Tuesday Tutorial-The Heart Leaf Vine

It’s Tuesday, and I have finished the dreaded, Monday paperwork and can’t wait to get started quilting!  Today, we are stitching The Heart Leaf Vine.  It is a very sweet pattern that looks great on any summer quilt.  Stitched in pink, it would make a great Valentine motif as well.  Today, we are going to start with the basic version, then add an optional “second pass”.  Next week, we will look at a The Doubled Heart Leaf Vine--one of my all time favorite borders!  So let’s get stitching…we want to have this mastered before next Tuesday!

First,  draw two lines –one inch apart– to serve as “rails”.  Begin stitching below the rail, and sew a curved line down and up again.  Stitch a few stitches above the rail and stop.

Next, stitch the left half of the heart by stitching down, to the left and curve to the top line.  Stop here.

Now stitch the right half of the heart.

In the center of the heart leaf, add three loops, then stitch out the bottom of the heart, below the “rail” line and swoop to the right to begin the next leaf:

These leaves look great as is, but if you’d like to add another “pass”…

Start stitching above your previous line of stitching.  Echo quilt the vine, then “bounce” up the side of the heart–creating a scallop effect.

Stitch to a point at the top of the motif to maintain the heart shape.

Then scallop back down the right side of the motif.

Perfect!

This pattern looks great in a larger scale –so if your border is much wider–give it a try…(or wait to see The Double Heart Leaf Vine!)

If you like hearts, you might also like:  The Sweetheart Border

Tune in tomorrow when we’ll talk about organizing thread!  Later in the week–I will have a list of threads recommended by readers–and a few sources to share!