pattern // jelly bean mandala applique

While I may not love the taste and texture of jelly beans, I do love their shape and the fact that they come in so many wonderful colors. And that's why I had to make some colorful, stitchable jelly beans as Easter wall art.

The idea for this free pattern started as something that would be made entirely with felt. You can still do that. It's also a pattern that could be all embroidery...or all applique with quilting cotton! I decided to blend a few techniques and textures, resulting in crazy patterned beans and slightly fuzzy carrots.

And if you use fusible applique for parts, there's not tons of stitching, which means it's also a fast, finish it well before Easter, sort of project.



You will need:

Fabric scraps
Paper-backing fusible web (such as Wonder Under)
Freezer paper
Orange and pink felt
6in embroidery hoop
Embroidery floss or perle cotton (orange, pink, green, and black)
Pencil
Scissors
Iron
Needle

Jelly Bean Mandala Pattern PDF



Cut the fabric scraps down to about 1-3/8in x 2in. Cut pieces of fusible web to match and iron them to the back of the fabric.



Trace the jelly beans onto pieces of freezer paper and iron them to the fronts of the fabric pieces.

Peel away the paper from the fusible web, and cut out the jelly bean shapes. Now, peel away the freezer paper.



Trace the carrots and the heart onto freezer paper and iron them onto the appropriate colored felt. Cut out the shapes and then peel off the paper.



Lay the pieces out on the backing fabric. The spacing doesn't need to match the pattern page, but do try to have them even.

Tip: I discovered, via happy accident, that if you place your backing fabric in your embroidery hoop and then remove the hoop, you'll be left with a crease that acts as a guide. Working within that circle is helpful for spacing the beans!

Pull the carrots and heart off of the fabric and iron the jelly beans in place.



Stitch the jelly bean faces with french knots and scallop stitches. I did this freehand, giving each face a slightly different bit of character.



Stitch the carrots between the jelly beans, and the heart in the center, using two strands of matching thread for each.



Add the carrot tops with green thread and straight stitches.



Frame up your finished stitching in a painted hoop and you have some fun wall decor for Easter!

Although I'm showing this with instructions for the method I used, I hope you also see the possibilities for using this pattern in other ways. Use other techniques, add more rounds of Easter objects or stitching details, enlarge it to become a pillow, or more. Let it be a springboard for creativity!



Happy stitching!