Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time required: 1 hour
Age range: 12 and up

Things you’ll need:
Iron and ironing board
Grid ruler
White canvas tote
Red heart crochet doily
Embroidery needle
Red embroidery thread
Scrap fabric
Marking tool such as disappearing ink marker
Scissors
Sewing pins

Things to do:
1. Using the iron, iron the tote and the scrap fabric to remove any wrinkles.

2. Next we’ll center the doily on the scrap fabric, marking a seam allowance as follows: Using the marking tool, mark 1″ from the edge of the scrap fabric. Place the doily on the scrap fabric, lining up the edge of the doily with the mark on the fabric. Mark where the widest edges of the doily are, then mark where the topmost edges and bottom of the doily are. Mark 1″ from these marks.

3. Cut a long length of embroidery floss, then split in in half so that you have two separate strands. Thread one of the strands through the embroidery needle.

4. Tie a knot at the end of the embroidery floss, then tack the edges of the heart in several spots to secure it to the fabric. We suggest tacking the heart in 5-7 places.

5. Mark a square on the tote that’s 1/2 ” smaller than the scrap of fabric.

6. Cut out the marked square from the center. Be sure you’re only cutting one side of the tote. To start the cut, fold the fabric in the center and snip it with your scissors.

7. Slide the doily fabric square inside the tote.

8. Using sewing pins, pin the square in place, making sure the square is centered. If you’re not sure, you can use a ruler to measure the seam allowance all the way around the edge; it should be 1/2 “.

9. Thread another length of embroidery thread, then knot the tail. Begin stitching around the square, making your stitches as even and as evenly spaced as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

10. Continue stitching until you have stitched around the entire square. Cut the floss and knot it on the inside of the tote.