VALENTINE’S DAY 2025 MYSTERY SEW ALONG – WEEK ONE

Welcome to Week 1 of our Valentine’s Day 2025 MYSTERY SEW ALONG!

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SCHEDULE

This week, you will be making (13) heart blocks that will later be joined with a few more units for your final blocks.

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FABRIC PULL TIPS

If you read carefully through the INTRODUCTORY BLOG POST, you will be able to find lots of info about what kinds of fabric you might want for each portion of the project, as well as total fabric requirements. Here are a few [more specific] helpful hints…

MAIN BLOCKS:

  • You will want either a single red print -or- several prints to create scrappy hearts. I would keep these fairly small prints like dots, ginghams, checks, small flowers. I would not choose any large or over-scaled prints as you will lose your blocks a bit.
  • You will then want a coordinating small red print for the secondary print. You could also go dark coral on this one and I think that would look great.
    • NOTE: A few of you have asked if you can use an alternate color scheme… and of course you can! Who says your hearts can’t be grey, or green, or blue?!
  • For the main block backgrounds, I would recommend a set of true low volumes. What I mean by this, is cream and ivory prints that have just “a little bit going on” but not a lot. So small dots, small geometrics, tonal florals, tiny stripes… basically anything that still reads as ivory with just a tiny bit of accent. If you were to use busier ivory prints in this location, I feel like they would compete with the reds, and you might lose the shape of your heart a bit.

ACCENT BLOCKS:

  • You will want several soft pink or fabrics that “read” soft pink for this section. When I say “read”, that means that if you squint and look at the stack of fabric, your eye will see soft pinks. So sometimes a cream fabric with a lot of red lines on it [thinking of thin closely spaced stripes or windowpane crosshatch here], still reads pink when you look at it while squinting.
  • Here you can definitely use “busier” creams and ivory backgrounds as these will be in the alternate blocks and could use a bit of life. You could use medium florals here or prints that are cream that have pink or red motifs in them. You will be able to see how these play in as you are making them in a future week!

I have seen many great fabric pulls, but don’t worry too much about the whole quilt right up front. We will be taking it one step at a time and watching it grow together! Adjusting fabrics as you go is always a good idea anyway, and something I do every single time I design a quilt.

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ASSUMPTIONS

  • We use MODA fabrics exclusively around here, so we safely assume 42″ width of useable fabric. If you are using wovens or other fabrics, make sure you have 42″ of useable fabric or just make sure you have a bit more fabric to work with, just in case you need extra yardage if you are short.
  • We sew with a ¼” seam allowance and assume that it is accurate. We get a lot of questions about whether or not it is scant or not, so I just wanted to mention that we are careful but not scant.
  • If you are a newer quilter and have never used the SEW & FLIP METHOD, you will find the info on any of our regular Fig Tree patterns. Or CLICK HERE for a previous blog post outlining the steps.
    • For the SEW & FLIP METHOD, you will need to either draw or press your sew line on the squares you are “flipping out”. If marking, you can use a pencil since it is on the back side or a Frixion [or other heat erase] pen. Again, since it is on the backside of the fabric, I don’t worry too much about anything showing and I always use a FRIXION PEN if I am marking. I do also love the pressing method since its faster and if you have sewn with the SEW & FLIP technique before, pressing might be a good way to go.
    • Whenever you are using the SEW & FLIP METHOD, you want to carefully sew right on your drawn or pressed line -OR- even a thread or two to the “outside” of your line [the outside would always be toward the direction you are eventually flipping out. On these hearts, it would be to the outside of the heart block]. So this would give your fabric a tiny bit more wiggle room to “flip out” and meet the background on the corner.

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WEEK 1

We are providing you instructions in TWO ways – both right here on the blog, as well as a downloadable PDF if you prefer a print-out (click below).

**DOWNLOAD THE VALENTINE’S MYSTERY SEW ALONG:
WEEK 1 INSTRUCTIONS HERE!**

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CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

From your main block fabrics:

  • From red print [or a mix of red prints if you want to go scrappy*]:
    • Cut (2) 6 1/2″ strips. Cut (22) 3 1/2″” x 6 1/2” rectangles [a].
    • Cut (1) 3 1/2″ strip. Cut (4) more 3 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ rectangles [a] for (26) total pieces [a].
      • *NOTE: You will need (26) total [a] rectangles to create (13) heart blocks, so be sure to have an equal amount of “pairs” if you are mixing your red prints.

  • From each of (6) cream prints [soft, low volumes]:
    • Cut (1) 3 ½” strip. Cut (5) 3 ½” squares [b]*. Save the remainder of the strip for future week.
    • Cut (1) 1 ½” strip. Cut (9) 1 ½” squares [c]*.
      • *NOTE: Due to the scrappy nature of this pattern, you will have a few extra of each of these cut pieces to mix and match to your preference.

