From the Archives: Knitted Valentine's Day Garland

I posted about this knitted garland last year, and thought I'd dig it out from the vault to share again.  It was simple to make (probably took an evening or two) and looked lovely.  I ended up auctioning it off last year for a the Heart for Haiti relief effort, and just didn't get a chance to knit up another one this year, though I did knit a little heart or two just to have around.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Though I love holidays and decorating, we don't really go overboard here with decorations.  I like simple, homemade things that can be reused each year, and I adore garlands of all kinds.  While putting away the last of the Christmas decor, I realized that I don't have anything for Valentine's Day.
Not that it's a big holiday in our house (we almost never do anything anymore), but that blank space above the doorway was driving me nuts. I miss my recycled book paper garland!

So I decided to knit up a heart garland that I can pull out each year before V-Day.
I had lots of yarn remnants in pink and red from other projects, so it was a perfect way to use up those bits.
This garland would be equally cute in a girl's bedroom after celebrating St. Valentine.  The project requires basic knitting skills, but is very simple to whip up.

St. Valentine's Knitted Heart Garland
materials

• yarn in various shades of pink and red (any weight is fine, though your hearts will vary in size)
• knitting needles (I used size 6, but you could use any size you'd like to get the gauge you want)
• double pointed needles for making i-cord (again, whatever size you'd like, depending on how thick your yarn is or how thick you want the i-cord to be)
• yarn needle

Step 1
For making the hearts, cast on 3 stitches
Knit across those stitches.  On the next row, knit one stitch into the front, and one stitch into the back of the first stitch.
then knit the center stitch, and knit into the front and back of the last stitch.  You'll now have a total of 5 stitches.
Knit the next row.  Continue like this, knitting into the front and back of both the first and last stitch of every other row (knit the other rows) until you have a total of 17 stitches.
Step 2
When you have a total of 17 stitches, knit 10 rows even.
Step 3
Now you're going to divide the knitting into the two tops of the heart.  Knit 7 stitches, then K2Tog (knit 2 together).  Pull out a long piece of the yarn (like a yard) and cut it there.  Then reattach the yarn ball to the next stitch, and knit across.
You will have 2 sections now, which both have their own yarn.
Step 4
Knit across, making sure to keep each section separate with its own yarn.
Next row: SSK (slip first stitch onto right needle as if to knit, slip second stitch onto right needle as if to knit, put them both back on the left needle and knit them together), knit 4 stitches, then K2Tog.  Do the same for the other set of stitches on the needle (SSK, K4, K2Tog).
Knit the next row.
Next row: SSK, K2, K2Tog, SSK, K2, K2Tog.
Knit
Next row: SSK, K2Tog, SSK, K2Tog
Bind off.
That's your heart!
Weave in the bottom yarn, and save the top two for sewing onto the garland.
Step 5
Now onto knitting the cord for the garland.  This is called an i-cord, which looks like a knitted rope.
Pick up your double pointed needles and cast of 4 stitches in whatever color yarn you'd like.
Knit across, and instead of turning the work to purl, slide it back to the right side of the DPN and pick up the yarn around the back and start knitting again.  You're essentially making a long tube and knitting in the round.
Continue in this manner until you have as long of a cord as you need.  Mine was 45" long.  This was the most tedious part of the project. The hearts were much more fun to knit.
Step 6
Once your cord is done, bind off and sew in loose ends.  Then sew each heart onto the i-cord with a yarn needle, using the threads at the top of each heart.  Weave in or snip any loose threads.

Hang and enjoy!

You could also make individual hearts and hang them as ornaments throughout your home.
It's a bit addicting!  For a cute crocheted heart garland (I need to learn how to crochet), check out Skip to My Lou's post.