How to Make a Stunning Heart Quilt Block Pattern

In this tutorial, I will take you step by step through how to make a heart quilt block pattern for any Valentine’s Day quilt you plan to make!

With only a few steps, we will create a super simple and beautiful heart block that you will be able to use in any type of quilt project, like pillows, table runners, wall hangings, mini quilts, and so much more!

This project is perfect for beginners and an excellent opportunity to practice your quilting skills!

So, make yourself a cup of coffee (or wine, we don’t judge), and let’s get sewing!

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Quilting on Valentine’s Day.

For the past few years, Valentine’s Day has been more of a day to experiment with my DIY and Sewing Projects rather than a celebration (yeap, you guessed it, I am super single). 

That means that I have had the opportunity to make a lot of different Valentine’s Patterns and Projects that I get to share with you.

When it comes to quilting, I get really invested. The problem is that I really don’t have the time to follow up until the very end of complex bed quilts (that is why I love the One Day Quilt Patterns). 

Nevertheless, I still enjoy and want to venture into learning new blocks and imagining new patterns. Even if they didn’t end up being the king-size bed quilt, I would like them to be.

That is why I have experienced a lot of heart mini quilt projects like my Quilted Heart Coasters, the Scrappy Heart Quilted Heart T-shirt Applique, and now this gorgeous 12″ x 12″ simple heart quilt block pattern!

I am still determining what I will end up using this block for, but make sure it will be something special. Even if I just end up framing it on my wall gallery!

Now, there are a lot of fantastic heart quilt patterns out there. But for today’s tutorial, I wanted to share one of the blocks, which is beginner-friendly.

And I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

What is a Heart Quilt Block?

A heart quilt block is a patchwork block design shaped like a heart, typically made by sewing together smaller fabric pieces in a specific pattern.

The quilt heart block design is super popular in quilting, and it’s been around for a long time. It represents people’s emotional connections and relationships with each other, and it’s a really meaningful symbol. People often use it in quilts they make for weddings, anniversaries, or as gifts for their loved ones.

These heart quilt block patterns can come in many different block combinations, some more complex than others. But most of them will have quilt block tutorials that you can follow to replicate them at home.

Read this, too: Conversation Heart Pillows DIY. Free Sewing Pattern And SVG Files.

What can I make with my heart quilt block?

There are numerous creative possibilities for what you can make with your quilted heart blocks. Here are some ideas:

1. Quilt: Create a heart-themed quilt. To add visual interest, you can alternate heart blocks with solid fabric blocks or other quilt block designs.
2. Pillow: Use your heart blocks to sew together a lovely heart-themed pillow. Add a border or additional embellishments to customize it further.
3. Wall Hanging: Create a heart-themed wall hanging by arranging your blocks in a pleasing design and adding a backing fabric for stability. 
4. Table Runner: Sew your heart blocks together to make a table runner. This can add a charming touch to your dining table.
5. Tote Bag: Incorporate your heart blocks into a tote bag pattern design.
6. Quilted Accessories: Use your heart blocks to make smaller items like coasters, placemats, or mug rugs. These can be practical yet heartfelt gifts for friends and family.

Remember to unleash your creativity and experiment with different layouts, fabrics, and embellishments to make your heart blocks truly special and meaningful.

Read this, too: Heart Heating Pads, A Thoughtful Valentine’s DIY Gift.

How to Make a Heart Quilt Block. Step-by-step Instructions

The first thing we gotta do is to gather our materials.

Materials Needed:

• 30 White Cotton fabric squares measuring 2 1/2″ by 2 1/2″
• 14 Assorted Valentine’s Themed Fat Quarter squares measuring 2 1/2″ by 2 1/2″
• Rotary Cutter
• Quilt Rulers
• Pins or Sewing Clips

*Note: For this tutorial, I will only give you the materials you need to make the quilt block; that is why if you want to turn this block into any of the projects mentioned above, you should consider the batting, backing fabrics, and the quilt binding.*

1. Cutting the fabric pieces.

In an ideal world where we don’t waste any quilt fabric, we would make our half-square triangle pieces with 3” by 3” squares and then trace a line in the middle to finally sew at ¼” apart on each side of that line and finally separate the blocks. 

One of my savvy scrap fabric techniques is making blocks out of any scrap fabric I don’t want to throw away. That, for me, means that I already had all these 2 ½” by 2 1/2” fabric squares ready to go. 

That is why I am going to give you the instructions as follows.

But if you haven’t cut your fabrics yet, instead of cutting the fabrics as I told you below, cut instead four 3” by 3” squares in pink and four 3” by 3” squares in white to make the eight half-square triangle pieces we will need for this project.

Ok, let’s keep going.

To make this 12-inch heart quilt block, we need the following fabric pieces:

• 30 White squares measuring 2 1/2″ by 2 1/2″
• 14 Assorted pink squares measuring 2 1/2″ by 2 1/2″

2. Assembling the heart block.

Place one pink square over one white square and mark a line from corner to corner.

Then sew over that line.

Repeat this until you have eight pieces.

Now measure ¼” of seam allowance from the seam out and cut through that line. Discard the small triangles and open the seams on your blocks.

Press the seams open.

Now it’s time to decide where you want your squares in this design. Arrange the square pieces to form the heart, as I am doing in this picture here.

• The first row will have four half-square triangles with the pink triangles facing down and “touching” each other.
• The second row is all pink squares.
• Then, the third row will have a half-square triangle with the pink triangle facing up and to the right. Then, there are two pink squares, and at the end, a half-square triangle with the pink triangle facing up and to the left.
• Finally, the last row will have a white square, a half-square triangle with the pink triangle facing up and to the right, a half-square triangle with the pink triangle facing up and to the left, and another white square.

Start sewing by row at ¼” of seam allowance, and press all the seams open before joining each one of the rows together.

At the end, you will have a block like this. 

Now. You can choose to leave this block as it is and use it to do your projects or just sew a bias tape around (quilting it first) to finish it up. 

But you can also add a border like this.

3. Adding a border. 

Adding a border to your block is optional, but I just love how the framed white border looks on this block. 

I really think it makes all the pink colors pop up more, won’t you agree?

All righty then, if you want to add a border, this is what you will do.

Make two rows of 4 white squares and two rows of 6 white squares. 

First, sew the 4 square rows on the top and the bottom of your heart block. Press the seams open.

Then, sew the 6 square rows on each side of the block. 

Press the seams open, and give it a final general press.

And you are done!!

Variations & Design Ideas

Now that you know how to make these 12 inch heart quilt blocks, it’s time to get creative and use these blocks to create a project!

Here are two ideas for you: one is a table runner, and the second one is a lap quilt.

What do you think??

What else can these blocks be used on?? Let me know in the comments, and of course, if you made this, don’t forget to tag me with @mygoldenthimble on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook!

I hope you liked this tutorial and you get to make tons of heart quilt blocks for your projects!