Baby Soft Block Toy Tutorial

I have made a few of these over the last couple of years. It's a fun, easy toy to make for your baby, or for a gift for a friend's new baby, such as the one that is featured in this post. My best friend from high school just had her first baby last month and her baby shower is next week. I decided to make my her and her new baby girl something fun to grow on. Thus this tutorial.

What you will need:

• Enough fabric to make 6 squares of equal size. (For this block, I used 6"x6" squares, but you can go as small as 4"x4" and as large as maybe 7"x7", although that would be pretty big for a small baby.) I used left over flannel fabric from the fitted crib sheet I made for her, as well as some pink minky for the top and bottom. You can use any assorted type of fabric and texture to make it more fun for the baby to feel and chew on.

• Fabric marking pen or pencil.
•  Sewing machine
• Coordinating thread
• Scissors
• Pins
• Needle and thread for slip stitching.
• Assorted ribbon
• Bells (I believe I used 3 or 4 as I only had small ones and my block was larger)
• Two plastic grocery bags.

• Fiber fill

Alrighty, let's get started!

Six squares of equal length.

On the back of each square, mark 1/4" in each corner using a marking pen or pencil. This step is very important.

Sew four of the squares together, sewing right sides together starting and ending at the 1/4" marks made in the step above. If you would like to add ribbon, instructions are below.

Cut ribbon 2- 1/2" in length, however many you choose to use on your block.

Fold ribbon in half, raw edges together, then place raw edges to raw edge of fabric, folded sided toward center of square. Baste at 1/8".

After basting each ribbon piece, sew 4 squares together, making a circle.

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Pin one of the remaining squares to one edge of the newly created circle, right sides together. Stitch starting at the 1/4" mark and sew to the next mark. Stop.

With needle down, lift the presser foot and pivot the main fabric, pulling up the next side of the top piece. Drop the presser foot and sew to the next 1/4" mark. Repeat until you have sewn all 4 sides together.

Repeat with the bottom portion of the block, sewing 3-3/4 sides of the block, pivoting at the 1/4" marks.

When you have sewn all but the last couple of inches, turn the block right side out.

Stuff the block with plastic bag and fiber fill. I find it works best to spread the plastic bag around the outside of the block. This makes a crinkly sound/texture.

My block was large enough that I used an additional bag after stuffing the block.

Next, add your bells. Push them to the center of the block. I used 3 or 4 small bells. You may only need one or two larger bells. Start with one, shake the block, then add more if you want.

Once you have the block stuffed, slip stitch the opening closed.

You are now finished with your block!

Car Seat Swaddle Blanket

When I had my last baby, I was really getting into sewing and wanted to make her a car seat swaddle blanket, so I started trolling the internet until I found this tutorial from Made by Marzipan as she provides a print out pattern you piece together. I did tweak it a bit to fit my needs, and I believe if I were to make it again with this pattern I would make it longer on all three ends, as my baby grew out of it in a couple of months.

What I liked about using a swaddle blanket:

• It was an extra "blow-out" barrier between my babe's bum and the actual car seat cushion. It's very easy to remove from the car seat, and the car seat cushion is left intact.
• My baby couldn't kick the blanket onto the floor of the car or the messy ground.
• It's snuggly, and my baby looked like a cute little burrito in it.

What I changed with the pattern:

• The main thing I changed was the batting. She adds batting to her blanket. I felt that made it too bulky once the baby was actually in the seat, and could pose a safety issue as well. Also, I live in an area that does not get very cold. Ever. So batting would have made a very hot and sweaty baby indeed.

Blanket laid out in the car seat.

"Baby" strapped in.

"Baby" swaddled.

Picnic Basket and napkin tutorial

A couple of years ago I participated in a craft night, and one of the crafts to make was a picnic basket out of a laundry basket. I had been wanting a picnic basket for some time, so I signed-up for it. And then I found the most PERFECT picnic basket fabric. The lady who came up with the pattern wasn't there to show us how to interpret it, so we fiddled around til we got it to work. It's such a cute idea; I love how it turned out. I used my phone to take these pictures as we were camera-less at the, so the details might be skewed.

**If you would like a tutorial for the picnic basket, leave a comment and I will work one up!**

The basket with the cover on.

The inside. There are pockets all the way around to house your dishes, utensils, napkins, etc. You then put the food in the middle, then re-cover and head out the door! I have used my quite a few times over the last couple of years, and it's held up great. The best part is you can take it apart and wash it.

I had enough leftover fabric from the basket that I thought I would try making napkins to coordinate. I bought some red checked gingham-esque fabric and pieced them together.

Here's what you'll need:

• 8- 6.25"x6.25" squares of fabric PER NAPKIN (so if you made six napkins, you'd need 48 squares)

• sewing machine
• coordinating thread of your choice
• hand sewing needle and extra thread (for slip stitching at the end)

Sew each section with the right sides together using a 1/4" inseam, pressing out the seams as you go.

This is after the four front pieces were sewn together.

After sewing two sets of four pieces, put right sides together and stitch along 3 and 3/4 sides, leaving an opening to turn the napkin right side out. I also trimmed the corners and the seam allowances to make them lay flat and the corners to be more pointed.

This is the open edge. Turn the napkin right side out.

Slip stitch the opening and you're done!


**Please feel free to use this tutorial, but if you post on your own site, please link back to this original post. THANK YOU!**