Tic Tac Toe: 3 Hearts In a Row!

The sewing machine and I just recently became friends.  But I don't have a whole lot of patience.  I am a fan of quick, easy projects.  I dreamt this one up and knew I could handle it.   Here is what I did:


Let's start with the front.  I wanted a checker-board look to the front of the board.  I needed 9 squares, so I cut 4 white squares and 5 black squares and arranged them into a tic-tac-toe pattern.  

Then I cut 4 strips of fabric to line the 4 sides of the checkerboard.  

My seam allowance for the whole project was 1/4 inch.  I pinned the squares, right sides together, and sewed them together, a row at a time just like a quilt.  I learned the hard way that pressing your seams open is not optional.  So press your seams every step of the way!  (I guess the iron and I still need to make friends!)

Next, I pinned 2 of the strips to 2 sides of the checkerboard, right sides together.   Sew those together and cut off the ends of the strips so they are even with the checker board.

Now sew on the other two strips, and the front is done!  Don't forget to press open those pesky seams.

Then I cut out a square of fabric that was 12 1/2 inches by 12 1/2 inches.  This will be the back of the tic-tac-toe board.  I pinned this to the front, right sides together.  **It would be a cute idea to sew a little pocket on the back to hold the hearts.  I wish I would have thought of that before!**

Then I sewed up 3 sides of the square, leaving 1 entire side open and snipping corners.

The inside of the tic-tac-toe board is a foam board square.  I cut it 11 1/2 inches by 11 1/2 inches to be sure it would fit into the fabric cover, and it did.  Nice and snug!  Hooray!

The fourth side has to be sewn up by hand.  I did it last night while watching American Idol.  

There are so many cute things you could make for the tic-tac-toe pieces.  If I was a truly patient person, I would have done X's and O's.  Instead, I just did red and pink hearts.  I wanted them to be thick, so I cut out 5 pairs (10 total) of red hearts and 5 pairs (10 total) of pink hearts.  I used a 3-inch heart template to cut them.  I just pinned 2 hearts together, and stitched all the way around.  

Now play tic-tac-toe to your heart's delight!!  

Linking up to Creative Itch's Sew Cute Tuesdays

PS This was my first sewing tutorial, so leave me a comment if it does not make sense!