2.28.2011

Baby Soft Block with Ribbon Tutorial

These blocks are pretty easy to make and are a really great handmade baby gift. I made one for my nephew as a late holiday present, and one to coordinate with this baby blanket. Now, I have a tutorial to share with you! Here's what you'll need:

Fabric: I used 4 fabric squares that are 4x4 and 2 chenille squares also 4X4. You need 6 squares in total, and they need to be square. What you use for fabric and the dimensions are really up to you. I used the same concept to make some pattern weights, tutorial here.


You'll also need:
  • 4 pieces of ribbon about 2-3 inches each,
  • some kind of stuffing (I used polyester Fiberfill),
  • your sewing machine and thread
  • a hand sewing needle and some thread
Fold your ribbon in half, center and pin to one side of a fabric square.

Lay another fabric square on top and sew down the side with 1/4 inch seam.

Press seam open.

(you can also machine baste your ribbon in place first, as I did on the green square, below)

Repeat with the remaining 2 squares and 2 pieces of ribbon until you've got 4 pieces in a row with 3 ribbons sewn in.

On the first and last square, fold fabric over to the wrong side 1/4 inch and press. Attach the last piece of ribbon to one end of your fabric strip.

With right sides together and 1/4 inch seam, sew the chenille squares to the square in position C.

Now you need to start sewing sides together to form the block. It's a little hard to show this, but basically you will start by sewing side A to E and side D to E. It will look like this.

Continue sewing each side to the chenille squares in the same way. Trust me, it will make much more sense when you're actually doing it. When you get to the last side, stop your seam at the 1/4 inch fold you made before.

Here's what you'll have when you've sewn up all the sides, except the last side where you folded over 1/4 inch. You need to leave this side open for turning.

Turn your block right side out....

and fill.
Pull the last 2 sides together, match where you folded the fabric, and pin. Use a needle and thread to blind stitch the side shut.

So cute! I made this one to go along with a baby blanket I made for a friend which I posted here.

Have fun! Leave me a comment and a link if you make one. I'd love to see!

50 comments:

  1. How cute is that... and looks pretty easy to make too. Next time I make a baby gift I will try one of these. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Love how these turned out! So cute!

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  3. Super cool! These would make for some great baby gifts!

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  4. Such a cute idea. I love the animal print - that lion is awesome! I look forward to making some for my goddaughter.

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  5. My 6 month has a few that are store bought and she loves them. I would love to make her a few more but she really loves the ones that make that crunchy sound. Does anyone know what they use inside the crinkly sounding books and toys?

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    1. I have used a roll of clear (irredescent) wrapping plastic from hobby lobby's wrapping paper section...I cut off a piece and stuff whatever I'm making that I want to make that sound.

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    2. how does that plastic wash and dry?

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  6. i'm not sure what manufacturers use to make the crinkly sound, but it's easy enough to find a plastic bag that makes the right kind of noise for what you're going for (usually thicker plastic works better) and then just add that to the back of one (or more) of your little squares. i make flat crinkle toys for relatives and incorporate crinkly portions to various items i make for my own family and the thicker plastic works pretty well!

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  7. I just made these this afternoon, and I love them. Your tutorial is great. Thank you!

    http://madmaxmama.blogspot.com/2011/03/handmade-baby-toys.html

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  8. I've made a few blocks in the past. The most recent are machine sewn with fabric. Thanks for the tutorial. I was never sure how far to sew to the end when you add the A to E and A to D, etc.

    http://latenightstamper.blogspot.com/search/label/block
    Thanks for sharing. Love your stuff.

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  9. Thanks for the tutorial. This is a perfect gift for a friend that is having a baby soon. I found extra scraps that I had used for a quilt and I had cut too many squares and I just used them to make this cute block and I added some bells in them.

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  10. Hi! This is such a great tutorial! I'd love to feature it at Baby Lifestyles. Please email me at editor at BabyLifestyles dot com if we may do so. Thanks!

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  11. Thanks so much for the tutorial. I want to make these and now don't have to fly blind.

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  12. Even thou my grandchildren are three and four they really like their soft blocks. I have saved some of their reciving blankets and I think I'll use them to make the soft blocks out of.

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  13. Great tutorial I really want to make some of these!

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  14. Hi- thx so much for posting. Just made a gorgeous one for my son's teacher's newborn boy. I part stitched the corners of the final seam before turning out and inserted a 'bell' inside for a rattle. Love love love it and your instructions are brilliant. Thx again for sharing this with us :)

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  15. I made these for my new nephew and I was so happy with how they turned out! Thank you!!!!

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  16. Thanks for the post! I love the little blocks just made my first one and it was SUPER easy!!!

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  17. Best idea! I made some today and looooove them! I am thinking I'm going to toss a jingle bell in the ones I make in the future so it is a rattle too.

