Make a Child's Felt Play Vertical Garden

This charming felt play garden is an easy craft to keep little hands busy all year long.

By: Debbie and Mark Wolfe

Related To:

Kid's Felt Vertical Play Garden

Kids love to play in the dirt. Here's a fun project that will keep little hands busy indoors when they can't play outside.

Felt Carrot Pattern

Download and print this pattern on a sheet of 8.5x11 paper.

Gather Supplies

You will need: craft felt / embroidery thread / scissors / tapestry needle / fiber fill and felt vegetable patterns. There are many patterns available online.

Cut the Pattern

For this tutorial we will show how we made the carrot. Cut out the paper patterns and lay them on top of the felt. Secure the pattern with pins.

Sew the Felt

Felt does not fray. So assembling these play veggies is easy with a blanket stitch. To begin, thread your tapestry needle with the embroidery thread. Lay two of the left pieces together, back to back, lining up the edges with the same shape. Insert the needle in between the two pieces of felt you are sewing together.

Blanket Stitch

Pull the needle through and insert it about 1/4 inch to the left and pass the needle through the felt. Before you pull the thread completely tight, insert the tip of the needle through the stitch you just made and pull the thread through. This is the first stitch.

Continue Blanket Stitch

Continue the blanket stitch by inserting the needle 1/4 inch to the left of the last stitch. Repeat the previous step.

Sew all the Pieces

Continue to assemble the rest of the parts of the carrot. When the body of the carrot is sewn, you will need to sew a running stitch at the top (wide end) of the carrot. This will make a "cinch" top so it can be closed after it's filled with batting.

Fill It

Fill the carrot base with fiber. Once filled, pull the thread to close the carrot top. Pass the needle through the top a few times and secure with a knot.

Attach the Top

After you have filled up the carrot body with batting, take the round green piece of felt (carrot bottom) and cut a small hole in the middle of the circle. Insert the two sewn leaves into the hole. Secure with a few stitches. Finish off the carrot by attaching the leaves at the top. Continue to make more felt vegetables to fill the play garden.

Assemble the Vertical Garden

You will need: One 18x24 inch piece of brown felt, three 6x18 inch pieces of brown felt, two 1 inch grommets and a grommet setter kit, hammer (not shown) and sewing machine (not shown).

Place the Grommets

Measure 2 inches down for the top and 2 inches from the sides of the 18x24 inch piece of felt for the placement of the grommets. Make a mark with a permanent marker in the "hole" of the grommet.

Insert the Grommet

Cute a hole where you marked the placement of the grommet. Make it large enough to insert end of the grommet through the hole.

Set the Grommet

Add the circular bottom of the grommet and set it with a setter tool and hammer.

Pin the Pockets

Pin the three 6x18 pieces of felt to the main vertical garden body. Start by pinning one of the pockets at the bottom of the main piece and leave a one inch space inbetween each pocket.

Sew the Pockets

Sew around each pocket to secure it onto the main piece of felt. After each 6x18 piece is sewn onto the main body, sew dividers along each pocket. Start by sewing down the middle of each pocket, then down the middle of each section. You should have 4 pockets total in each 6x18 section.

Gather Your Vegetables

Collect the vegetables to add to the vertical garden. If you are not keen on sewing felt vegetables from scratch, consider plastic toy ones or purchasing felt vegetables online.

Plant and Hang

Now, plant those veggies! You can hang your vertical garden anywhere you like. For a temporary placement, use pushpins to hang it. When not in use, leave the vegetables in the pockets and roll up the garden for easy storage.Your little one will have hours of fun planting their own play garden.

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Photo By: Photo by Debbie Wolfe

Photo By: Debbie Wolfe