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HEART PIECING INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Using [a/b/c] and the SEW & FLIP method, add (1) square [b] to the bottom left corner of [a] as shown. Add (2) [c] squares to both top corners as shown. Make (1) Unit #1 per block. Press out.

Step 2: Repeat the same process as in Step 1 to make (1) mirror image, Unit #1a for the other side of the heart.

Step 3: Join Unit #1 and Unit #1a to create your heart shape. Press open.

Make (13) hearts. Hearts will measure 6 ½” x 6 ½”.

NOTE: If using (2) coordinating prints, your hearts will show with two halves [right image].

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NEXT WEEK

See you back here next week! Don’t forget to join our FACEBOOK GROUP and share your progress!

Happy Sewing,

-Joanna

About The Author

joanna@figtreequilts.com

25 COMMENTS

  1. Frances | 15th Jan 25

    Valentines is one of my favorite thing. I can’t even imagine not making them. So let’s get sewing and enjoy this season with lovely friends and hearts everywhere ❤️

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      Let’s do it!

  2. Carol Miller | 15th Jan 25

    Joanna thank you so much for giving us this free Valentine’s mystery pattern… I’m so excited to sew along!!! ❤️❤️❤️

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      So glad you are joining us!

  3. Rene Chilcote | 15th Jan 25

    Wow what a pleasant surprise!❤️ I love Valentine
    projects!! Gonna get started ASAP!! Thank you so
    much for the free pattern!❤️

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      Happy Sewing!

  4. MARIA ELENA BLECHA | 15th Jan 25

    Am soo excited, just got done cutting all my hearts and marking them, now to sewing!!!

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      Sounds like you are well on your way!

  5. Anita | 15th Jan 25

    Thank you for making a printable off and offering this free sew along! Love hearts and everything figgy so win win!

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      You are so welcome. Hope you enjoy!

  6. New Fabric Collections & Quilt Kits – Bella Rose Quilts Blog | 16th Jan 25

    […] SHOP THE VALENTINES TABLE RUNNER BUNDLE HERE → CHECK OUT THE FIG TREE & CO. BLOG FOR SEW ALONG DETAILS HERE → […]

  7. Corinne Planthaber | 16th Jan 25

    I can’t seem to download the printable pattern for the 2025 Valentine’s Mystery Quilt. Can you please tell me if there is something wrong?

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 16th Jan 25

      Nothing is wrong. You might dry a different device or a different browser? Good luck!

  8. BJ | 17th Jan 25

    Thank you for the printable pattern but it will not download. I love valentine heart quilts.

  9. Jeanne | 17th Jan 25

    I love Valentine’s Day! It is the only time of the year when we get out all the pinks and reds. I also love that these posts are coming out on Wednesday – what a great mid-week thing to look forward to!

  10. Deb | 18th Jan 25

    This is lovely! I actually dislike heart quilts normally (yes, I’m odd that way) but this sounds very appealing to me. Thank you for sharing that you don’t usually like hearts either — I feel a bit more normal! I will enjoy this very much, I think, and have a TON of scraps I can use to make this, so a win on several levels. Thanks so much for going to all the trouble and work to put this together for us — we appreciate it!

  11. Theresa Skrabanek | 19th Jan 25

    Thanks!

  12. Karee Sowards | 20th Jan 25

    Thank you! Love your patterns.

  13. Bev Williams | 23rd Jan 25

    Hi, can’t wait to start, however, I am not finding the total fabric requirements, can you help?

  14. Rhonda Pennington | 26th Jan 25

    Thank you! This looks like so much fun! I am a new to the sewing world. Could you tell me how much fabric is needed for each color.
    Rhonda Pennington

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 30th Jan 25

      It is all in the INTRO POST to the Sew Along! Thanks so much for joining us.

  15. Penny Denise | 30th Jan 25

    I wish you had stated in the very beginning that it would be best to read the BLOG before beginning this quilt. I love doing it but really the blog helps so much better than just reading the instructions. I am not a quilters but a sewer/sewist and just didn’t get it what to do really; like the cut a strip 6&1/2″ and I had no idea that it would be by the WOF, Width Of Fabric. That really threw me for a spin. Thank you.

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 30th Jan 25

      I am not sure how to help with this? The only way to get the information for this SEW ALONG is to the read the blog… the whole Sew Along is based on the blog 🙂
      Hope you found what you are looking for!

  16. Diane | 5th Feb 25

    Hi ,
    Am I allowed to make this heart quilt? Or is it a pay as you go kit?
    Thank you
    Diane Pretak

    • joanna@figtreequilts.com | 6th Feb 25

      Open to all, no payments at all. Enjoy

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