Create a sweet Valentine’s Day Mailbox made from felt! Perfect for holding valentines and cards or even sweet treats and small gifts! Check out the DIY tutorial to create your own!
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Hello Crafty friends! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and I am excited to share with you this felt mailbox tutorial! As a kid, I loved Valentine’s Day – we got to make adorable Valentines for all of our friends and eat pink cupcakes – what’s not to love!?
I decided this year it would be really cute to make my little one a Valentine’s Day mailbox to collect his Valentines in. Of course he is not old enough to be getting Valentines from school friends or making his own, but my family loves to send cards in the mail. Honestly, he has just been having a blast carrying it around and putting his toys in it! Whatever keeps him occupied during these cold months is a win for me!
The mailbox is made from felt which is fun and easy to work with since you don’t have to worry about raw edges. The tutorial is below so you can make your own! It is meant to hang on a doorknob but would also make an adorable Valentine’s Day purse!
DIY Valentine’s Day Mailbox
Supplies Needed:
- Red and grey felt – 4 sheets each plus scraps for decorations
- Fusible interfacing like Thermoweb Heat and Bond Lite or Wonder Under Fusible Web
- 1.5″ Red grosgrain ribbon for handle
- Velcro – I used this red velcro pack from Babyville Boutique but white works too!
- White and pink felt – scraps for decoration
- Felt alphabet stickers (found in the felt section at Joann Fabrics)
- Red, pink, or white embroidery threads for decoration
- Ruler, scissors, Pinking Shears, thread
Step by Step Tutorial
Step One: Cut out the pattern from the red felt.
The dimensions for the 6 pieces are listed below. You can create paper patterns to use from the dimensions or go ahead and just cut them out of the red felt using a ruler.
- Back Piece: 8″ x 10.5″
- Front Piece: 8″ x 10″
- Flap Piece: 7″ x 8″
- Bottom Piece: 3.5″ x 8″
- 2 Side Pieces: 3.5″ x 10″
Step Two: Add a second layer of felt to each of the red pieces to make them thicker and stiffer.
I decided to make my felt pieces thicker by adhering them to another layer of felt; in this case grey felt. To keep the two layers together I used Wonder Under, fusible web interfacing, which also helped to stiffen the pieces.
First, iron the back side of the red felt pieces to the fusible web interfacing and let them cool. Peel the paper backing off and adhere the red felt to the gray felt. I happened to have a large piece of grey yardage left over from another project. After the pieces are adhered together, cut all of the pieces out. You will now have 6 pieces that are all two layers thick.
Step Three: Sew the bag together starting with the sides and bottom of the bag.
Keep right sides together and stitch with a 1/2″ seam allowance. My right sides are the red felt, the inside of the bag will be gray. Press seams open.
Next, finish off the tops of the side pieces and front piece by top stitching two rows close to the top. The felt does not need to be turned under like you would fabric, but you will want this stitching to keep the layers together and it helps keep the pieces from stretching out.
Step Four: Attach the front to the back of the bag.
Keep right sides together and stitch with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Start with one of the side seams and stitch with the side piece on top of the front piece. Keeping the side piece on top will let you see when to stop stitching. Stop stitching when you hit the seam of the side and bottom piece connecting. Stop and back stitch.
Clip the seam allowance to the new perpendicular seam line. Then rotate your pieces so you are now sewing the along the bottom of the front piece. Clipping allows you to rotate your fabric pieces.
Begin sewing at your seam line. Again, sew until you hit the next seam. Clip your seam and rotate the fabric so you can sew along the last to the top of the bag.
Flip the bag over and double check your seam lines all match up. Since we are sewing through four layers of felt you may need to go in and connect any gaps.
Step Five: Add the back of the bag and flap.
With right sides together, sew the flap to the top of your back piece. Press the seam allowance towards the back piece and top stitch it down. This just makes the inside of your mailbox neater.
Use the exact same method as you did for sewing the front piece. Keep the side/bottom pieces on top and do one seam at a time, stopping to clip so you can rotate the pieces.
Step Six: Finish the flap.
You will need to resolve the flap – if you lay your bag with the back facing up and the flap out, you will see the flap is wider than the back – go ahead and trim the extra off. Then using your machine, top stitch around the three flap edges to finish them off and keep the layers together.
Step Seven: Attach the ribbon strap.
My ribbon strap measures 17″ long. Make sure if you are gifting this bag to a child that they cannot fit their head through it. Attach each end of the ribbon to the sides of the bag. I placed the ribbon ends inside the bag and stitched from the right side. You could also hand sew this.
Step Eight: Add the velcro.
Add Velcro to keep the flap on the bag closed. I used red velcro (I bought this velcro pack for making bibs and have loved having colored Velcro for other projects), but white would be just fine. Stitch the rough side under the flap. Add the soft side to the front of the bag.
Step Nine: Decorate the front of the bag!
The best part! Decorate the front of the bag any way you’d like! I used felt letters to spell out mail and used pinking sheers to cut some of the felt to look like a stamp. I hand stitched my decorations on using embroidery floss. This step could be done before assembling the bag if you find that easier!
It is so adorable and so far quite durable since my little one has been using it to not only carry valentines but all the toys he can fit inside it! :)
If you’re looking for more fun Valentine’s Day-themed crafts, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Day craft page! Below are a few of my favorite Valentine crafts for kids :)
Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids
- Valentine’s Day Caterpillar
- Valentine’s Day Secret Decoder Wheel – free printables
- Love Bug Treat Boxes
- Love Bug Fingerprint Cards – free printables
