I know this is a first time parent thing…but I am absolutely convinced that my exceptional daughter is bored out of her mind…I mean—how couldn’t she be!? So, rather than waiting for teethers and grasping toys to arrive in the mail, I did what any good mommy would do: I made her some toys! Today’s post is a quick and easy tutorial on how to make a ribbon blanket for your baby. It’s the perfect home made teether or grasping toy! Let’s get started:
What You’ll Need:
Minky or Flannel: 10″ square (This is a perfect project to use up some of your scraps!)- Cotton Print: 10″ square
- Wooden Teething Animals (There’s all sorts of options on Amazon!)
- Ribbon and trim scraps
- Matching Thread
- Babyville Boutique Snaps and Pliers
Making the Ribbon Blanket
To get started, cut out your 10″ squares. You’ll need one Minky and one cotton print. Then trim your ribbons to 4″ or less. I like to use different length of ribbon to keep things interesting for baby. Just make sure you don’t make any ribbons too long!
Next, fold your ribbons in half (wrong sides together) and pin them to the edge of one square. Make sure to line up all raw edges.
Quickly baste over the ribbons and trim to hold them in place.
Now, layer your backing fabric on top of your cotton print, right sides together. Pin and sew (use a 1/4″ seam) around all edges, making sure to leave an opening for turning.
Clip your corners, and turn the blanket right sides out. Iron all edges flat.
Using matching thread, topstitch around all sides using 1/4″ seam.
Now it’s time to add snaps! This is my favorite part!
Measure in 3.5″ from both sides on any corner and mark. Poke a hole through the mark you’ve made. Make a second mark (and poke) about 1/4″ from the same corner. Add your snaps.
Thread your corner through your wooden animal, snap, and there you have it!! You’ve got a toy!
Now it’s time to fill up your phone camera with all sorts of adorable pictures and plaster them all over Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Show off that gorgeous baby and their shiny new toy!
Hey Rachel. The little teething, grasping thingy is cute, not as cute as your baby however!
Next time you make one, perhaps you would like to put a clean bag that cereal come in inside. It makes it really crunchy, and makes a crinkling sound! Another thing to stimulate Baby!
What a great idea, Maggie! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Making one of these as a baby shower gift! PLEASE tell me where you got this sweet fabric. I looked all over JoAnn’s today for something similar but was out of luck. I love the class look and simple design compared to many of the DIY versions I’ve seen. Lovely!
Thanks so much Megan! This was an old print from years and years ago, I’m not sure who the designer was, but you can find fabrics like this easily at your local quilt shop! Good luck & happy sewing!