Easy DIY Yarn Heart Garland for Valentine's Day ⋆ Love Our Real Life

Decorate your home with beautiful heart garland. These fun yarn hearts are just cardboard cutouts in a heart shape wrapped with a piece of yarn. How's that for a simple Valentine's Day craft?!

Craft projects are a great way to beat the winter blues after you put away those Christmas decorations. Now grab a cardboard box and some different colors of yarn and let's started with this fun craft for Valentines Day!

Various neutral colored yarn hearts strung together for valentine garland.

Get more diy and craft ideas for Valentine's day here.

Valentine's Day is a fun holiday, but I don't want to fill my home with lots of pink and red hearts. This natural colored heart banner was just what I needed! But, make your own version by adding hearts of different sizes, pink hearts, red hearts, faux pom-poms, or wooden beads!

To print the tutorial, go to the end of this post.

Materials for Valentine's Heart Banner

Cotton string, yarn, and/or jute twine
X-ACTO Knife or scissors
Cutting mat if using X-ACTO knife
Cardboard (a box would work great - that's what I used!)
Heart stencil to trace onto cardboard. I found an image of a heart online, printed it (measured 5 inches tall and 5 inches at the widest point). But a cookie cutter would also work as a stencil.
Large needle or bobby pin to thread the string for the banner.

Tutorial for DIY Yarn Heart Garland

The first step is to gather your other supplies. Choose whatever string or yarn you'd like. I used a natural cotton string, a piece of twine, and gray yarn. Then my Valentine's garland will blend in with the rest of my winter decor if I leave it up past the holiday.

You could also use a chunky yarn for a fuller shaped heart!

I used string to make a cute Valentine's yarn heart card. That's a perfect Valentine craft a child could make!

Make a Heart Stencil

Create a heart stencil by printing clip art of a heart in the size you prefer. I found free clip art online. My heart size was 5" x 5", but you can choose a larger heart if you prefer.

Sharp scissors would work fine for cutting out your hearts, but the X-ACTO knife was really fast and easy.

Trace the heart stencil onto your cardboard. Then, cut out each heart. I made 5 hearts, but you could make more if you'd like a fuller banner.

Collage of supplies needed for yarn heart garland as well as tracing cardboard heart.

Related: Valentine's Tic Tac Toe Bag

Wrap the Yarn Around the Heart

Tie a knot at the end of the yarn. Wrap yarn around the heart cardboard cutout in different directions. You might find it helpful to use a piece of tape, a small dot of glue with a hot glue gun, or glue stick to secure the string to the back of the heart before you begin.

You will need A LOT of wrapped yarn to cover the entire heart. After the heart is sufficiently covered, cut your string and tie a knot on the backside of the heart and you are ready to begin on the next heart.

Each heart should use enough yarn to cover your cardboard cutout. When in doubt, use a little extra yarn so you have enough layers of yarn to hide the cardboard.

Wrapping white yarn around cardboard cut out to make yarn wrapped heart for garland.

Create the Valentine's Garland

Cut a piece of jute twine the length you'd like your banner. Six feet worked for the length of my mantel.

The easiest way to thread the string in the top of the heart is by using a large needle or even a bobby pin to thread the twine through the backside of each of the hearts.

Using large needle to thread twine through yarn wrapped hearts when making Valentine garland.

Strands of yarn would also work to string your hearts together if you do not have twine. I always prefer to use supplies I have at home and save a trip to the craft store for another day. No need to add additional cost!

These are so much fun in the living room on the mantel or even a young kids bedroom. Either way, this cute garland is the perfect craft to add a little bit of fun and refresh living room or any other space.

Hearts covered in yarn in various neutral colors hanging on string garland on wood mantle.

The good news is no sewing machine was required for this fun project!

TIP: I use blue painter's tape to hang my banner! I use this a lot for hanging lightweight items. Most people can't see the tape and it doesn't cause any damage when removed.

What are some different ways you decorate for Valentine's Day?

FAQs

How do you make a heart wrapped yarn?

Use a stencil to create cardboard heart shaped cutouts. Then wrap yarn in different directions around the heart to completely cover the cardboard. This will create a yarn wrapped heart for Valentine's home decor.

How do you cut a heart shape?

To cut a perfect heart shape, use a stencil created by tracing clip art or a heart shape cookie cutter. Then use an exacto knife or sharp scissors to cut out the heart.

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Yield: 1 yarn heart garland