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When they finally appeared, many people thought they were unnecessary, impractical and even scandalous
We love making things from felt, it’s super-easy to stitch with and of course, it doesn’t fray! It’s great for making soft playthings for kids, too, and this little veggie garden is a wonderful project that you could make in an afternoon. The instructions and templates you need are listed below.
You will need:
- Small wooden fruit box: 28x18x10cm (11x7x4in), you can get small fruit boxes like this one from the greengrocer’s as they’re often used to store strawberries or cherries.
- Card
- Ink and paints
- Lettering and garden-themed stamps
- Vegetable templates
Materials
- Felt: Brown 30x75cm (12x30in)
- Felt: different coloured scraps for the fruit and veg
- Polyester fibrefill
- Stranded cotton to match felt
How to make felt vegetables
Step 1
Paint the box in earthy colours and letting it dry fully. Make a little garden sign with card and pretty stamps to decorate the box.
Step 2
To make the soil rolls, cut four 23x30cm (9x12in) rectangles from brown felt. Fold one rectangle in half widthways and stitch together along the long side. Turn right sides (RS) out and thread your needle with matching brown stranded cotton. Work a running stitch 1cm (3/8in) from the edge all the way around one end, then gently pull both ends of the thread to close it. Secure the thread to hold the gathers in place.
Step 3
Fill the roll with polyester fibrefill, then close the other end in the same way. Repeat this to make all the felt rolls, taking care not to overstuff them. Ensuring the decorated box is dry, fit the soil rolls inside.
Step 4
Trace the templates for the fruit, veg and leaves and cut them out.
Step 5
Starting with the vegetables, fold the coloured felt in half, pin the veg templates on top of each one and cut them out. Stitch the pairs of leaves together using blanket stitch around the edges. Using contrasting coloured stranded cotton, stitch the vegetables’ features using straight stitches as shown on the templates.
Step 6
Sew the front and back of each piece together by working blanket stitches around the edge, leaving the top open for now. Fill with polyester fibrefill. Push two stitched pairs of leaves into the top of the stuffed veg then sew the top closed, encasing the leaves inside.
Step 7
To make the strawberry, cut out an 8cm (3in) diameter semi-circle of red felt. Fold it in half and sew together. Turn RS out and fill it with polyester fibrefill, then sew the top shut in the same way as with the soil rolls in step 2. Attach the leaves by pushing them inside the gathers then stitching in place. Stitch a few yellow straight stitches to the outer sides to represent seeds.
Step 8
Push the fruit and veg between the rolls in rows, then you’re ready to play. We recommend you supervise little ones under 3 while they plant their gardens!
Bring playtime to life
Making felt vegetables is a fun, creative project that’s perfect for kids’ play kitchens, learning games, or imaginative play.
Sew some cute visitors
If you want some friendly animals to come and visit your vegetable patch, then you’ve come to the right place. We show you how to stitch a felt rabbit.
