How to Make a Heart Cut Out in a Dress

Make a midriff heart cutout for a sexy embellishment.

Add a little pizzazz to a plain dress with a large or small heart cutout. Cut out the entire back of a dress in a heart shape to show a bit of skin, or make tiny heart-shaped cutouts down the sleeve of a dress and sew a lace fabric behind the cutout. Get even more creative, and glue on a border of imitation gemstones or rhinestones all the way around the heart for a bejeweled creation.

Things You'll Need

• Dress
• Heart stencil (optional)
• Cardboard or poster board
• Straight pins
• Wash-off fabric pen or pencil
• Small, sharp scissors
• Sewing machine
• Lace fabric

Instructions

1. Lay the dress on your work surface and choose the size and location of the heart cutout. The heart cutout should not be located over top of any seams.

2. Use a stencil to trace a heart shape onto a piece of cardboard or poster board. Cut out the heart shape from the cardboard. The actual heart cutout on the dress will end up about 1/4-inch larger than the cardboard cutout.

3. Place the cardboard or poster board heart on the dress and pin it in place with straight pins. Trace around the heart with a wash-off fabric pen or pencil.

4. Use a pair of small, sharp scissors to cut out the heart shape from the dress. Discard the heart cutout, or use it as part of another craft project.

5. Make a small slit at the bottom point and the top center of the heart. Fold about 1/4-inch of fabric inward all the way around the heart and insert pins to keep the fabric in place.

6. Sew a running stitch all the way around the heart to secure the folded edges.

7. Cut out the lace for the heart cutout backing. Make the lace the same heart shape, about 1/4-inch larger than the cutout on the dress.

8. Turn the dress inside out, and pin the lace around the heart cutout.

9. Sew a running stitch all the way around to attach the lace to the dress. You are sewing through the folded fabric of the dress. Sew through just one layer of the folded fabric to prevent the thread from showing on the good side of the dress.

References

• "Rip It!: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams"; Elissa K. Meyrich; 2006
• "Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt"; Megan Nicolay; 2006