A breakfast plate: a felt egg with a domed yolk beside two strips of baconFelt, 4 colors. Cut the white with an uneven edge. A second, smaller yolk circle on the first makes it domed.
A burger of eight felt layers that comes apartFelt, 6 colors. Two buns, a patty, cheese with its corners hanging over, wavy lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce.
A cinnamon bun rolled from two felt strips, tan on white, and stitched throughFelt, 2 colors. Lay a tan strip on a white one, roll them up together and pass one stitch through the whole coil.
A bowl of noodles: a felt bowl with yarn noodles tucked under its rimFelt, 2 colors, and yarn. Glue only the ends of the yarn so the loops stand up off the picture.
A cactus garden with spines in short straight stitchesFelt, 3 greens and a sand color. Stitch each spine in pale thread, three to a cluster.
A cat silhouette sitting inside a round felt moonFelt, 3 colors. Cut the moon large, the cat in black, and overlap the tail past the moon's edge.
A felt alphabet tile: one big letter with one thing that starts with itFelt, 3 colors. Cut the letter thick and plain. The small object overlaps one corner of it.
A felt portrait with no features at all: the hair shape alone says who it isFelt, 4 colors. Cut a face, hair, a shirt and two pink cheek dots. No eyes, nose or mouth.
A fish tank with bubbles punched out of the blue with a hole punchFelt, 4 colors. Punch the bubbles from the background itself so the board shows through.
A fruit bowl in cut felt, each fruit one shape with one pale highlightFelt, 5 colors. Cut the bowl first, tuck the fruit behind its rim and add a sliver of white to each.
A house in felt shapes with a smoke curl in running stitchFelt, 4 colors. Wall, roof, door, two windows. The smoke is thread only, wandering off the edge.
A map of an invented town with felt roads and felt roofsFelt, 5 colors. Lay the gray roads first, then green blocks, then a roof for every house.
A robot built from felt rectangles with stitched dialsFelt, 3 colors. Nothing curved: every part is a square or an oblong. Stitch a circle for each dial.
The flag of an invented country in three colors of feltFelt, 3 colors. One stripe, one emblem and one border. Decide what the emblem stands for first.
Hills in felt bands with pinked edges for the tree lineFelt, 4 greens. Cut the top edge of each band with pinking shears and overlap them, palest at the back.
Layered animals and food 12
A breakfast plate: a felt egg with a domed yolk beside two strips of baconFelt, 4 colors. Cut the white with an uneven edge. A second, smaller yolk circle on the first makes it domed.
A burger of eight felt layers that comes apartFelt, 6 colors. Two buns, a patty, cheese with its corners hanging over, wavy lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce.
A cinnamon bun rolled from two felt strips, tan on white, and stitched throughFelt, 2 colors. Lay a tan strip on a white one, roll them up together and pass one stitch through the whole coil.
A cupcake whose frosting is one felt strip gathered on a thread into a swirlFelt, 3 colors. Sew long stitches along one edge of the strip, pull the thread and coil the ruffle onto the cake.
A donut with a frosting layer and stitched sprinklesFelt, 2 colors. Cut two rings, make the frosting ring wavy and stitch short dashes in three thread colors.
A hedgehog with rows of pinked felt spinesFelt, 3 browns. Cut strips with pinking shears and glue them in overlapping rows from the tail forward.
A hen whose feathers are felt scallops stitched along the top edge onlyFelt, 3 colors. Cut rows of scallops, start at the tail and stitch each row along its top so the feathers lift.
A peacock fanned from fifteen three-layer felt teardropsFelt, 4 colors. Each feather is three teardrops, large to small. Fan them behind the body.
A peapod that opens on four stuffed peas, its halves stitched only at the tipsFelt, 2 greens, and stuffing. Gather four small circles around stuffing for the peas and stitch the pod ends.
A slice of layer cake with a ruffle of frosting between the layersFelt, 3 colors. Stack sponge and frosting in turn. Cut the frosting with pinking shears and let it stick out.
A taco folded from one circle and filled with felt shredsFelt, 4 colors. Fold a tan circle in half, stitch the fold loosely and tuck in green, red and yellow strips.
A tortoise whose domed back is tiled with six-sided felt scrapsFelt, 3 greens. Cut the shell dome first and fit six-sided patches over it with a gap between each.
Garlands and ornaments 12
A chain of felt strips that button into links, a slit for each buttonholeFelt, 4 colors, and buttons. Sew a button at one end of each strip and snip a slit at the other. No hem needed.
A dotty garland: felt discs in two sizes sewn into one long lineFelt, 5 colors. Cut circles in two sizes and run one long thread through the center of each with a needle.
A leaf garland in fall colors with stitched veinsFelt, 4 colors. Stitch a center vein down each leaf and thread the string through the stalk ends.
A pair of tiny mittens joined by a length of yarnFelt, 2 colors. Cut four mitten shapes, stitch them in pairs and tuck a yarn end into each cuff.
A row of felt houses strung by their chimneysFelt, 4 colors. Every house gets a different roof color. Thread the string through a slit in each chimney.
A snowflake of six felt arrows around a buttonFelt, 1 color. Cut six narrow arrows and glue their tails under the button. White on blue card shows best.
A star with a second color showing through a cut-out windowFelt, 2 colors. Cut two stars, cut a small star out of the top one and glue it over the other.
A string of hearts threaded sideways so they hang in a rowFelt, 3 reds and pinks. Pass the thread in one side of each heart and out the other, near the top.
A stuffed felt strawberry gathered shut at the top, seeded in yellow stitchesFelt, 2 colors, and stuffing. Stitch a half circle into a cone, stuff it, gather the top and add a green star cap.
