On a Sunday afternoon in Kakamega, a mother sorts through a bag of fabric scraps. By evening, there is a stack of felt chapati on the play stove.
Homemade play food can be the food your family eats, which makes every pretend meal feel close to the real one. This guide walks through four Kenyan favourites, step by step.
What do you need to make play food at home?
- Felt in light brown, dark brown, white, golden yellow, yellow, orange, green and red
- Old cloth, such as a clean sock or a worn T-shirt
- Cotton wool or fabric scraps for stuffing
- Fabric glue, or a needle and thread for a grown-up
- Sharp scissors, for the grown-up only
- A brown fabric marker or felt pen
Felt and fabric glue are sold at fabric and stationery shops in most Kenyan towns. If you have no felt, card and old clothes work for every make below.
Which material suits each food?
Each food suits the material that matches its look and feel: soft felt for flat chapati, a stuffed sock for round ugali, golden felt for puffy mandazi and thin green felt for sukuma. The table shows the main material for each food and how easy it is for a first-time maker, so you know where to start.
| Food | Main material | How easy it is |
|---|---|---|
| Chapati | Light brown felt | Easy |
| Ugali | White sock or T-shirt cloth, stuffed | Easy |
| Mandazi | Golden yellow felt, lightly stuffed | Medium |
| Sukuma wiki | Green felt, with red and white scraps | Easy |
How do you make play chapati from felt?
- Draw a circle about the size of a side plate on light brown felt.
- Cut out two circles of the same size.
- Dot a few darker brown marks on one side with the fabric marker, to show the toasted spots.
- Glue or stitch the two circles together around the edge.
- Make four or five, so they can be stacked and shared out.
A stack of felt chapati flips easily in the pan with the spatula. The pieces also fold for serving.
How do you make play ugali from cloth?
- Cut the foot off a clean white sock, or a square from a white T-shirt.
- Fill it with cotton wool or scraps until it forms a firm dome.
- Stitch or glue the opening closed underneath.
- Press it into a rounded mound with your hands.
- Serve it on a plate beside the sukuma.
Make the ugali slightly bigger than your child's fist, so it looks right next to the other foods. A grown-up can stitch a small dip on top to show where a piece has been taken.
How do you make play mandazi from felt?
- Cut triangles from golden yellow felt, two for each mandazi.
- Stitch or glue two triangles together along two edges.
- Push in a little stuffing so the mandazi puffs up.
- Close the last edge.
- Colour the edges a little darker with the brown marker.
Mandazi go well with pretend chai for a breakfast game. Make an even number, so they share out fairly.
How do you make play sukuma wiki from felt?
- Cut wide leaf shapes from green felt.
- Cut some of the leaves into wide strips for chopped sukuma.
- Cut large red felt slices for tomato and white rings for onion, each bigger than a child's mouth.
- Keep the chopped pieces large enough to hold easily.
- Store the pieces together in a small cup or bag.
Your child can chop and stir the sukuma at the stove. Keep a few whole leaves for the market game, where sukuma is sold by the bunch.
What other Kenyan foods can you make at home?
- Chai: a circle of light brown felt that sits inside a cup as the tea
- Pilau: a pile of brown felt squares with a few green and orange pieces for vegetables
- Eggs: a white felt circle with a smaller yellow circle glued on top
- Sausages: brown felt rolled into a tube and stitched closed
- Mandazi dough: a lump of golden felt, stuffed, ready to be cut on the counter
- Bananas: yellow felt in a curved shape, with a brown tip
Each of these takes less time than the four main makes. They give the kitchen a full breakfast and lunch menu, so a pretend day of meals can run from chai in the morning to pilau in the afternoon.
Keep every piece life-sized and firmly stitched.
If you are short of time, start with chai and eggs. Both are flat shapes cut from felt in minutes, with no stuffing and no stitching, and together they make a pretend breakfast your child can serve the same evening.
How do you keep homemade play food safe and clean?
Homemade play food stays safe and clean when every piece is larger than a young child's mouth and every seam is stitched or glued firmly. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises keeping small parts away from children under 3, so check sizes when babies visit.
Felt and cloth foods can be wiped with a damp cloth or hand-washed in soapy water, then dried in the sun. Check the seams after each wash, and stitch any that have come loose.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best material for homemade play food? The best material for homemade play food is felt, because it is soft, holds its shape and needs no hemming. Old cloth and card are good free alternatives.
Do I need a sewing machine to make felt food? Making felt food needs no sewing machine. Simple hand stitching or fabric glue holds every make in this guide together.
Can I make play food without sewing? Play food can be made without sewing by using fabric glue for felt, or by cutting foods from card and covering them with clear tape so they last longer.
How do you wash felt play food? Felt play food is washed by hand in warm, soapy water, then squeezed gently and dried flat in the sun. Avoid twisting it, so it keeps its shape.
Where can I buy felt in Kenya? Felt is sold at fabric shops and many stationery shops in Kenyan towns, usually by the sheet or by the metre. Ask for craft felt in the colours you need.
Can children help make play food? Children can help make play food by choosing colours, drawing toasted spots on chapati and stuffing the ugali. A grown-up handles the scissors and needle.
How big should homemade play food be? Homemade play food should be larger than a young child's mouth, as the American Academy of Pediatrics advises for small parts. Life-sized foods also look more real at the stove.
Is paper play food a good idea? Paper play food is a quick way to start, especially for a market game with price tags. Card lasts longer than paper for pieces that get handled a lot.
How long does homemade play food last? Homemade play food lasts longest when it is stitched firmly, kept dry and checked now and then for loose threads. Mend a loose seam as soon as you see it, and replace any piece that is worn thin.
Which Kenyan fruits are easy to make from felt? Kenyan fruits that are easy to make from felt are bananas, mangoes, oranges and avocados. Each one is a simple shape cut twice and stitched around the edge, with a little stuffing inside.
