DIY Felt Caravan Garland + Free Pattern

Last Updated on May 5, 2020

Hold the press, these are the cutest! Make a little parade of adorable campers with this DIY felt caravan garland pattern! This is a great project for using up felt scraps, which let’s be honest we all have too many scraps.  These cutesy trailers would be so fun as DIY decor for a nursery or playroom. Make one or make a million!

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This is a really versatile little pattern, with imagination you could use it for a number of different projects! Off the top of my head this caravan could be a pincushion, keychain, ornament, or stitched flat in an embroidery hoop with an oh-so-clever “happy camper” embroidered underneath. You could even try enlarging the pattern and making a fun pillow with it!

I used it to make this adorable garland. So cute for a kid’s room or as part of a gallery wall!

I originally published this tutorial on my other website, Wildflower Felt Designs.  I’m in the process of shutting down that site, so I’m moving some of the blog posts over here. But that’s why the pattern says Wildflower Felt Designs on it. I just don’t want anyone thinking I stole the pattern or anything, it’s totally my original design!

If you’re looking for more projects that use up felt scraps check out:
24+ Cute Crafts to Make With Felt Scraps

Tools Needed:

Free Pattern
Stitch Guide – For Reference
Embroidery Needles
Embroidery Scissors
Straight Pins
Air Erasable Marker (optional)
Freezer Paper (optional)
Scotch Tape
Polyfill or Wool Roving for stuffing
Matching Embroidery Floss
Tweezers

(Check out this page for a list of all my favourite tools for working with felt.)

Wool Felt Needed Per Caravan:

Main Colour (Caravan Top & Back & Door):  2 pieces each 4″x3″
Secondary Colour (Caravan Bottom & Wheel Well):  1 piece 3.5″x2″
White or Silver (Windows): 1.5″x1.5″
Black or Dark Grey (Tire): 1″x1″
Accent Colours for Details: 2″x2″

Notes on colour selection:
I find that this pattern works best if you use a darker colour for the top of the caravan and a lighter colour for the bottom.

Match the door colour the same as the top, and the wheel well the same as the bottom.

I only recommend using either 100% wool felt or a wool/rayon blend. Acrylic craft felt will not yield the same results and you’ll just be sad and disappointed. I don’t want that for you! Check your local fabric store first or there are many online shops that sell good quality felt.

Stitches Used:

Blanket Stitch
Backstitch
French Knot

You can download a simple stitch guide here. The blanket stitch and back stitch are pretty much interchangeable in this pattern as suits your tastes.

 

Cutting Instructions:

Print out the pattern.

There are a number of pattern pieces included that you can mix and match to create your own unique caravan designs. There’s a little triangle for bunting, a window valence, a wing design, 2 styles of window, 2 styles of door and 2 styles of caravan top.

Cut out all the pieces you would like for the front of your caravan using small, sharp embroidery scissors. You can either pin or tape the pattern pieces directly onto the felt or print the pattern pieces on freezer paper and iron them onto the felt to cut out. The freezer paper will peel right off the felt once the pieces are cut out. Alternatively you could trace the pattern pieces using an air erasable marker then cut them out.

But don’t cut out a backing piece yet.

DIY Felt Caravan Assembly:

1. Sew the Windows
Sew the window pieces to the top portion of the door and the top portion of the caravan. You can use either a backstitch or a blanket stitch. As you can see, I used both! #indecisive

2. Connect the Top to the Bottom
Overlap the top half of the caravan onto the bottom half. Secure with a blanket stitch all the way across.

3. Sew Door
Sew the door in place but do not stitch across the bottom yet. Again, you could use either a backstitch or a blanket stitch.

4. Secure the Tire
With a couple of whip stitches, secure the tire in place. The whip stitches will get covered up by the wheel well. This is just to to make sure the tire stays where it’s supposed to.

5. Sew the Wheel Well
Line up the wheel well with the bottom of the caravan and so that it’s covering the top portion of the tire.  Stitch the wheel well all the way around, using a backstitch.

6. Add Details
Now you can add some cute details like bunting or a window valence! On some of the caravans I used a french knot stitch to represent a doorknob.

7. Cut Out the Backing Piece
Pin the caravan to a piece of felt and carefully cut around the whole caravan as if it were a pattern piece. Cut around the tire too.

Note: I recommend using a blanket stitch to close up the caravan. It will make it look more polished than a backstitch in my opinion.

8. Sew the Wheel
Using black thread, blanket stitch the wheel to the backing.

9. Sew the Bottom
With matching thread, blanket stitch the bottom of the caravan to the backing.

10. Sew & Stuff the Top
Blanket stitch the top of the caravan to the backing piece about halfway around. Stuff with polyfil or felt scraps using tweezers to gently push the stuffing in.. Keep sewing around and adding polyfil as needed.

I turned my caravans into a garland by threading a 1/8″ ribbon through each one using a darning needle. I knotted loops on either end of the ribbon to hang it up with.

See how cute!

I mean, come on!

I love how this project uses little pieces so you can make a dent in your stash of felt scraps! If you’re like me, you’ve probably got a drawer-full exploding with scraps too precious to throw away. 🙂

Happy crafting!

xo