Baby Baby Baby…#2

Number 2 in the triumverate (is that the right word? In the right context?) of baby presents. (Number 1 is here)

And just before you accuse me of cashing on the Royal Baby-these presents have been on my ‘to-do’ list for ages, and I made them last week, having forgotten all the impending arrival of a Royal heir (is that even possible, to forget? Not any more..!)

Anyway, here it is…

A squidgy cube play thing thing.

If you want to make one, this is a bit of a poor how-to, but I will give it a go.

This is what you need:

• Fabric of your choosing-I had 3 different pink themed fabrics as this was for a baby girl, and I would hate to buck tradition and challenge any kind of gender stereotyping

• Some kind of template to make squares with-I used the long edge of a DVD box and it came out a pretty good size
• Pen/tailors chalk (confession-I used a biro, on the wrong side of the fabric as a) both of fabric pens have died, b) of the two fabric pens I had-the ink from one would disappear before you could cut, and the ink from the other never disappeared, so I am not a big fan anyway, c) I don’t like tailor’s chalk-I can never get it to show uo, and d) it was within the seam allowance so wouldn’t show)
• Ruler
• Contrasting fabric for letters/numbers
• Templates for letters/numbers
• Pins
• Sewing machine and thread
• Stuffing-this does take quite a lot, so I used a mix of scraps and bits from my scrap bag and some toy stuffing I had lurking at the back of the wardrobe
• Small bell-optional-I thought I had one kicking around somewhere and wanted to put it in the middle so it would jingle when the ball was rolled, but it has disappeared into the abyss, so I didn’t

This is what you do:

• Gauge roughly how big you want your finished cube to be, and then either make a template from a cereal box, or be lazy like me and use the long edge of a DVD box to draw a square on the fabric

• Measure and cut out 6 squares of fabric-I did 2 from each of my three fabrics, but you can do them all the same, or whatever you like (obviously)
• If you want to put letters/numbers on your cube, then now is the time to do it-I printed off A B C and 1 2 3 and then cut them out and used these as templates to make little applique things-I used the scraps from the jeans bunting to make these

• Arrange your squares/letters ina  pleasing manner so you know which letter you want on which square before you sew them on

• Pin your letters/numbers in the middle of the squares and then sew around using a zig zag/satin stitch
• Then you just start pinning the squares wrong sides together and sewing with a straight stitch-do 4 in a vertical row first, then the 2 that make the ‘arms’ of the cross, and then if you are like me and lacking in spatial awareness, you need to keep turning it the right way around to figure out which bits need to go next to each other, but it does make sense as you start doing it, and starts to look like a cube pretty quickly! I did say it was a bit of a rubbish how-to. Apologies. Hope it makes at least a little bit of sense…
• I got very excited and forgot to iron my seams open as I was going, and by the time I got to the end it was all a bit too much of a faff. I would recommend pressing the seams though, it would look more professional
• Don’t forget to leave a gap for turning out on your last side. Turn out, and stuff!

Then the only problem is finding suitable gift wrap for it. This is the best I could manage. I know it’s blue, but there is a bit of pink on the ribbon…