These antique Valentines have been lucky a few times over. First the recipient saved them. Then, they survived a flood in Dad’s basement. While everything else in the box they were in was sadly soaked and ruined, these were tucked safely in a water-tight plastic bag. I’ve been wanting to share these pretties for a while. They’ve spent the last few years packed away, just waiting to be seen. Here is a small sampling (and, yes, I took photos instead of scanning for a reason)…..
Today’s Heart filled post is a history inspired project, a little heart shaped book. This sweet book can be made using techniques from Fanciful Utility, with paper pages inside instead of wool.
To make this book, you will need pasteboard, outer fabric, inner fabric, and several sheets paper for pages.
Start by cutting a heart shape you like. This can be a fat heart, a lean heart, even and asymmetrical heart. Just be sure one side is flat enough to become the spine. This will become your template for cutting. You may find it helpful to mark which side or spot is your spine.
Using your template, cut 4 pieces of pasteboard the size of your template. Cut 2 exterior fabric hearts and 2 interior fabric hearts, adding a generous 1/2″ seam allowance. Using your favorite FanU technique, cover two with your outer fabric and two with your inner fabric. Whip stitch the cover layers together.
Fold your sheets of paper in half. Do this individually or in pairs rather than as one stack. Place your template with the spine along the fold. Trace your template and cut. Double check that your placement and pages are as you expect. If so, trace and cut the rest of your pages.
Open each pair of pages and stack them. With a strong needle, pierce at least 3 holes in the fold. Try to make them equidistant with the middle one centered on the spin. Refold the pages in pairs of triples. For each grouping, sew through the holes. Stack your folded pages on top of each other with the folds and holes lined up. Sew through the threads snugging the pages together. I recommend watching a video or two on simple booklet binding for this as I know my description is clear as mud.
Place the paper pages on the back cover. Center as desired. Secure the paper spine to the cover at the edge or just in from the edge.
Place the front cover on top of the paper pages. Bind the covers together using your favorite FanU technique.
You can embellish as desired. Consider a ribbon to tie the book closed, embroidery on the cover, or beading around the edge.
Are you one of the many readers enjoying my millinery blog posts? Consider becoming a Patreon patron. Doing so helps support my work and helps me write more useful articles. https://www.patreon.com/AMillinersWhimsy
To make a heart shaped needle-book you will need: pasteboard, exterior fabric (silk, wool, velvet, cotton), interior fabric (silk, cotton), and thin wool for pages.
Begin by creating your own heart template. The extant examples I have observed are symmetrical hearts roughly the same width as height.
Using your template, cut 4 pieces of pasteboard the size of your template. Cut 2 exterior fabric hearts and 2 interior fabric hearts, adding a generous 1/2″ seam allowance. Fold your wool and place the top curves of your heart template on the fold, edges just meeting the curve. Trace the template on the wool. Using pinking scissors or a pinking machine, cut just inside the line. Repeat if you prefer 4 pages.
Cover 2 pasteboard hearts with exterior fabric and 2 pasteboard hearts with interior fabric using your favorite Fanciful Utility technique. Pair the front and back covers. Whip stitch around the edge.
Place the covers together. Create two hinges at the top curves of the hearts.
Place the wool pages inside the covered hearts, lining up the fold with the hinges. Stitch in place. (Embroider the pages prior to inserting if you wish.)
Embellish your heart needle-book with a ribbon closure and/or embroidery if you wish.
Are you one of the many readers enjoying my millinery blog posts? Consider becoming a Patreon patron. Doing so helps support my work and helps me write more useful articles. https://www.patreon.com/AMillinersWhimsy
I feel like I’ve lost touch with where history minded people are at with their plans for the coming year, both museum interpreters and reenactors. I have been focused lately on some rebalancing for myself and some projects for myself. So, this out-of-touch feeling is both a good and a bad thing.
I would love to hear what you have in mind for your coming season…. What are you looking forward to? What are you working on? What are your goals? Are you working on something important to you?
