way around the inside of the heart cutting close to the stitching. This will reveal the under fabric and you now have a reverse applique. Pretty cool, huh?

I absolutely ADORE these little tees! I made one for myself with Beau’s name on it and one for my sister Hannah with her dog Sadie’s name on it. You can do these appliques anywhere you like on your tee. I chose the sleeves. I think it is a sweet and fun way to show who you love, or who your valentine is. Now you can really wear your heart on your sleeve. I hope my appliqued tees have inspired some of you to give this a try. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more Valentines fun! Until then…

Happy Crafting!