stuff your stockings: i love felt food!

I'm so excited to have Susan here today.  Susan is a felt food artist.  You've just got to check out her skills at her Etsy shop.  She makes felt look so good I could eat it!  Felt food would make a super fun stocking stuffer.  I had to chuckle when Susan sent me her tutorial for felt bacon.  I've been a vegetarian for 21 years, so the last time I had actual bacon was around the age of 11.  BUT I eat vegetarian bacon (yes, there is actually such a thing), and it is yummy.  So I can't wait to make my own felt vegetarian bacon!

Susan is offering the best giveaway so that you can make it or win it . . . or your choice of "it" from who Etsy shop, so don't forget to enter at the bottom of the post! 

Hi! I am Susan from Chasing Marcus and owner of the Etsy shop, The Felted Pear. On Chasing Marcus, I blog about the day to day activities with 2.5 year old daughter and our crafting adventures. In my Etsy shop, The Felted Pear, you will find handcrafted felt food made from Eco-fi felt and stuffed with bamboo fiber stuffing.

Recently, I have been combining the two, for a blog series So, You Think You Can Felt Food, where I have been posting different tips, tricks and tutorials for making your own felt food.

My husband and I have commited to a handmade Christmas, and our daughters stocking will be filled with felt food. I was so excited when I saw that Elizabeth was doing a Saturday Series on Stocking Stuffers and am honored to be a part of it. Today I will be sharing with you how to make posable felt bacon strips. Combine these with the fried egg tutorial on Chasing Marcus and the Strawberry and Bread tutorials here on 12 Crafts and you have a complete breakfast meal!

So, here are the details:

1. Gather your materials. You need:

• Printed Pattern (found here)
• 1 sheet Ruby Red Felt
• 1 sheet Cashmere Felt
• Embroidery Floss to match Cashmere Felt (I use DMC 437)
• DMC Wired Color Infusions Embroidery Thread (I used the brown)
• Needles-Regular sewing and a VERY large eye needle
• Scissors
• Disappearing Ink Marker

2. Trace Pattern onto double thickness of Ruby Red Felt and then cut them out. Be sure to cut out two identical pieces for each slice of bacon.

3. Trace pattern onto a single thickness of Cashmere felt and cut out.

4. Cut the cashmere felt vertically into 4-5 equal sections. Be sure to follow the natural curves of the bacon.

5. Lay 2 strips on the Ruby Red Felt, and trim excess felt.

6. Stitch down cashmere felt with a running stitch.

7. Thread Large Eye Needle with Color Infusion Wire wrapped Embroidery Thread. I had to use a yarn needle. Tie a knot in the end as small as you can. This thread is pretty bulky so you will want to make your knot as small as possible to avoid bulk in your bacon slice. I needed about 18 inches of thread per bacon slice.

8. Stitch a running stitch along the outer edges of the bacon. Don't be afraid to pull--you will have to pull quite hard in order for the thread to go in and out. My felt did not stretch out even though I thought it would torn to shreds, because I was pulling so hard =)

9. Once all four sides are stitched together, tie off the thread and hide the knot and you are done!

Your bacon slices will be posable and look like just cooked crisp bacon. "Tasty!" as my daughter would say.

You have got to check out The Felted Pear! 

Susan is giveaway a felt grocery bag AND a $10.00 credit to her Etsy store! 

I so wish I could enter my own giveaway! 

Now, here's how you can win:

*Leave one comment for each entry.*

1)  Be or become a follower of twelve crafts.

2)  Head on over to The Felted Pear and leave a comment here telling me what you would pick if you won.

3)  Be or become a follower of Chasing Marcus.

4)  Leave any ole comment you want.  ;)

Giveaway will be open for entries until Friday, November 5, 2010 @ 11:59 PM (CST).

**Also, I've started announcing winners of these Saturday giveaways up at the top of the blog rather than in a separate post.  I also contact winners, so the winners do not have to contact me to claim their prizes.**

Craft on!