How-to: Make a Plush Cactus from Recycled Felt

Share:

Plush cactus and succulents are such a cute way to add a splash of color without obligating yourself to water!

My friend Jeanee is an avid gardener, but she also has a soft spot for plush plants. Her birthday was this past weekend, and I knew that a plush cactus was the perfect gift to celebrate. This cactus is super fun to make, and I converted my pattern into a pdf template, so you can whip up your very own! Here’s how.

Materials

• two 8 1/2″ X 11″ pieces of recycled felt in Kelly green
• my cactus pdf template
• sewing machine, thread, scissors
• chopstick
• polyfill or lots of tiny fabric scraps for stuffing
• small reclaimed glass jar – I used a small jelly jar, but a baby food jar would work well, also
• a few handfuls of pebbles
• ton-toxic white glue (optional)

Directions

1. Print and cut out the cactus shape using my cactus pdf template.

2.  This step is optional, but I think it gives your cactus some texture. Using a yellow or lighter green thread, sew vertical lines spaced about 1/2″ apart up your felt using a nice, wide stitch length. When you’ve sewn all of your lines, your felt will look like this:

3. Pin your cactus template to your felt, and cut out two of the cactus shapes.

4. Lay your pieces wrong sides together, and sew all the way around, leaving the bottom open.

5. Flip your cactus right side out and stuff it really well with your polyfill or fabric scraps. Flipping it is a little bit tricky, so just be patient. Use your chopstick to gently turn the arms of the cactus right side out, if you can’t get your fingers in there to do it. You can also use the chopstick to get the stuffing into the cactus. You want to make sure the cactus is stuffed super firm – it will probably take more stuffing than you think. The more firmly you stuff it, the more perky it will be in its container.

6. Stand your cactus up in its container, and fill the remaining space with pebbles. Just like with the stuffing, you want to pack the pebbles in tightly. That’s what will help keep your cactus upright.

7. If you want, you can drizzle white glue into the pot to secure the pebbles more.

That’s it! You can set this little guy on a shelf, mantle, or windowsill. I mean, where wouldn’t a plush cactus make things cuter, right?

Share: