Thanksgiving Mayflower Ship Kids' Table Decoration (Pottery Barn Kids Inspired)

As I was browsing through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog a few weeks ago, I fell in love with some little felt ships they were selling for Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately they were all sold out, so I had to get creative and make my own!

These Mayflower ships would be so cute placed at the kids' table during the Thanksgiving meal, or on each child's plate, filled with crayons or treats to keep the kids busy until dinner is ready.

To make these ships, you will need:

Dark brown felt and white or cream felt

Orange embroidery floss

Needle

Wood dowel

Small wood spool (or other accessory to keep dowel standing straight up) 

1.  Cut out a simple ship shape from the brown felt twice (you will need two).

2.  Cut out a long oval from the brown felt that is the same length as the base of your ship.

3.  Using your needle and embroidery floss, blanket stitch around the edges and the base of the the ship.  If you don't know how to sew a blanket stitch (like I didn't), then this YouTube blanket stitch tutorial should help.  No, I didn't make it, but it sure helped me :)  As you stitch around the base, make sure that the bottom oval piece will lay flat when you are finished, and that you are stitching each side of the oval to the base of each side of the ship.

The finished base.

Glue the spool to the bottom of the ship to help the dowel stand straight.

4.  Next take your wood spool (or any other method you will be using to keep your dowel standing straight), and glue it into the inside of your ship, right in the middle.  I used my trusty glue gun.

5.  Cut a rectangle out of your white or cream felt, and cut a small slit in the top and another slit in the bottom.  Stick your dowel through the slits for the sail of the ship.

The finished product!

The sail would look so cute with brown stitching around the edges, or with the name of your child embroidered or printed on it.  I kept it simple this year, but for next year I will be stitching and embroidering names to add a little more detail.  You could even help your child make one of those little handprint turkeys to decorate the sail.  Be creative!

Add crayons or small treats to keep the kids busy.

I added some crayons to this ship to keep the kids busy.  You could even make a few sails out of paper for the kids to decorate, and then replace the felt sails with the paper!  You could even put some small wrapped treats or nuts in their shells for the kiddos to snack on while waiting for the Thanksgiving dinner to be served.  The possibilities are endless!

I hope you enjoyed these little Thanksgiving Mayflower Ship Table Decorations.  They would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving table, don't you think?

For more DIY Thanksgiving ideas, check out my Metallic Golden Acorns, an Easy DIY Fall Thanksgiving Wreath, my Boy's Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat, and my Easy DIY Fall Headband (for boys or girls).

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XO, Laura