World Dishes: Latin and Caribbean Cuisine - Part 1: Felt Tostones

by Felicia Davenport

One of my favorite things about my family is how diverse it is. Many of my relatives, myself included, have fallen in love with people from different cultures. This comes with its own amazing and wonderful aspects, as well as some challenges. But one of my favorite things that has come from it is my exposure to different foods. My husband is West Indian and Honduran. His mother, who is Honduran, is now remarried to a Jamaican man. The food that comes my way is truly out of this world—flavor-packed and filled with rich cultural history. One staple in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine is the plantain. It is prepared in many ways, and honestly, I haven’t had a single preparation I didn’t love. The more flavorful, savory cousin to the banana, plantain is one of my favorite fruits. Tostones are twice-fried plantain slices commonly found in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine.

This dish is known as tostones in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, and Venezuela, while in the Dominican Republic, they are called "fritos", in Haiti "bannann peze", and in Peru "patacones". My children love playing with their favorite foods—quite literally—so I created a felt version of this family favorite. It’s super easy to make and a fun way to incorporate a food you love or introduce your little ones to something new!

Materials Used:

All felt used for this project is from The Felt Store

  • Felt Tostones - Rayon/Viscose Felt in Chocolate Brown
  • Thread – pick thread colors to match your felt. I used a rust brown color I had on hand. It does not need to be an exact match
  • Cutting machine (for machine cutting – I used the Cricut Maker machine for this project but you can also cut by hand)
  • Pencil or felt pen, scissors and ruler/tape measure
  • Straight pins
  • Doll stuffing

Measurements for each element:

  • Felt tostones 2.75 in x 2.75 in
  • You will cut these down a bit to give a more authentic shape
    •

    Instructions:

    1. Trace twelve 2.75 inch x 2.75 inch circles on your felt either using a pen and then cut them out by hand or using your cutting machine.
    2. Each tostone requires 2 of the cut circles – you will end up with 6 completed tostones.
    3. Match up your pairs, by laying one circle on top of the other.
    4. Once matched up, use straight pins to pin your circles together.
    5. Next, use scissors to cut the circles into irregular shapes to resemble the rough, uneven form of a pressed or mashed plantain. There’s no right or wrong way to do this—just let your creativity flow!

    1. Next you will begin to stitch your tostones together. Please keep in mind, you will need to stuff them, so leave a gap. For this project, I opted for a blanket stitch, as it is very secure and keeps the stuffing inside, despite the kids play.

    1. When you're almost done stitching, add a little stuffing. The goal is to create a tostone that is flat yet slightly dimensional—you want some stuffing, but not so much that it forms a ball.

    1. Complete the stitch and cut off extra string.
    2. Repeat the process for each of the 6 tostones.
    3. Enjoy your felt tostones!

    I hope you find this project fun and easy to recreate. This is not only a fun way to introduce or celebrate the deliciousness that are tostones, it is also a fun piece that can be used in different ways in the play kitchen space! Please share your versions of these Felt Tostones on social media by tagging @the_felt_store and @TheWaySheFelt_ on Instagram!

    Happy Crafting!

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