A stuffed mushroom ornament: a red felt dome with white dots on a fat stemFelt, 2 colors, and stuffing. Stitch the stalk as a tube, stuff it and sew the cap on like a hat.
A stuffed robin ornament whose wing is stitched at the front edge onlyFelt, 2 colors, and stuffing. Stitch two bird shapes together, stuff lightly and sew the wing on at its front only.
A wreath of felt feathers in graded bluesFelt, 4 blues. Snip slanted cuts along both edges of each feather and overlap them around a card ring.
Finger puppets 12
A bee with wings of sheer ribbonFelt, 2 colors, and ribbon. Glue two black stripes across a yellow arch and stitch a ribbon loop behind.
A dragon puppet breathing a two-pronged orange felt flameFelt, 3 colors. Trap the flame between the two arches at the top before you stitch around them.
A five-finger caterpillar, one segment a fingerFelt, 2 greens. Make five small puppets alike. The thumb gets the face and two feelers.
A mouse puppet with a string tail that pokes out of a pocketFelt, 2 colors, and string. Knot the string inside the back arch. The puppet lives in a shirt pocket.
A one-eyed monster whose zigzag mouth shows a red layer beneathFelt, 3 colors. Cut the mouth out of the front arch and glue red felt behind the hole.
A penguin puppet whose orange feet swing below the hemFelt, 3 colors. Let the feet hang below the open edge so they swing when the finger moves.
A shaggy dog puppet covered in rows of felt fringe stitched from the hem upFelt, 2 colors. Snip strips into fringe and stitch each row to the front arch along its uncut edge, lowest row first.
A snail puppet with a coiled felt strip sewn on as its houseFelt, 3 colors. Roll a felt strip into a coil, stitch through it once and sew it to the back arch.
A turtle puppet with a padded shell stitched to its backFelt, 2 greens, and stuffing. Stitch an oval to the back arch over a pinch of stuffing, then join the two arches.
A wolf and three pigs, one puppet a fingerFelt, 4 colors. Four arches. The pigs differ only by their hats, so cut the hats in three colors.
An owl whose wings lift when the finger bendsFelt, 3 colors. Glue each wing on by its top edge only. Stitch the two arches together around the curve.
Two royal puppets and a single loose crown that fits either headFelt, 4 colors. Leave the crown loose, with a slit that slides over either head.
Boards that change 12
A bear with an outfit for each seasonFelt, 6 colors. One brown bear. Four outfits, each cut a little larger than the bear so it covers the edges.
A face board: one head and a pile of eyes, noses, mouths and hair to swapFelt, 6 colors, and a covered board. Cut at least three of each feature so the faces can disagree.
A forecast board: loose felt sunshine, clouds and raindrops to rearrange dailyFelt, 5 colors, and a covered board. Cut the raindrops and snowflakes loose so the amount can change.
A garden that grows: stems to lengthen and flowers to addFelt, 5 colors, and a covered board. Cut stems in three lengths and swap each for a longer one.
A monster maker: bodies, horns, eyes and legs in a bagFelt, 6 colors. Pull out one body and three other pieces without looking and build what you drew.
A pizza to build, topping by topping, on a felt baseFelt, 6 colors. One crust circle stays on the board. Everything else is loose and goes on in any order.
A road layout with straight and curved pieces and three carsFelt, 4 colors. Cut every road piece the same width so that any two ends meet.
A shape board: circles, triangles and squares in three sizesFelt, 3 colors. Nine of each shape. A house, a rocket and a cat can all be built from the same pile.
A star map to rearrange: twenty loose felt stars, a moon and yarn to join themFelt, 3 colors, and a dark covered board. Cut twenty stars. Join them into made-up constellations with yarn.
A story board with a path, three houses and a wolf to move along itFelt, 6 colors, and a covered board. The path stays put. The characters move as the story is told.
An aquarium to arrange: fish, weeds, a rock arch and a diverFelt, 6 colors, and a blue covered board. Cut the weeds tall so the fish can hide behind them.
One bare tree with leaves, blossom and snow for the four seasonsFelt, 5 colors, and a covered board. The trunk stays up all year. Only what is on it changes.
How it works
Felt is made by matting and pressing fibers together, not by weaving, so a cut edge has no threads to come loose. Whatever shape the scissors cut stays crisp, and one shape laid on another makes a picture.
Read the full guide
Cut, layer, then glue or stitch
Cut the biggest shape first and build up: a head, then cheeks, then a nose. Each layer stands a little higher than the last, which gives a felt picture its depth. A thin smear of white glue holds felt to felt. A few straight stitches do the same and can be whiskers, veins or a smile.
Boards that change
A flannel board is a storytelling board covered in fabric: cut-outs cling to it lightly and move as the story is told. A felt-covered box lid does the same job with felt pieces. Nothing is glued, so the picture is never finished.
Draw the shape on paper, hold the paper on the felt and cut around it. Pen lines show on felt.
Pinking shears cut a zigzag edge: grass, fur, spines and frosting in one snip.
Questions and answers
What can you make with felt?
Flat pictures, layered animals and play food, garlands, ornaments, finger puppets and boards with pieces that move. This list holds 60, each with the number of felt colors it takes and the first shape to cut.
Do you have to sew felt?
Not for everything. Glue holds the flat pictures and most layered pieces, and a cut edge needs no hem because felt is not woven. The stuffed pieces and the finger puppets are stronger with stitches around the edge.
What is felt made of?
Fibers matted and pressed together, not woven or knitted. They can be natural, such as wool, or synthetic, such as acrylic, or a blend of the two.
How do you make a felt finger puppet?
Cut two matching arches a little wider and taller than a fingertip. Glue or stitch them together around the curved edge and leave the straight bottom open. Add the face and ears to the front piece before joining the two.