A crochet heart is the kind of small project that eats up a few yards of yarn left over from something bigger. The whole heart is one round of stitches worked into a magic ring, then shaped with slip stitches at the bottom. About two minutes of crocheting once you have the rhythm.
This walkthrough is from Hooked by Robin on YouTube. The pattern uses US stitch terms. If you learned UK terms, the same stitches go by different names (US double crochet = UK treble crochet, and so on). Stay consistent with whichever set you use.
Use these hearts as appliques on hats, sweaters, headbands and gift wrap, or string a dozen on a garland. They make a sweet Valentine card topper too.
Yarn, hook and the size heart you get
The pattern is written for worsted weight (category 4) yarn and a 5mm (H/8) hook. That combination gives a heart roughly 2 inches across. Because it is only one round, the heart scales with your yarn:
| Yarn | Hook | Finished heart |
|---|
| Crochet thread or fingering | 2 to 2.75mm | About 1 inch |
| DK or light worsted | 4mm | About 1.5 inches |
| Worsted (the video) | 5mm | About 2 inches |
| Chunky | 6.5 to 8mm | 3 inches or more |
Smooth cotton or acrylic shows the two humps and the point best. Fuzzy or heavily variegated yarn blurs the shape.
The magic ring start
Everything hangs off the magic ring. It lets you pull the center completely shut, and that cinch is what turns a flat fan of stitches into two lobes with a dip between them. A chain-4 ring works, but it leaves a small hole at the top of the heart that never closes. If the magic ring keeps slipping out of your fingers, practice it on its own a few times first. It is the start of most things worked in the round, so the time is not wasted.
Making a bigger heart
Going up in yarn weight is the quick fix. If you want a bigger heart in the same yarn, add a round. Join new yarn at the top dip and work single crochet around the edge, putting 2 stitches into each tall treble so the curves stay round. At the bottom point work (sc, ch 1, sc) into one stitch to keep it sharp. Each extra round adds a little under half an inch. Change color on that round and you get an outlined heart.
What to do with them
- Garland - chain a long cord and slip stitch a heart onto it every 6 inches.
- Applique - leave both tails long and sew the heart onto a hat, bag or baby blanket with them.
- Card topper - one dot of fabric glue holds it to cardstock.
- Bookmark - chain 50, attach a heart at each end.
A heart pairs well with a crochet flower on the same headband or gift bag.
Common mistakes
- The point is soft or round. The bottom slip stitches were too loose. Pull them snug and keep going until the V forms.
- One hump is bigger than the other. Count your stitches. It has to be 3 dc and 3 tr on each side of the chain-1, and the starting chain 3 counts as a dc.
- The center will not close. You used a chain ring, or you crossed the tail over the working yarn. Redo the magic ring.
- It comes apart after a week. The tails were snipped short instead of woven. Fasten off properly, then weave in the ends through three or four stitches and change direction once.