Also… Are there any new, local projects or exhibits you would like me and/or readers to know about? Any trends you are noticing?
Today’s Heart filled post is a twist on a playful Bunch of Hearts from An American Girl’s Book and a book marker from Peterson’s Magazine.
In this sweet project, Leslie originally calls for covering a bunch of small pasteboard hearts to be hung as a decoration. The illustration screams “bookmark” to me.
This book marker comes from Peterson’s Magazine. It is made of two lengths of ribbons decorated to taste.
To make my version, take a length of ribbon, approx 2 feet, and cut it into two pieces one slightly shorter than the other. Fold each ribbon in ‘half’ so you have four different lengths at the ends. Lay the folded ribbons on top of each other with the folds together. Tightly whip the folds together with tiny stitches. Embroider the ribbons to taste. Use pieces of fabric to make the crosses (in Peterson’s or hearts in the case of mine) at the ends of the ribbon.
(Sorry, this is a super short post today because my Monday didn’t go as planned. I ended up getting home too late to finish & photograph the pieces for the post I planned.)
Today’s Heart filled post is a twist on a playful Bunch of Hearts from An American Girl’s Book. In this sweet project, Leslie originally calls for covering a bunch of small pasteboard hearts to be hung as a decoration.

This (right)

illustration screams “bookmark” to me.
This book marker comes from Peterson’s Magazine. It is made of two lengths of ribbons decorated to taste.
Take a length of ribbon, approx 2 feet, and cut it into two pieces one slightly shorter than the other. Fold each ribbon in ‘half’ so you have four different lengths at the ends. Lay the folded ribbons on top of each other with the folds together. Tightly whip the folds together with tiny stitches. Embroider the ribbons to taste. Use pieces of fabric to make the crosses (in Peterson’s or hearts in the case of mine) at the ends of the ribbon. (Sorry, this is a super short post today because my Monday didn’t go as planned. I ended up getting home too late to finish & photograph the pieces for the post I planned.)
Today’s heart filled post looks at a silk winter hood quilted with hearts.
This child’s winter hood is quilted is a sweet heart motif. Hearts circle the brim and center the back of the crown, while scallops fill the bavolet and a double circle motif finish the brim. The green silk taffeta is nearly tissue taffeta soft. While not being overly dry, it has numerous wear spots from storage the pink interior is a medium weight solid cotton.
Construction deviates from the most common brim, crown, and bavolet by using a two piece crown considting of a central horseshoe shape and a crescent arch connecting it to the brim. This creates a nicely shaped crown with less bulk. This also shows off the quilted hearts in the back.
…
…
Left: Center back crown in a quasi-horseshoe shape with quilted hearts. Right: The crescent arch crown piece creates a comfortably rounded shape to the crown. Green silk ribbon with a picot edge is used for the ties and as trim around the brim where it is box pleated. I suspect the pleating was originally intended to lay flat rather than folded forward based on the threads that become visible when it is folded forward. While most quilted winter hoods are worked with stripes or diamonds, some are made with more fanciful motifs. This hood is beautifully worked with hearts on the brim and scallops on the bavolet. The interior has a pale pink cotton which is notably heavier in comparison to the nearly tissue weight silk taffeta. Both green ribbon ties are intact and show how they were originally attached.
Are you one of the many readers enjoying my millinery blog posts?
Consider becoming a Patreon patron. Doing so helps support my work and helps me write more useful articles.
Today’s Heart filled post flashes back to my 2020 Community Cast Series with a video on how to make a favorite pin cushion from An American Girl’s Book.
Materials:
Silk stash (or whatever you have on hand today)
Narrow Ribbon
Batting
My hearts from the video:
The original directions:
Guide for your triangles:
Are you one of the many readers enjoying my millinery blog posts?
Consider becoming a Patreon patron. Doing so helps support my work and helps me write more useful articles.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 