Make your own playfood (felt)

[infomama]

Ran across this youtube video on how to make a felt pizza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo9PVO8gDFI&feature=related and linked to her website from it http://www.lillybeanmarket.com/.

Her kits are pretty reasonable (ex):
$15 for the breakfast kit http://www.lillybeanmarket.com/index.asp?item=KIT001
$10 for the christmas cookie kit http://www.lillybeanmarket.com/index.asp?item=MAKCRSTMAS)

Here is another link on how to make doughnuts http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/06/05/making-doughnuts/
and how to make fortune cookies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEWQTkMnDwM

they look fairly do-able even for a beginner (like me).

[deannanb]

Strawberries
http://ikatbag.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-strawberries-for-picking.html

cut-apart - carrots
http://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/felt-food-carrot-free-tutorial/

Lollipops
http://ikatbag.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-lollipops.html

http://www.oneprettything.com/?p=4188

[infomama]

Strawberries
http://ikatbag.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-strawberries-for-picking.html

cut-apart - carrots
http://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/felt-food-carrot-free-tutorial/

Lollipops
http://ikatbag.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-lollipops.html

http://www.oneprettything.com/?p=4188

Thanks for the additions!!

[larig]

here's a good one from craftster. the pictures she shows make it easy to see her construction. It is one of my favorite links for this stuff.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=222947.0

love the infinity bread (I think it's just a wire sewn in, don't you?) the bacon too.

And one with a pattern (bag of chips and a sandwich w/fixins) http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=284403.0

Toward the bottom of this page there is a list of links to patterns you can buy on etsy, for some of the more complicated stuff
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=299694.110

I can't wait to make this stuff. I'd love to have a party where I have lots of friends over and we do it assembly line style. or an exchange where one person makes a lot of one thing and then we swap. Thanks for starting this thread!!!

Now I'm off to look for some good sources for REAL felt! (I hate the cheap stuff they have at a lot of fabric stores.)

[jgenie]

Great links and prices on the kits seem reasonable. Can you wash felt play food? Does it get dirty from playing with it? TIA

[infomama]

Now I'm off to look for some good sources for REAL felt! (I hate the cheap stuff they have at a lot of fabric stores.)
How about here? http://www.lillybeanmarket.com/index.asp?lt=felt

[cbscherer]

Great links and prices on the kits seem reasonable. Can you wash felt play food? Does it get dirty from playing with it? TIA

I want to know whether you can wash the food and how too? Also is color bleeding or shrinking a problem? Do you prewash the felt before you make the food? Someone please let me know. I've told my MIL about this project and she's very excited about doing this for my daughter's christmas. I'm in charge of researching the materials. My MIL is going to kill me if she put all this time into this project and then my DD messes them up by deciding to "wash" the strawberries.

Finally, someone ask for a source. I've seen websites recommending this place as a felt source.

http://www.prairiepointjunction.com/12x18.html They have wool blend in various percentages. Does that work well or do you need 100 wool?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[larig]

I was poking around on craftster and someone who made the play food said that you needed a decent percent of wool for the stretching that you'll want the felt to do when you stuff it.

The questions about cleaning the food are good ones, gotta look into that. I would think it would depend on what they are stuffed with.

[larig]

lillybean's photostream on flickr has so many good ideas. I love all the cookies.

ETA: this one made me hungry. http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanfeltandcraft/3588311774/in/photostream/

[larig]

Here's a link to some instructions for cleaning. They say you should avoid washing it. They say surface cleaning and dry cleaning are good. http://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/how-to-wash-felt-wool-felt-foods-soft-sculpture-toys/

[cbscherer]

Here's a link to some instructions for cleaning. They say you should avoid washing it. They say surface cleaning and dry cleaning are good. http://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/how-to-wash-felt-wool-felt-foods-soft-sculpture-toys/

That site's Felt Food 101 article is a great resource. Also list differences between different types of felt and they have a store that sells the wood blend.