Valentine Bow Banner – Free Sewing Pattern

Bring some vintage charm to your décor with this Valentine Bow Banner. Use the free pattern to sew a garland of felt hearts, fabric bows, and pearls perfect for decorating for Valentine’s Day.

Sometimes projects are just asking to be made. That’s the case with this Valentine Bow Banner I made last week. Piles of red and pink fabrics from my Valentine Kitty Tea Towel were still out on my table. I kept meaning to clean it up but hadn’t actually done it yet.

One of the fabrics sitting out was a red gingham check. It didn’t make the cut for the kitty tea towel, but it just kept catching my eye. Every time I looked at it, I saw it made up into the prettiest fabric bows.

So of course that’s what I did. I made a handful of them. I added in some pink felt hearts and pearl beads (left over from my Vintage Floral Bat Garland) and I had the cutest Valentine Bow Banner. And I’ve got a free pattern for you below.

How about those puffy bows? I could just pinch them, they’re so cute! They look like they’re tied in the perfect knot but they’re actually assembled from three separate pieces.

The pearl beads were the perfect accent for the gingham. But wood beads or felt beads would also be cute. Bonus points if you have them on hand and you don’t have to spend any money for them.

And since it’s not Valentine’s without some hearts, I added some pink felt hearts – with gingham accents – between the bows.

The fabric bows are approximately 8” wide. The hearts are roughly 3” tall x 3” wide. You can make as many or as few for your banner. I used 5 bows and 7 hearts in mine.

Supplies:

Quilting cotton – roughly 1/4 yard for each bow. 1 ¼ yards will be enough to make 5 bows

Felt – Large scraps. Two 9” x 12” sheets will be enough to make 7 hearts.

Fusible webbing – scraps

Freezer paper – large scraps

Poly-fil stuffing

Pearl beads (with holes large enough for cord)

Steam-A-Seam 2 Lite – 1/4″ wide fusible tape

15” yarn or cord (It will be covered in the final bow so color doesn’t really matter.)

Crochet thread or other thin but sturdy cord

Free pattern – Valentine Bow Banner

Prep

Cut the following pieces of fabric for each bow in your banner:

Bow Top – 1 piece, 16 ½” wide x 4 ½” tall

Knot – 1 piece, 3” wide x 4 ½” tall

Ribbon – Cut 2 using pattern piece

Trace and cut the following for each Heart in your banner:

Use the pattern to trace the Small Heart to the back of the fusible webbing. Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse it to the back of the floral quilting cotton. Cut the Small Heart from the fabric.

Use the pattern to trace the Large Heart to the back of the freezer paper. Cut out and fuse to the accent (pink) felt. Cut the Large Heart out from the felt.

Sew the Ribbon

Place the Ribbon pieces RST. Sew around all sides with ¼” seam allowance, leaving 2” open between dots marked on the pattern for a turning hole.

Clip corners then turn right side out.

I trim pretty close around those points so I can get nice sharp points when turned right side out.

Press the seam allowance toward the inside at the turning hole. Use Steam-A-Seam to fuse the hole closed.

Sew the Bow Top

Fold the Bow Top in half the short way so it’s 8 ¼” wide x 4 ½” tall.

Sew around open edges with ¼” seam allowance, leaving 2” open at the middle of the bottom for a turning hole.

Clip corners then turn right side out.

Lightly stuff the rectangle with Poly Fil stuffing.

You want enough stuffing so it looks like a puffy bow but not so much that it will be hard to cinch it in the middle.

Press the seam allowance toward the inside at the turning hole. Use Steam a Seam to fuse the hole closed. Now you’ve got what looks like a small rectangle pillow.

Sew the Knot

Fold the Knot in half the tall way so it is 1 1/4” wide x 4 ½” tall.

Sew down the long open side with ¼” seam allowance. Leave the top and bottom open.

Turn right side out, and press so the seam line goes down the middle of the back.

Assemble the Bow

Use the yarn to cinch the Bow Top together at the middle point. Tie the yarn in a knot to hold it. Don’t trim the ends of the yarn yet.

I don’t cinch it too tight, just tight enough that it would reasonably look like a bow that had been tied.

Now take the Ribbon and fold it in a loose accordion style pleat.

Hold it up next to the bottom of the Bow Top with the shorter end of the Ribbon is on the top and the longer end is on the bottom. Tie it in place using the ends of the yarn. Once the ribbon is tied in place, trim the ends of the yarn close to the knot.

You’ve got a basic Bow shape but the center is pretty ugly with that yarn showing. The Knot will cover that center and make it look like a perfectly tied bow.

Wrap the Knot around the center of the Bow, right sides together and bringing the ends of the Knot piece together at the back of the Bow.

Sew the Knot ends together using roughly a 5/8” seam allowance. You may need more or less of a seam allowance depending on the thickness of your bow. I use a zipper foot for this step.

Turn the Knot right side out so the raw edges are hidden at the back of the Bow. Your Bow is finished!

Sew the Hearts

Place the Small Heart in the center of the Large Heart. Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse in place.

Topstitch around the Small Heart close to the edge to secure.

Cut a piece of felt that is roughly ½” larger (around all sides) than the Large Heart.

Place the Large Heart down on this piece of felt. Topstitch around the Heart, starting at the bottom point and stopping just after you round the second curve. Keep the needle down; do not remove the Heart from the sewing machine.

With the needle still down and the Heart still on the sewing machine, poke a little Poly-Fil stuffing into the heart. You may need to use the end of a pencil to help get the stuffing all the way in there.

When the Heart is stuffed, continue topstitching the rest of the Heart.