Applique a Day: simple heart

Appliques can add an element of whimsy to a standard garment or accessory. I enjoy creating these fun add ons and then sewing them to projects that match their personalities. Patterns for appliques can be simple, like the heart featured here, or highly complex pieces of art and design. 
My daughter loves hearts, especially pink or shiny hearts, so this shape just makes sense to add to my line-up. Since creating this shape requires both basic and intermediate crochet stitches to complete its a great way to work on your skills in a quick project. 
To complete this applique, you will need a small amount of yarn and a crochet hook sized appropriately for the yarn. Remember that the weight of the yarn and the size of your hook will determine the size of the finished applique. It is important to leave a long tail for sewing the applique to your project. 

To begin, make magic circle. 
Then, in circle, chain 2, 2dc, 2hdc, sc picot sc, 2hdc, 2dc, chain 2 ss in circle, ch 1 join with ss to top of chain 2.
Tighten magic circle and finish off your yarn.

I recommend weaving the end of the tail into the next stitch to secure the shape. 

There are plenty of variations of hearts available on both Pinterest and Ravelry.com that will bring you hours of fun and add plenty of creative spirit to your projects.