Hearts & Crafts Project #8 (of 14!): Tea Towel

Welcome to Mattie's Hearts & Crafts Blog Series! 

This tea towel is adorable as well as practical.  A great, quick gift, too!
STANDARD METHOD:  Zigzag Applique, "Zigzapping" 

MATERIALS:
(3) 6.5" squares red  for heart applique.
3 Quiltsmart Sweet Hearts LARGE hearts ( a little redundant)
1 SMALL heart
Letters "I and U" from a Raw Edge Letters Panel.
Scrap Fabric for letters. Or a 6.5" square.
1 Tea Towel

INSTRUCTIONS: (Read first to get the gist of it!)

1) Cut fabrics as listed.

2)  NOTE: You can separate the hearts by cutting the little one out (you will see most other past Quiltsmart projects done this way already, and both ways do work) - BUT, Terri (Quiltsmart's awesome Customer Service Manager, came up with this TIP and I (Mattie) LOVE it!  It maximizes your interfacing margin, making it easier to sew and turn!  Thanks, Terri!  Very Smart Way (Terri's):
In the middle the small heart, there is a dotted line.  Cut along that.
Place interfacing rough side (glue dot side) to RIGHT side of SMALL heart fabric.  Stitch on the solid line.  TIP: The smaller the stitch, the smoother the curve.  A 2.0mm or 1-5mm is great on this project.

Cut a small slit along the dashed line of the straight part of the heart.  Continue cutting out the SMALL heart on the dashed line with sharp scissors, clipping at the center inner angle. 

3) Turn right side out.  Use a pointer-creaser to get a great smooth line and points.   
TIP: Keep the tool in between the fabric seam, not next to the interfacing! 
TIP: I like to use the rounded end of the pointer-creaser first, ten the pointed end at the corners or points or to sharpen the seams a bit.  Be very careful!

Place the 3 LARGE Heart interfacing shapes rough side to the RIGHT side of the LARGE heart fabric.  Stitch on the solid line as before in the small heart.

 Trim and turn as in the small heart.




Fuse the 3 LARGE hearts in place.  











Fuse the letters to respective fabric. 











 Cut out letters.  Glue (fabric stick or spray glue) the letters to the respective hearts. 










Fuse the small heart to the middle heart.  Zigzag applique ("zigzapp!") around letters and hearts.   Keep the stitch on the heart, with the needle just piercing the background fabric.  I like a 1.5"mm width and a 2.5" mm length, but use what feels comfy.  This stitching will show on the backside.
Terri, thanks so much for this project idea & for the sewing and photos!  A second career?
Please send any comments or questions to info@quiltsmart.com, Facebook, or Instagram.  Thanks so much!
I hope you enjoyed this project, send us pics to share!
Take Care, Mattie