Felt Mochi Donut Sewing Tutorial
Resembling a delicious ring of donut holes connected together, mochi donuts are a visually stunning treat and a playful Asian twist on the traditional donut. Let's discover how mochi donuts came to be and how easy they are to make into felt for a pretend play bakery, as display props, or as a gift for your donut loving friends!
Click to pin this post!
Origins of the Mochi Donut
Mochi donuts that you find today are commonly made with glutinous rice flour to give it a chewy, mochi-like texture compared to a traditional donut. However, it's believed that the earliest variation of mochi donut came about in Hawaii in the early 1990s, where Charmaine Ocasek started serving fried balls of 'poi mochi' - a mixture of poi (mashed taro) and glutinous rice flour from her parent's garage. If you're lucky enough to be in Hawaii, you can still try the original poi mochi at Uncle Lani's food truck.
In 2003, Mister Donut, the largest donut franchise in Japan, released their signature Pon de Ring donuts (ポンデリング), loosely named after a savory Brazilian cheese ball, pão de queijo, with a similar chewy texture. Made with wheat flour and tapioca flour, the Pon de Ring donuts were delightfully airy and elastic and quickly took off in Japan.
Unsurprisingly, Hawaii caught onto the craze early with it's higher population of Japanese Americans and proximity to Japan. Bakeries like Liliha Bakery and MoDo Hawaii created their own versions of the pon de ring and soon after, mochi donuts were popping up all over the US and internationally with different recipes, flavors, and toppings.
How to Make a Felt Mochi Donut
Felt mochi donuts are so fun to make and there are so many ways to customize the flavors using different colors of felt. This tutorial uses olive green felt to make matcha green tea donuts, but you could also use purple for ube, yellow for banana milk, and pink for strawberry.
Tools & Materials:
- Acrylic or wool blend felt (use light brown for the base and any color you like for the 'glaze' and the flower)
- Scissors
- Embroidery needle
- Thread (one to match the glaze, and a contrasting color for the chocolate drizzle and flower)
- Toy stuffing
- Disappearing ink fabric marker
- Ruler
- Mochi donut sewing pattern
Instructions:
1. Cut out your felt according to the pattern. You will need one ring for the glaze, one for the base, and one flower.
2. Using a disappearing ink fabric marker and a ruler, draw zig zag lines across one end of the felt you are using for the glaze to make the chocolate drizzle.
3. Using an outline stitch and your contrasting thread, sew along the lines you drew to make the drizzle. Below is a step-by-step photo guide on the outline stitch.
4. Sew 5 straight lines over the center of the flower, connecting it to the colored glaze.
6. Whipstitch the center ring of the glaze to the brown base of the donut.
7. Whipstitch the outer ring and insert stuffing into each 'bubble' as you go until you reach the end.
8. Your mochi donut is complete!
Whether you're indulging in a real mochi donut or crafting a felt version, these whimsical treats are sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. Show us how you made it and tag @yumsumchadesigns on Facebook and Instagram. What's your favorite mochi donut flavor?