Summertime Root Beer Float Felt Food Tutorial

Summertime will soon be waning away but there is still time for frosty cold treats before the sun disappears again. A pregnant friend of mine suggested a felt food root beer float and far be it from me to deny the whims of  a gestating lady. 

The Ingredients: 

In dark brown felt you need:
-base circle, 2 inches wide
-top circle, 2.5 inches wide with a .75 wide circle cut out from near one side. This is where the straw is going to sit in the root beer.
-body of root beer, a trapezoid shape with a base of 7 inches, sides 5 inches tall and the top side 8.5 inches long
-2.5 by 1.5 inch rectangle for the sides of the straw holder
-.75 inch wide circle for the straw holder bottom

In cream felt:
-8.5 by 1 inch scalloped piece for around the top of the root beer body
-2 inch wide wavy piece for the cream on top of the root beer. Be sure to leave a notch for the hole for the straw.
-4 inch wide wavy circle for the ice cream

-4.5 inch long by 1 inch wide piece in white felt for the straw
-scraps of red felt for the straw stripes

for the glass:
-another trapezoid shape with a 7.5 inch base, 6.5 inch sides and 10 inches long on top in either vinyl from the fabric store or I cut up a clear plastic sheet protector that goes in binders.
-2.25 inch wide clear circle for the glass base

-matching embroidery thread
-stuffing

As a note, when sewing side pieces around circles, I usually allow extra length in my measurements. It's easier to trim the pieces up as you sew than cut them too short in the first place.


The Recipe:

First, we'll start with the straw. I laid my red felt pieces in diagonals and running stitched them to the white straw piece. Be sure to knot off your thread after each red piece. I tried to be lazy and keep the stitch going but when you fold the straw over in the next step, the stitches are too loose.

Whip stitch the straw seams together. . .

and our old timey looking straw is complete.

Next comes the ice cream. About a half inch from the edge of the wavy  circle piece, put in a running stitch.

Add stuffing then pull your thread tight so the ice cream is closed on the underside and knot off.

Next, sew the cream piece to the top circle. Make sure to line up your pieces to not cover the hole for the straw. I just used quick running stitches for this.

To make the straw holder, sew the small dark brown rectangle to the three quarter inch dark brown circle. This will form the cavern the straw sits in. Sew up the seam so you have a little tube.

Then, attach the tube to the underside of the top circle.

Now, when I did this, I sewed the creamy part to the body of the root beer before I sewed it to the top circle.

 I ended up with some overlap, which I just tucked in as I sewed, but it would be neater to sew the top circle to the root beer body, trim as necessary, then sew on the cream part. Be sure to sew the top circle to the wider top part of the root beer body.

Once you have the top circle sewn on, stitch up the seam to make a big root beer tube.

I added stuffing as I went and pinned the seam to keep it neat. Be careful not to over stuff near the straw holder. You want to be sure the straw still fits in there.

Then, sew the bottom circle to the end of your root beer tube.

Lastly, the glass. I found the sheet protector page material to be pretty thin so be careful not to tear it. If you are using a thicker grade vinyl this might not be an issue but it may be harder to get your needle through for the stitches. I put the root beer in the glass as I sewed to help keep the shape. Try to keep your stitches as neat as possible since they will be visible, but this isn't an easy task.

Lastly, sew up the seam on the glass. I started at the top and worked down. I found that pinching the seam so I had a little ridge to sew through made this easier, but I still had a few wonky stitches. Trim up the glass side piece as needed.

All done! A four piece root beer play set for serving up a cool felt food treat!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

Red, White and Blueberry Brownie Felt Food Dessert Tutorial

Fourth of July is finally upon us! What picnic or BBQ would be complete without a patriotic colored treat? Here is an easy felt food dessert, the Red, White, and Blueberry Brownie. 

The Ingredients: 

-2 dark brown felt squares, about 2.25 inches for each side

-1 dark brown felt brownie side piece, about a half inch wide by 12 inches long which will give you more than you need.

-2 red felt strawberry pieces. These are just free hand in a strawberry shape, about 1.25 inches long and an inch wide at the biggest spot. 

-1 white felt hexagon whipped cream piece. Each side is about 1.25 inches long.

-THREE dark blue felt circles. Only two are pictured, but you really need three for balance. These are 1.25 inches in diameter. 

-Embroidery floss to match

-Stuffing 

The Recipe: 

We'll start by making our brownie toppings first. The purple lines on the whipped cream hexagon are cut lines, about a half inch long. 

Once you have your lines cut in the whipped cream, round the right edge of each of the sides, so you have this flower looking piece. 

Starting with the pointed left edge, sew through all the pointed edges, gathering as you go. 

Pull your thread tighter to bring all the points of the whipped cream to the center. 

Once you have your whipped cream taut, I sew around once more through all the pointed edges to make sure  the stitch is sturdy then knot off. 

Next let's make the strawberry. The first time I made this, I used white thread and made French knots for the seeds. 

This time, I'm using tan thread to make small stitches all over the top and bottom pieces of the strawberry. 

Sew the two strawberry sides together and lightly stuff as you go. 

Strawberry is complete! Next comes the blueberries.

Sew a running stitch all around the outer edge of the blue felt circle. 

When you get back to your starting place, add stuffing and gather the thread.

Pull tightly to close off the blueberry. I put a few stitches through the bottom of the berry to make sure it is securely shut. Repeat this for the three other blueberries. 

Sew some stitches through the bottoms of your blueberries to form a little bunch and keep the berries secure. 

All of our toppings are done! Now, on to brownie construction.

First, sew the whipped cream to the middle of the first dark brown felt square. Be sure to only stitch through the bottom of the whipped cream so that it maintains it's puffy shape.

Next, sew on the strawberry next to the whipped cream. I work from the bottom of the strawberry and don't sew the entire way up. Just put in enough stitches to make it secure and let it rest nestled next to the whipped cream piece. 

Lastly, sew the blueberry bunch on the other side of the whipped cream.

Now that all our toppings are on, well, top, sew the side piece of the brownie to the top brownie square. Since there will be a seam where the side piece meets, I started in the back corner behind the whipped cream so the seam isn't obvious. 

Cut any excess side piece when you get back to your starting point and sew the seam together. 

Turn the brownie over and add stuffing. I used some layers of cotton batting because it lays nice and flat but regular polyfil will work too. 

Finally, sew the bottom brownie square to the side piece. All done!

Delish! I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany