Breakfast in Bed

Handmade Food and Drink Patterns

Feb 06, 2022

Food and Drink are among some of the most popular categories of makes for knitters and crocheters. If you’re terrible in the kitchen like me, making meals out of yarn can really reduce your chance of disaster. Putting together a plate, like the one in the picture above, is guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone who sees it. I made this breakfast scene about a year and a half ago using a mixture of free patterns and improvisations. I still enjoy this photo today; there’s just something amusing about displays like this where the pieces are recognisable but not as they seem. My dog has since eaten the bacon (and possibly the egg), so the whole family was able to get enjoyment out of my makes, which is often the appeal of handmade food and drink.

Made using a pattern from *Crochet Cafe* by Lauren Espy

It also gives you an opportunity to create something unique. Every time I’m scrolling through the internet for crafting inspiration, it’s quite often the photos of knitted/ crocheted foods that make me stop and think. There’s no limit to what you can make and these handmade pieces can be enjoyed by everyone, whether they’re a crafter or not. Some of the most popular creations I’ve seen are pieces of sushi and citrus fruit slices. The world of amigurumi is definitely your friend if you’re looking for a food related pattern; if it can be eaten, it can be crocheted too!

There are many uses for handmade food and drink. Fruit and veg make great sets for children to play with instead of plastic versions, or you could add squeakers and turn them into toys for your pets. The novelty side of these makes is often enough, and they can be really interesting and memorable gifts for your loved ones. I’m going to share some of my previous foodie projects with you, as well as some pattern ideas to get you started on your yummy yarn journey.

One of my all time favourite pattern books for food and drink is Crochet Cafe by Lauren Espy, also known as A Menagerie of Stitches. I’ve tried quite a few designs from this book, including avocado toast, popcorn and oranges. The book has a great range of projects to choose from and the layout looks exactly like a menu board! Some of these patterns can also work as a base if you have a specific food in mind. For example, I was able to adapt the orange half pattern to create lemons and limes as well (pictured below). I changed the shape slightly to make them less spherical, and decided to make the white stitching a bit thicker and more pronounced.

I turned most of these fruits into dog toys and they went down a treat! The popcorn set has also been a favourite in our house. I gave each piece a different facial expression and, combined with the googley eyes, they can look really funny when they’re all over the place.

Knit and crochet foods are also projects we use a lot in our wool shop window displays. Jean Greenhowe pattern books offer some great basic knitting patterns for various cakes and picnic foods. We used a few for our Teddy Bears Picnic window - click here to learn more about this display!

Free Patterns you may like to try…

There are tonnes of free patterns out there for all kinds of food. I’ve tried to cover all the basics with this list, including fruits, vegetables, sweet treats and favourite meals.

Keep scrolling to the next section for knitting patterns!

Crochet:

Drops Design is a great resource for free patterns, especially when it comes to crochet foods. I’ve listed some of my favourites here but there are plenty more on their website which I’ll link here if you want to have a look for yourself.

Breakfast by Drops Design

Sushi by Drops Design

Pizza by Drops Design

Tutti Frutti Basket by Drops Design This one includes free patterns for everything you see in the photo above, including the basket! It’s a great play set for children, and a pattern to refer back to when you’re looking for specific fruits/veg.