Use a couple of handkerchieves to turn a cozy sweater into a work of heart

A big, warm, fuzzy sweater is going to be your best friend this time of year. Finding one that fits at a thrift store can be a great success, but if you feel like going the extra mile, try dressing it up with a few patches made from old handkerchiefs.

You don't need to know much about sewing or fashion in order to make this lovely piece, and it's something you can do easily on a rainy — or snowy — afternoon. And the next time one of these days comes up, you can throw on your lovely, personalized sweater, and curl up in front of the fire with a good book.

Materials
- Three handkerchiefs with cute designs (It looks nice if the two you use on the sleeves match.)
- Large, cozy sweater in a solid color
- Heart-shaped cutout of cardboard
- Scissors
- Thick thread in an exciting or stylish color (We used pink.)
- Pencil
- Chalk
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Fabric adhesive
- Popsicle sticks
- Needle

1. Lay out the first of your handkerchiefs on a smooth, dry surface. Using a heart-shaped cutout of a piece of cardboard as your guide, place the heart on top of the handkerchief, and trace around it with a pencil. Then cut the heart out of the handkerchief with a pair of scissors.

2. Use the same cardboard heart to trace the shape onto another handkerchief, placing a third that matches the second underneath. If these handkerchiefs have a dark pattern, like the ones we used, you may want to use chalk to trace the line. Then cut heart shapes out both handkerchiefs by keeping them stacked while cutting.

3. Use an ironing board and iron to iron out the handkerchief patches so they are flat and neat. Stack all three hearts on top of one another, and set them aside.

4. Place the sweater on your work surface so that the arms are folded over the front of the garment and the backs of the arms are facing up. Making sure the point of the heart is facing the bottom of the sleeve, use fabric adhesive to glue the first of the two matching hearts to the back of the left sleeve. Place a line of adhesive onto the patch, then smooth it out with a popsicle stick. Press the patch down onto the sweater where you have placed the glue, and continue to do this all the way around the patch until the whole thing is glued down. Once you've glued most of the patch down, you can use a new popsicle stick to smooth out the glue by pressing down on top of the patch.

5. Use a thick, colorful thread on a large needle to stitch all the way around the heart patch in order to reinforce the glue and keep it from peeling off. Once you have finished stitching all the way around the heart, turn the sleeve inside out, and tie a knot in the thread. Cut off the excess thread with scissors.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the right sleeve with the other handkerchief patch that matches the one on the left sleeve.

7. Unfold the sleeves, so you are looking at the front of the sweater. Place the third heart patch on the right side of the sweater. (It will be the left side when you are wearing it.) Use the glue and popsicle stick technique to affix the third heart patch to the sweater, and then stitch the third patch to the sweater as well.

Congratulations! You now have a beautiful, cozy sweater that's not only personalized, but also perfect for the upcoming winter weather.