Happy New Year

After being asked all last year to start a blog, I am attempting it.  We will see how it goes.

Let me start with a project that I did last year.  I had broken a toe, just that dreaded pinky, and it wouldn't heal properly.  The doctor said to get off the foot for four weeks and stay off of it.  What to do, I had no intentions of just sitting and being a couch potato for four weeks...

I have no grandkids at this time, but I do have a great niece and two great nephews that often come over for a day or two at a time.  Play food made out of felt, sounds like fun, and I can do it laying back in the recliner.  On the way home, I went by the sewing store and got some inexpensive felt.  I got about 1/2 a yard of about ten different colors, it didn't hurt any that it was on sale for 50% off.

Oh what fun.  The long and short of it is that I did a ton of play food and had fun doing it.  Entered a plateful of it at the Texas State Fair in the fall and won a third place ribbon in the felt category.  Wow!  What a surprise.  There are lots of patterns out there on the web for making play food out of felt, but I just pretty much drew out a rough sketch and winged it.  Let's take a look at each picture below and do a breakdown.

The butter tabs are just little yellow squares sewn together.  The syrup is wiggly blobs stitched together.  The stitch used on everything is just a simple blanket stitch unless I tell you otherwise.   Pancakes are a top and bottom and then a lighter shade that goes all the way around for the thickness of the cake.  Be sure to cut out five or six layers of felt to stack inside for the stuffing.  This stacking technique is also used to make the sliced bread later.  The pop tarts are made with just one extra layer inside, and be sure to add little stitches to make the little sprinkle marks.  The donuts are done on machine and I would suggest you either find a tutorial or skip them, not all that great in person and very hard to stuff.  Bacon is just a two dark middle layers and then the fatty lighter colors are stitched on, but be sure to do a running stitch through it so that it ripples like real bacon.  The eggs are a white yolk, cut a circle and blanket stitch all around, turn over and clip a seam in the back to stuff it, slip stitch it shut.  Take another layer of white and sew to the back of the eggs.

Hopefully all this is starting to actually make some sense to you.  The mayo, catchup, mustard, and American cheese are all done the same way, two layers just blanket stitch together.  Lettuce is two layers together and then you do some veins in the center area to make it ruffle.  Pickles are circles with little seeds in the center.  Beef patties are stuffed and then some stitches through the center to make it look all rippled.  Put seeds on your bun before you sew it together, stuff the top and just do layers of felt for the bottom.

You should be able to look at this photo and understand what to do.  The bread is darker around the edges.  There is mayo, mustard, more lettuce, American cheese, Swiss cheese (be sure to stitch the holes also), peanut butter, and grape jelly.  Oh, the chips...take two large chunks of the fabric, lay on top of each other and stitch 1/4" lines all across the entire length and width of the felt.  Don't worry about back stitching or tying off knots.  Freehand cut some ovals, those are now your chips.  Too easy, right?

Wedges of any fruit is a part of a circle and then the skin area, strawberries are a circle with a wedge cut out, bananas and kiwi are just circles.  You might find it easier to actually cut up an apple and trace the pcs and use them for sewing.  Don't forget all the tiny seeds.

The picture below, my steak is just a bone stitched on the meat, several thicknesses of felt for the stuffing, lay them flat just like before and stitch the sides on.  The green beans are just long strips that I rolled up and then took a seam down the side.  So now, how easy was all of that!  Let me know what you think, and if you make some play food, be sure to send me your photos.  Please do not use this as a money maker, I am posting it out there for free, not for any one persons gain.

Oh what fun.  The long and short of it is that I did a ton of play food and had fun doing it.  Entered a plateful of it at the Texas State Fair in the fall and won a third place ribbon in the felt category.  Wow!  What a surprise.  There are lots of patterns out there on the web for making play food out of felt, but I just pretty much drew out a rough sketch and winged it.  I hope that you have enjoyed this, and I will try to blog once a week.  Be sure to bookmark me and check in next week when I write about gaining storage with an old piece of luggage.