Before we start, you could totally make this with your machine if you’d like, but scissors work fine, too. The real star of this project is the interfacing, though, so let’s chat about it.
Being a sewing girl for the last, ummm… 30 years (yikes!) I’ve gotta admit that I’ve tried a lot of interfacing. I’ve tried the strong, industrial stuff, right down to the stuff that just didn’t work at all. Even though Silhouette sent me the product, I’m honestly going to say that it’s the easiest interfacing that I’ve ever used. It goes on like a dream, doesn’t pull or twist, and sticks exactly where it’s supposed to. {I promise they didn’t pay me to say any of that, it’s simply my opinion.}
Some of the play food we made was simply flat, so let’s start there. You’re going to need to make some blob shapes and some circles, both large and small. Start by choosing your fabrics and applying the interfacing. For my project I mostly used 100% cotton fabric scraps that were left over from other projects (except for a bit of burlap.)
Cut the piece of fabric, then cut a piece of interfacing a tiny bit smaller. Iron it onto the first fabric, peel off the paper, then iron the first fabric interfacing side to the second piece of fabric. Then you’ll have a fabric/interfacing sandwich.
To make our patterns, we used a Sharpie and free-handed it on paper before using it as a template for the pieces.
We made some condiments, including a white blob for mayo (or marshmallow fluff, depending on who’s making the sandwich), a yellow blob for mustard or butter (once again, depends on the chef), pink for strawberry jelly and purple of grape jelly. To make cheese, we used an orange piece and cut squares. Once those were all cut, they were done.
To make the more detailed foods, we cut different blob whites for eggs, along with some green leafy shaped blobs for lettuce leaves. To make orange slices or tomato slices, we cut circles, making our pattern from the inside of a roll of painter’s tape. We also cut smaller circles for pickles from the lettuce scraps and egg yolks from the yellow scraps. For the bread slices, we used plain cotton canvas.
Once we had all the pieces cut, I stitched on the egg yolks, or lettuce veins, or pickle stripes, or tomato/orange segments. It took a while because we made so many different ones, but you could do just a few in no time. For the bread, I ran a zig-zag stitch around the outside edge, then trimmed it again as close to the stitch as I could.
When all of those were done, I made a few other pieces that didn’t require interfacing.
If you’re making breakfast or burgers, you’ve gotta have bacon! Bacon is the easiest one to make. Simply cut some 3 inch strips of burgundy fabric (I ripped mine with the grain) and some 1 1/2 inch white strips. You need twice as much white as burgundy. Layer the strips up, white/burgundy/white, then wrinkle them up and run a stitch across it with your sewing machine. Run a few inches, cut, then do it again. It goes really, really quick!
To make the “burlap burgers”, start with some scraps of burlap, stacking 4 pieces together. Run them through your sewing machine, using black fabric and a zig-zag stitch to create grill marks. Once you have several rows of stitches, use a circle template (I used the outer edge of a roll of painter’s tape), then cut out the burger shape. After you have it cut out, run a stitch around the outside edge with burlap colored thread to lock all the layers and fibers in place.
And that’s how to make play food. You could totally use a Silhouette Machine to cut out all the pieces, but unless you are making a big bunch, it’s easier to cut it out with scissors. However, if you want enough lettuce for a salad or something, then trace out your pattern, scan it into your computer, then use the machine to cut out the shapes.
Speaking of Silhouette, there’s a great promotion going on right now, so if you’re looking to purchase a machine or want to try the new fabric interfacing, then now is the perfect time. Scoot on over to Silhouette to see all the great deals.
Everything looks YUMMY!!!! I was laughing because the bacon looks like my veggie morning star bacon…so I can make a sandwich and eat at your play time establishment : ) Great craft and fabulous way to use scraps!!! Now what’s for dessert! hugs…
I love this Gina!!!! 🙂
Where was this wonderful idea when my girls were little? They would have loved it. Now I will have to save it for the grandbabies.