DIY Baby Toy: Soft Blocks

Some of you mamas might not know how to sew or think you can’t sew, but anyone can learn. It may sound intimidating to some of you but it is the best experience.

Two years ago, when I was pregnant with my second daughter, Lilah, my mother-in-law and I decided to make her bedding since I couldn’t find the ones I like. If you are struggling to find one, you can always make one. Making it is better than buying one.

I didn’t make her bedding but bought the materials for my mother-in-law to do it.

However, I did a soft baby block which was a project I did all by myself. With the leftover material, it was made into a fun toy for Lilah.

It was a creative and fun project with the leftover fabric. The fabric was bought from Michael Miller’s Pet Deer line

Since it was a fun project to do, it was time to get more crafty and learn some sewing skills. Learning step by step about sewing and figuring things out became so fun that sewing became a favorite hobby. If you think a sewing machine isn’t your friend, you need to rethink that.

Thanks to my mother-in-law, there is something to look forward to all the time. Whenever there are leftover fabrics, they will be used for fun and spontaneous projects for the kids.

If you don’t like to be wasteful, you can start thinking about making things with the leftover fabric.

It’s never too late to learn a new skill.

Materials:

• 6 pieces of 5×5 inch squares of fabric per block
• Appliques (optional)
• Fabric pen
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Iron (optional)
• Measuring tape or yard stick
• Polyfill

Instructions:

• Step 1: Make a template, so you don’t mess up the cube. You can use cardstock to help you. With the cardstock, you measure a 5 x 5 square block with 1/4 added to each side for the seams.
• Step 2: Use the cardstock template you made and cut the fabric.

If you are planning to do appliques, now is the time to put them on. You want to make sure they are completely SEWED down though… you don’t want your little ones choking on little pieces of fabric!

• Step 3: Assemble how you want your squares to look like on the block. Once everything is line up, you can start pinning them right side in. Pin 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc., and then finally, pin 5 and 6 to 2.

• Step 4: Start sewing the right side in, using your ¼” seam allowance. You can start by sewing 1-4 together and then add 5 and 6 to 2 at the end. Now comes the trickiest part: take 1 and 5, line them up, and sew them together. You do the same with 1 and 6. Follow suit until the entire cube is sewn, leaving a good 2-3 inches open on one side to add your stuffing.

• Step 5: Another very important step you don’t want to miss is before you put your cube right side out, you want to check all the seams for no holes in the corners. If there is a hole, your child might make the tiniest hole into an even bigger one.

• Step 6: Put your cube right side out and then stuff it with polyfill. To make it more entertaining, you can add a little bell or something as a learning element for the kids. Continue to stuff all the polyfill in until you no longer can stuff anymore. You’ll be amazed how much you can stuff polyfill in a small cube.

• Step 7: Once you finish stuffing, you can close the seam with a slip stitch, and viola! It is finally done!

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This article was produced and syndicated by Mama Say What?!

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