There is a famous book titled Knitting Without Tears. Ok, maybe “famous” is a stretch but most knitters have heard of it. So, that makes it sort of famous. I haven’t read it. I don’t need to. I already know the secret to knitting without tears. Only knit easy things! It’s not rocket surgery.
Guess what? There is no book named Sewing Without Tears.
Well, there was but it’s out of print. Enough said.
Lately, for me, sewing has been an exercise in frustration. It’s mainly because the tension on my machine is jacked up which causes me to curse the Brother Corporation a lot. Nothing I do seems to help and I’m thinking my machine probably needs it’s first-ever service call.
Today though, I completed a perfect project, because it’s meant to be destroyed! I made little paper pouches, filled with conversation hearts and sewn together. I got the idea here.
They are meant to be torn open so my tension issues really don’t make a bit of difference. The kids in Abby’s class won’t care. I sewed these up so happily. The window in front of my sewing table was open. The birds were singing. The breeze was breezing. I was humming. (I was humming this. Darn that Bieber!)
These are so easy and quick that you could still whip up a few today if you were so inclined. I like the simple look of mine but you could embellish them with rubber stamps or glitter. It would also be really fun to let your kids decorate them before you sew them together.
The instructions are simple:
1. Find a heart shape you like or just draw one. Make sure it’s large enough to hold some candy and allow for your seam.
2. Get some brown postal paper and cut out your hearts. You could use other papers but postal paper is nice and sturdy without being too thick. I folded my paper in half, traced around my heart and then cut the shape out so that I would have two identical hearts to sew together.
3. Stack two hearts together and sew around the edge with a contrasting thread. Don’t do any back stitching, it’s not necessary and will just cause your seam to tear open. Don’t sew all the way around yet, you need room to put your candy inside.
4. Stuff some candy in there. You can use anything small, even little dollar store toys.
5. Finish sewing around the unfinished edges until you get back to where you started. Trim your threads and you’re done!
These could also be hand sewn with embroidery thread if you don’t have a sewing machine.
I think these are super fun and could be used for all sorts of things. You can make them in any shape so you could use them for any holiday. They would make great party favors or just a nice surprise for little ones on an ordinary day. Sam has already enjoyed tearing open a few. 
Happy Valentine’s Day!
