Felt Pattern Ideas
Felt is a versatile material that lends itself to many craft projects. You can make fun and educational children's toys out of simple felt shapes. Make three-dimensional models from felt stuffed with wadding. Sew felt bags and purses. Create felt flowers. Add felt appliques to your clothes and accessories. You can even make your own felt from wool fibers or by processing knitted wool. There are many free felt patterns online that you can use or just browse for ideas.
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Techniques
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One common technique for sewing with felt has you put the seams on the outside, using a bold stitch. You can also make your own felt by soaking unspun wool in hot water and detergent, then working it so the fibers mat. Alternatively, knit woolen yarn and felt the knitted pieces. In needle felting, you make three-dimensional shapes by matting colored wool using a barbed needle.
Fruit
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Create three dimensional felt fruit in a few easy steps. Cut petal shapes from felt, sew them together and stuff them with wadding. To make a slice of fruit, cut two felt semi-circles in the color of the fruit's flesh and a felt petal shape in the color of the peel. Use beads or sequins to make the seeds.
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Cookies
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Make a plate of felt cookies to use as a whimsical decoration. Cut circles of light brown felt and sew them together with a piece of batting in between. Use embroidery to add chocolate chips to the design. Make frosted cookies by sewing a circle of pink or white felt on top of the cookie shape, making it slightly smaller than the cookie. Use seed beads and bugle beads, or long seed beads, to simulate sprinkles.
Flowers
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Sew two or three flower shapes on top each other to craft a fuller flower. Create the center of your flower from beads, buttons or a pompom. Cut leaves from green felt and use embroidery floss to make the veins. You can also knit flowers and felt them by hand. Make the stems from wire or pipe cleaners. Another option is simply to sew felt flower shapes onto a scarf or hat.
Plants
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Cacti can look especially good worked in felt. Make plants using sections of colored felt or use needle felting techniques. Add color to your felt plants by creating felt flower accents for them.
Game Boards
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Glue a sheet of solid-colored felt to a board. Cut out shapes, such as people, animals, vehicles, houses and plants, from felt scraps in contrasting colors. The felt shapes will cling to the board but you can easily move them as desired.
Bags and Purses
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It's simple to make a small felt bag or purse from a rectangle of felt sewn up at the sides. Felt is also suitable for crafting handbags, tote bags and wallets. Embellish your finished purse with felt flowers and appliques.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
