Make cross stitched felt heart plushies with custom words like XOXO, HUG, and KISS. Simple blanket stitch project that takes under 30 minutes per heart.
Tiny felt hearts with cross stitched words on them hit different as gifts. These cross stitch heart plushies combine basic embroidery with simple sewing to create a personalized Valentine’s Day keepsake in under 30 minutes.
Each heart is about palm sized, stuffed with cotton, and finished with a blanket stitch border. We made three patterns for this tutorial (XOXO, HUG, and KISS), but you can design any short word or symbol that fits.
Project Specifications
- Difficulty Level: Beginner-friendly (basic cross stitch and blanket stitch only)
- Cost: Under $5
- Time: 15-30 minutes per heart
- Ages: 10+ (involves needle and thread)
- Perfect For: Valentine’s Day gifts, classroom exchanges, handmade card toppers, ornament keepsakes
What You’ll Need
- Felt sheets, any color (stiff craft felt works best for holding the stitches)
- Heart template (draw your own or print one, about 3-4 inches wide)
- Embroidery floss in a contrasting color
- Tapestry needle (blunt tip, large eye)
- Regular sewing needle and thread (for the blanket stitch border)
- Cotton stuffing or polyester fiberfill
- Pencil or pen (for marking stitch points)
- Scissors
Step by Step Instruction to Make Felt Heart Plush
Step 1: Cut Out the Heart Pieces and Plan Your Pattern
Create a heart template on paper or print one out. Place the template on your felt and trace around it with a pencil. Cut out 2 heart pieces for each plush you want to make.
On a separate piece of paper, trace the heart template and mark the area where you want the cross stitching to go. Sketch out your letter pattern inside that space. We’re walking through the XOXO pattern here, but this same process works for HUG, KISS, or any short word.
Step 2: Mark the Stitch Points on the Felt
We made three cross stitch patterns for this project: XOXO, HUG, and KISS. Pick the word you want to stitch and use a pencil to lightly mark each stitch point on the front of one felt heart piece.
Space the dots evenly so your letters come out clean. These marks are your grid, and they don’t need to be perfect since the felt will hide any pencil lines once the floss covers them.
Step 3: Cross Stitch the Letters onto the Felt
Thread the tapestry needle with embroidery floss and tie a small knot at the end. Push the needle through from the back of the felt at any starting point along the bottom of your first letter.
Hold about half an inch of thread at the back while making the first stitch. For the “X,” start at the bottom left point and bring the needle up, then cross diagonally to the top right. Come back up at the top left and cross down to the bottom right to complete the X shape. Move straight to the next letter by bringing the needle up at its first stitch point.
For the “O,” stitch any two parallel sides first, then cross stitch the other two sides to complete it. Repeat this for the rest of the word.
Tip: If your letters look uneven, it’s almost always a spacing issue. Go slow on the first letter and use it as your size reference for the rest.
Step 4: Stitch the Remaining Patterns
Use the same technique to cross stitch the other heart pieces with HUG and KISS (or whichever words you chose). The process is identical for every pattern.
Just follow your pencil marks and keep the stitch tension consistent across all the hearts. This is the same kind of basic cross stitch used in our felt owl plush tutorial for the facial details, so if you’ve done that one before, you already know the rhythm.
Step 5: Stitch the Hearts Together and Stuff
Place the plain felt heart underneath the stitched one, lining up the edges. Thread a regular sewing needle with matching thread and start doing flat blanket stitches around the outside edge to join both pieces.
Leave a small opening (about an inch) before you finish stitching all the way around. Push cotton stuffing through that gap until the heart feels full and holds its shape without being overstuffed. A pencil eraser works great for pushing stuffing into the pointed bottom of the heart.
Stitch the opening closed, tie two knots on the inside, and trim the extra thread.
Tip: Don’t overstuff. You want the heart to have a soft, squeezable feel, not a rock-hard one. If the felt is bulging at the seams, pull some stuffing back out. It’s similar to the stuffing technique we use for our felt bunny plush . Small amounts at a time gives you the best control.
Your Finished Cross Stitch Heart Plushies
These little hearts look great on their own, tucked into a gift box, or attached to a Valentine’s Day card with a small safety pin or ribbon loop. Make a set of three with XOXO, HUG, and KISS for a complete gift, or stitch someone’s initials for something more personal.
They also work as pincushions, ornaments, or bag charms if you add a small loop of ribbon at the top before stitching the hearts closed.
Looking for more Valentine’s crafts across different styles? Our heart string art tutorial makes a great companion wall piece, and a handmade string art heart card pairs perfectly if you want the full handmade Valentine’s package.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular sewing thread instead of embroidery floss for the cross stitch?
You can, but embroidery floss is thicker and shows up much better against the felt. Regular thread tends to disappear, especially on darker colors. If sewing thread is all you have, double or triple it up before stitching.
What size should the heart template be?
Somewhere between 3 and 4 inches wide works best. Smaller than 3 inches and there’s not enough room for the letters. Bigger than 4 inches and the cross stitch can look sparse unless you scale up the letter size too.
Can kids make these heart plushies?
Yes, for kids around 10 and up who are comfortable using a needle and thread. Younger kids can help with tracing, cutting the felt, and stuffing, while an adult handles the stitching. It’s a solid project for practicing basic embroidery skills in a low-pressure way.
