Here it is almost Easter time and what a great time to get out your sweater stash and make SWEATER carrots. Yep, fabric CARROTS! What can’t you make out of upcycled sweaters? Now if you are short on ORANGE SWEATERS or don’t have any felted orange sweaters, these work up great with orange fleece, and orange knits as well.
These make really fun Easter gifts and party favors. Carrots NOT recommended for baby toys!
Cute to display with a SWEATER BUNNY! Bunny & Bear pattern located in my shop.
Fabric carrots items needed:
- Orange fabric (felted sweaters, fleece, or knit) If using felted sweaters, make sure they are not too thick and have a little stretch.
- Scissors
- Pins
- Carrot pattern template (download here)
- Cloth stem wire (18-20 gauge)
- Green felt, felted wool scrap, or even green fleece works (carrot greens) green yarn (optional)
- Needle and thread
- Stuffing
Fold the fabric over in a diagonal shape and place the pattern edge on the fold where indicated. Cut out.
Place Right Sides Together (RST) and sew the side seam with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Turn inside out and poke the tip of the carrot out with some kind of point tool, being careful not to poke through the fabric.
To make the fabric carrot greens: Using the pattern template, cut out 3-4 leaf squares. Using a zigzag stitch, sew the wire onto the middle of the leaf. (template will show how far down to place the wire).
Cut little slits in the leaf all around the side and top of square. Round off the top corners with your scissors. Fluff the leaf. Repeat to make however many stems you want.
Start filling the carrot with stuffing, a little amount at a time. Using something to push it down. I find the pokey tool just slips through the stuffing and doesn’t push it down. (I found that using the tip of my scissors works well)
Continue to fill the sweater carrot with stuffing until it is full.
Double thread a LONG needle with either orange, brown, or green thread. (I like to use either brown or green to give the dimples in the carrot some contrast). Your preference.
Start stitching so the knot is on the INSIDE. Take basting stitches all the way around the top of the carrot.
End stitching with the thread on the OUTSIDE. Do not KNOT the thread yet.
Take the stems and stick them down the center of the carrot into the stuffing, to the length that you want them.
Now pull the stitching to gather the top of the carrot. Stuff the fabric seam allowance down into the carrot as you put the thread. Now stitch another row or two around the carrot to close the top tightly around the stems.
Take a little stitch where the thread comes out and knot.
(To make a knot, take a small stitch and pull the thread to make a little loop, then wrap the thread around the needle a few times and gently pull to create a knot. Stick the needle back into the carrot right where the knot is and pull out where you want to make the first dimple.
To make little dimples in the sweater carrot: pull the needle out where you want the dimple to start and take a big stitch (these stitches can be small or even wrap all the way around the carrot).
These dimples give the carrot charter and shape. I like to take two stitches in the same place to reinforce the stitch and give it more shape.
Stick the needle down into where you want another dimple to be. Add as many as you want.
Knot the thread again. Now stick the needle back in where the thread comes out. Poke out somewhere and clip thread.
Ta dah!
Aren’t they cute little fellas?
The pattern template comes with two different sizes. Make up a bunch of sizes and some with different shades of orange.
BUNNY STICKERS shown above on the tag, are available in my Etsy shop.
Jan Howell
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Jan Howell
Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.
