I have been wanting to make felt food for a while now. Last night (late) while surfing, I found some great patterns for felt food on Etsy. Jeanette at UmeCrafts has some great patterns available if you want to check them out. I wrote to her, asking what type of felt she recommends, and she said she uses mostly wool felt. After searching (surfing) a bit, I realized that wool felt is very pricey. However, one of the forums I found had a gal who suggested using 20% wool/80% rayon felt. She buys hers from Colonial Crafts. So, I checked it out and ordered several colors. It comes in 12 X 18 inch sheets, which is pretty big. And it's $1.50 per sheet, which is way cheaper than the 100% wool. I'm sure the 100% is great, but I also have to look at the economical side too.
Since I was very anxious to try out a pattern, I decided to jump in using some cheapo craft felt I had on hand. I have to say, it was really easy to work with. So I'll be interested in comparing it to the other stuff when I get my order. I bought three sets of patterns from Jeanette: the fruit, pizza, and ice cream cone. Tonight, I stitched up the cone. It went together VERY easily. And I found the hand-sewing to be very relaxing. I've added a photo below, but they are not great quality. As you know, my camera is giving me fits. And I DID talk to the Kodak guy on the phone today: outlook not good. The flash is broken and I will have to send it in. Before I do that, I'm going to check to see what a local camera repair shop can do. (Well, kind of local.........about a 45 minute drive away). Anyway, the repair bill (according to my Kodak friend on the phone) would be $110, so I'm thinking, "Should I just buy a new camera?" I've had this one less than 18 months, and it's frustrating that it has gone on the blink already. Sorry.........I digress. Here is the (kind of lousy) photo.
UGH! Sorry that photo is so dark. The cone turned out pretty cute, so I will definitely make some more. I am excited to try the felt pizza next. I'll leave you with one more link to a blog I found last night. This gal made some VERY cute felt food for her niece.
Oh, and FWIW, for a repair bill of $110, I think I would just buy a new camera. I guess it depends on how well you liked your camera before it started acting up. I really like my Canon!
Posted by: Tina | July 15, 2008 at 02:41 PM
I made my DS a whole set of wool felt play food for Christmas last year! I'll try to do a post on it soon on my blog. I buy my wool felt from Weir Dolls & Crafts. They have good prices. I did a combination of hand and machine sewing, but you could make everything by hand sewing, it's all so small and simple. I like to use embroidery floss instead of thread because it's stronger and more decorative. In general, I use a blanket stitch to stitch pieces together. But, it just depends on what you are making. There is a great tute on Craftster for making cupcakes (and lots of other things). I also just get inspiration from browsing other people's completed projects, either on Craftster or Flickr, or things for sale on Etsy.
Posted by: Tina | July 15, 2008 at 02:39 PM
The felt food is very cute! Were you planning on using it in the classroom or just for home? I once had a PL exercise of flipping pancakes, but I used carpet coasters for the pancakes. Felt pancakes would work much better! Of course, after the practice flipping we made real pancakes!
Posted by: Lindart | July 15, 2008 at 01:00 PM
Very Cute! My Easy Share camera is a piece of junk! We had to buy a new camera in May. I would just buy a new camera.
Posted by: Trisha | July 15, 2008 at 07:42 AM
i've wanted to do that for a while, though i don't really have time right now. i also don't have a machine and i'm not sure i'd remember how to use it anyway, especially on small stuff. so i would definitely have to hand sew. they're just so cute!
Posted by: maya | July 15, 2008 at 06:52 AM