Play Food

DIY play food is all the rage these days and it isn’t that difficult to make, even if you’re a sewing novice.  I put my beginner-level sewing skills to use this year making play food for my son, and as gifts for friends and relatives.

Materials:

1.) A needle and good thread in various colors.  I like the quilter’s thread from JoAnn Fabrics because it is often on sale and it is strong enough to hold your creations together.

2.) Wool Felt.  Unlike regular felt, wool felt is made from 100% wool.  While this does mean it is more expensive than regular crafting felt, wool felt is much tougher than synthetic felt and it will maintain its shape without falling apart when you cut it.  I buy my wool felt online from Weir Dolls and Crafts in Ann Arbor.  I like supporting a Michigan business and you have the option to pick up the items from their offices and they will waive the shipping fee (http://www.weirdollsandcrafts.com/).

3.) A sharp pair of scissors.  Fiskars Razor Sharp scissors have a locking mechanism to prevent kids from cutting themselves if the scissors accidentally fall into their hands.  Available at Amazon, they make cutting a breeze but they are incredibly sharp so be careful.  A few reviewers mentioned cutting themselves by mishandling the scissors while opening the package.

4.) Cotton fabric.  I picked a shade of brown, wheat, and a bright green and yellow to make into buns, pizza slices and chef’s hats.  Wash the cotton fabric before use but don’t bother ironing it before you start sewing.  I find that the wrinkles make the buns and pizza slices look more realistic.

Using the razor sharp scissors, you can cut out shapes for lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese, pizza toppings, etc.  You can sew some detail on them or just leave the shapes as they are.  Kids don’t mind.  If you want to add detail, you can keep it at a minimum.  Using black thread, I sewed the specks onto the taco.  Using tan thread, I sewed sesame seeds onto the buns.

The bowtie pasta ended up looking the most realistic and it was simple to make.  Cut rectangles out of a wheat colored piece of wool felt.  Cut triangles out of the two sides to give the noodle its crimped look.  Then just pinch the center of the noodle and sew it in place.

There are several variations of instructions for the Chef’s hats to be found online, (such as this one: http://smurfing-time.blogspot.com/2011/10/chef-hat-tutorial.html).  You can make them out of paper or fabric.  I made the hats by making a band a few inches longer than the circumference of the child’s head for he or she to grow into, an 18-inch diameter circle for the puffed top of the hat, and added a bow for the back of the hat with the scraps.  After getting the hang of sewing over the course of several months while working on this play food project, I did purchase the beginner level Brother sewing machine from Amazon, (Brother LS2125i Easy-to-Use, Everyday Sewing Machine), and it came in handy to sew the band of the hats and make the “string” to tie the bow.

The great thing about making your own play food is you can make any food in the world for your kids to play with.  I was able to make some basic Indian food for my son: a roti (the round bread), mattar paneer, and a samosa.

I like giving all this play food, a chef’s hat, a menu, and the Ikea Duktig stainless steel pots and pans in a reusable grocery bag as a gift for kids’ birthdays.

Finally, if you know how to knit or crochet, you can find hundreds of free play food patterns on Pinterest.  I do not know how to do either but luckily for me, my mom does, and she made a salad, sandwich, cupcake, apple and orange for my son, pictured above.

Bon appétit!