I have a rule in my house – once I’ve killed a plant in the same spot more than once, it’s time to replace it with a fake. I thought I had found the perfect home for this hanging wall planter in my daughter’s room…but apparently the plants disagreed and chose not to stick around. After killing 2 succulents, I thought I’d instead dig into my stash of scrap felt and make her some greenery to enjoy instead.
This adorable felt succulent is quick and easy to make, and the best part is you can use up a few scraps to create it.
Supplies:
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Felt (I used scraps, but you can pick up felt sheets at any craft store)
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Felt Succulent Pattern Piece (download it here)
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Pen / any marking piece
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Scissors or pinking shears
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Needle and embroidery thread
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Polyfill stuffing
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Any planter with a 6” opening
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Step 1: Print your pattern piece at 100% scale and cut it out. Trace around on your felt and cut out your succulent pieces with scissors. You could also use pinking shears like I did to achieve the zig-zag effect at the edge to mimic spines. You should have 6 pieces total.
Step 2: Hand or machine sew 2 pieces together around the curve, leaving an opening at the bottom. You should be left with 3 little succulent pockets.
Step 3: Sandwich your 3 lil pockets together and hand or machine sew a straight line down the middle.
pro tip: if you’re machine sewing, you may want to switch to a larger needle since this succulent sandwich can be pretty thicc.
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Step 4: Use your Polyfill to stuff the openings of your succulent. You should have 6 narrow channels to fill. The end result should look like the photo on the right.
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Step 5: Now that she’s been stuffed like a Thanksgiving bird, it’s time to add the “needles” to your felt cactus/succulent/plant thingy. Do this by running a needle through the stitching in between the “spines” of your plant. Tie a double knot and cut your thread tails to your preferred length for the “needle”. Do this all the way up the side. I spaced mine about 1” apart, but you can place them wherever you like. I didn’t use exact measurements because the wonky spacing made for a much more organic look that I like.
The end result should look something like this.
Step 6 *optional*: Cut out your cactus flower. You can leave your plant without one, but I love the added pop of color the flower adds to the piece. To do this, I simply cut out an organic flower-like shape out of yellow felt for the petals, and pink felt that matched my embroidery thread used for the “needles” for a cohesive look. Nature can be weird and wild, so there really is no wrong shape you can make here. Just do what you like!
Step 7: Hand sew your flower to the top of your succulent.
Step 8: Now it’s time to pot your plant. If you want to get a little more decorative with your pot, do so before “planting” your succulent (I painted a little happy face on this one for my daughter’s room). The finished succulent should fit snuggly into the pot without issue, but if you don’t want little hands pulling it back out again, you can use a little hot glue to secure it around the inner edge of the planter.
AMEN! A beautiful, happy little plant that shall never die. No watering necessary! Just set it and enjoy.
This makes an especially adorable decor piece for a kid’s room. If your child is anything like my 3 year old, then you know that kids LOVE looking at greenery but tend to have a hard time looking with their eyes and not their hands. I love that this piece is also soft and a pleasure to touch so my daughter can safely explore without pricking a finger, tearing off plant pieces, or getting dirt e v e r y w h e r e.
If you end up making one of your own, be sure to tag me @happymakes_me so I can see the finished product! I love following along on all your crafty adventures!
Happy Making!
-XO-
C
