There's something just plain irresistable about felt food- its bright yummy colors, its soft, squeezable texture, its sometimes wacky shapes... or just that it can look good enough to eat!

Whatever it is that we find so irresistable, it turns out that a lot of others think so, too. Over the last couple of years, felt food has become one of the most popular craft projects for adults and one of the hottest crafts for kids.

Why Felt?

Unlike other craft fabrics such as leather and paper, felt fabric is flexible, soft and substantial, so lends itself to all kinds of shapes and sizes. From cute and compact fortune cookies and cupcakes, to pizza, tacos, sushi, burgers, fruit and vegetables, felt can do the job. Felt food projects are also easy to get started with because at the beginner level, there are no complex instructions, and glue and sewing are not required. Not only that, but felt foods don’t have to be perfectly shaped or perfectly smooth to look right - a bumpy apple or misshapen carrot looks even more authentic.

There are a remarkable numbers of amazing craft projects devoted to felt food at sites like Etsy.com , but to get started, read on for a few simple to advanced patterns!

Pizza

Super-simple felt food project

Materials:

1. Felt fabric – sheets and scraps (various colors)
2. Sewing needle and thread (various colors)
3. Scissors
4. Fabric pens

Method:
1. Cut a 7-8” circle out of a piece of beige or light brown felt fabric, to use as the base.
2. Cut a 5-6” circle out of red or maroon fabric, to use as the sauce.
3. Use a needle and thread to loosely attach the “sauce” to the “base”.
4. Ask your child what toppings they would like on their pizza, and select corresponding colors of felt together: green felt for spinach, yellow for cheese, red for capsicum, gray for mushrooms, black felt for bits of pepper, etc.
5. Cut small shapes out of felt fabric scraps to create your “toppings”.
6. Use a needle and thread to sew each “topping” to the pizza; a few threads in the centre of each topping should be enough to secure each piece to the pizza base.
7. Use a fabric pen to add “herbs and spices” to the pizza topping.

Cookies

Easy felt food project

Materials:

1. Felt fabric – sheets and scraps (various colors)
2. Sewing needle and thread (various colors)
3. Scissors
4. Cup, jar or lid (for tracing)
5. Quilt batting

Method:
1. Choose your color combination: a chocolate cookie with pink sprinkles = dark brown felt fabric with pink thread, while a vanilla cookie with rainbow sprinkles = cream felt fabric with blue, pink and yellow thread.
2. Trace around your cup or lid to create two circle shapes.
3. Use the scissors to cut the circles out of the felt fabric.
4. Thread a needle, and tie a knot in one end.
5. Take one piece of circular felt, and randomly thread back and forth through the felt to create small “sprinkles” on one side.
6. Repeat this process with 2-4 colors of thread, depending on how many sprinkles you’d like!
7. Place a small amount of quilt batting between your two circles of felt, to create a cushy centre.
8. Sew around the cookie, using a sewing machine or needle and thread. Trim the edges to neaten up.

Big Breakfast

Advanced felt food project

Materials:

1. Felt fabric – sheets and scraps (various colors)
2. Sewing needle and thread (various colors)
3. Sewing machine
4. Scissors
5. Quilt batting

Method:

1. Eggs: fold a piece of white felt fabric in half, and cut two matching free-form white egg shapes out.
2. Cut one small circle from yellow or orange felt.
3. Use the sewing machine to attach the yolk to one white shape.
4. Place the two egg whites together, yolk side facing out, and add a small amount of quilt batting between them.
5. Sew the egg whites together.

1. Bread: cut two white or cream-colored square bread shapes from felt. 
2. Cut a length of 1” strip of brown felt for the crust. 
3. Attach the crust strip to one side of the bread using a sewing machine, then attach the other side, ensuring you leave a space for turning and stuffing.
4. Insert 3-4 layers of quilt batting.
5. Hand-stitch the remaining crust to close the opening.

1. Bacon: Cut one piece of dark brown felt into a long “bacon” shape, and cut a thinner piece of light brown felt into a similar shape.
2. Attach the smaller, light brown fabric to the centre of the larger dark brown felt.
3. Cut a few small strips of “fat” from cream felt fabric.
4. Sew the “fat” into the center of the bacon.
5. Repeat to create a few strips of bacon.

Sarah Megginson is a writer and journalist who loves to unleash her inner craftie at every given opportunity. She’s a chronic hoarder, so her craft box is overflowing with felts, fabrics, paints, crayons and beads of every shape and size. She hopes that this article written for Onlinefabricstore.net, will encourage parents and young crafters to create projects together that are fun to make, and even funner to play with!