Oh my… hello, February! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it feels like the perfect time to share this sweet little pattern... and it’s now forever FREE. The Cupid’s Heart pincushion is a charming scrap‑busting project, and I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do.
What You Need
- Fabric – 1 fat eighth or 2 pieces of 8” X 8” fabric + fabric for hanging loop (optional) 1.5” X 10”
- Cotton batting
- Polyester stuffing or shredded batting scraps
- Lace ribbon (optional) – 18 ” of gathered-edge ribbon or 60” of straight-edge ribbon
- Aurifil Thread or any other 50 weight cotton thread
- Superior topstitch needle 80/12
- Fabric shears for cutting fabrics
- Paper scissors for cutting template
- Fiskar snips for clipping and making notches
- Basting spray or pins for basting
- Straight pins for pinning pieces
- Printer for printing template
- Walking foot or any other foot suitable for quilting
- Clover point turner or a chopstick for turning corners
Getting Started
Download the printable heart template (or the full pattern) and save it to your computer.
Open the file in Adobe Reader and print at actual size with no scaling.
Important: Avoid printing directly from your browser... this can distort the scale or invert the background color.
Quilting the Fabric
- Lay your fat eighth on top of the batting, right side up.
- Pin or spray baste to secure.
- Quilt as desired (crosshatch works beautifully with a walking foot). In the examples, I used pre‑quilted scraps left over from my Elephant Pillow projects.
Front of the Heart
Place the heart template on the quilted fabric, trace around it, and cut out the shape (the ¼″ seam allowance is already included).
Optional: Ruffled Ribbon & Hanging Loop
Making the Loop
- Fold the long edges of the 1.5″ × 10″ strip toward the center and press.
- Fold in half lengthwise and press again.
- Stitch along the open edge to finish.
- Fold into a loop.
Making the Ruffle
- Fold the lace ribbon in half and sew the short ends together with a ¼″ seam.
- Sew a long basting stitch around the straight edge (scant ¼″, no backstitching).
- Pull the top threads to gather the ribbon evenly.
- Adjust until the gathered edge measures about 17.5″, then tie off the threads.
Attach the Ruffle & Loop
- Pin the ruffled ribbon to the right side of the heart, aligning the gathered edge with the fabric edge.
- Place the loop at the top of the heart, raw ends aligned with the seam allowance and loop pointing downward.
- Sew around the heart with a ¼″ seam allowance, removing pins as you go.
If you’re making a heart without ruffles, simply stitch the loop ends in place at the top.
Back of the Heart
- Place the quilted front piece right sides together with the remaining quilted fabric.
- Pin and sew around the heart with a ¼″ seam allowance, leaving an opening for turning.
- Trim around the heart using the front piece as your guide.
Finishing the Heart
- - Clip concave curves and notch convex curves to reduce bulk (carefully avoiding the seam).
- Turn the heart right side out using a point turner or chopstick.
- Stuff firmly with polyester filling or shredded batting scraps.
- Close the opening with an invisible ladder stitch.
All done... your Cupid’s Heart Pincushion is ready to brighten your sewing space. I hope making it brought you as much joy as sharing it brings me.