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  18. SUPER CUTE!!! I wanted to say for the crinkly noise—I don't know how well it would work if you washed it, but have you bought Sun Chips since they changed to those recycled or recyclable bags? HOLY COW, they're NOISY!!! I think I'll try sewing a double layer of one of those bags to the back of one side of the block! :)

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  19. This is a beautiful tutorial - already made 3 of these. I hope you don't mind that I posted about this om my Pinterest board (http://pinterest.com/eddieduckling/creating-for-baby/).

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  20. I love the tutorial. I've made some and put a jingle bell inside, too, but will they wash ok? I like the idea of the Sun Chip bag as well but not sure how the blocks will do in the wash. Anybody try washing them with a bell or bag inside?

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  21. really cute!!

    I linked to your tutorial on my blog - thanks for sharing!

    doro K.

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  22. Thanks for the tutorial I made some today with the leftover material from the baby quilt I made my friend. I embroidered a letter on each one to spell out the babies name too!

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  23. Thanks! I did a few blocks. I have 5 done, and 10 more cut out for a few friends.
    I love the size of the ones on your tutorial and the ribbons are a great addition (If I had more ribbon sitting around the house).
    Here are the first couple I did on my blog with some scrap fabric:
    http://annettemartha.blogspot.com/2012/02/fabric-blocks.html

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  24. Your tutorial is very easy to follow and I had fun making the blocks. I made one ribbon block and one smaller initial block & added jingle bells inside. http://babyalexandre.blogspot.com/ Looking forward to making many more!! Thank you :)

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  25. Hi Ruby, I made my soft block!
    Thank you for your tutorial.
    Here you can find the Italian translation and my block.
    http://sonoalmondo.blogspot.com/2012/03/soft-block-tutorial-da-zaaberry.html

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  26. I am impressed by the quantity of information on this website. There are a lot of good resources here. I am sure I will visit again soon.

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  27. Great tutorial! Here's the link to my completed blocks:

    http://jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com/2012/04/baby-blocks.html

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  28. I loved these right away, and couldn't wait to try my and at them! A friend and I got together to make them, and had a blast! I used 4 squares of cotton, and 2 squares of minky fabric on each block, and they turned out great! Here's the link to my blog entry with the blocks!
    http://veganizetheworld.blogspot.com/2012/04/more-sewing-adventures.html#more

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  29. you explained it so easily! i made two for my baby cousin who is due in june, i hope she loves them.

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  30. So cute blocks! I've made one too :)
    http://sannatsolmussa.blogspot.com/2012/05/pehmokuutio-lahinna-taalla-tullaan.html

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  31. These are so cute! I'm definitely going to have to learn to sew! Thanks for sharing!

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  32. thomas the tank engine Welcome to the Thomas the Tank shop. We have one of the largest selections in the UK of Thomas the Tank Engine including: Thomas Take N Play & Trackmaster Ranges Clothes Books & DVDs Bedroom Accessories Thomas.

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  33. Thank you for your tutorial
    I'm french, sorry for my english !
    I understood your explanations and I have to add object to make noise!

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  34. Hi!
    I found you blog casually while I were looking for some ideas for a little girl... immediately added to the favorites! Your things are soooooo cute and beautiful!
    Here is the link to the post where I show the things I made thanks to your tutorials!
    THANK YOU!
    http://lecreazionidifrency.blogspot.ch/2012/11/qualcosa-di-nuovo-something-new.html

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  35. Just made these for my daughter for Christmas! Super easy! Instead of chenille i used fleece...due to the fact my local store didnt carry chenille. Great tutorial!

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  36. you rock! Thank you so much for this tutorial. I am going to be an aunt in May for the first time & am going to have to make several blocks for the new lil one. Making a bib & burp cloth set, but this is just what I needed to make it perfect.

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  37. I stuffed a couple of bells in mine so it would make noise too. It works if you just put 2 in the middle right before you sew the last side up.

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  38. Thanks for a great tutorial! I just made some soft blocks and linked back to your blog in my post. http://apple-crate.blogspot.com/2013/07/baby-soft-blocks-with-ribbon-loops.html

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  39. gonna give it a try....

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  40. Found you via google. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I whipped out two of these, no problem. Excellent tutorial! Thank you, thank you, thank you :)

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  41. Thanks for this great tutorial! My ladder stitch needs work, but I made them for my nephew for Christmas, and he LOVED them! I did one with bells, one with a plastic egg filled with soda can tops, one with crinkly cellophane on two sides, and one with all different textured fabrics. He couldn't get enough! Here's a link to my completed projects! http://starb37.blogspot.com/2014/01/post-christmas-pics.html

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  42. hey, thanks for the tutorials. I've made this a couple of times and its always a hit. I just have to share this... I make the fleecy no sew blankets where you lay two pieces of fleece together, cut squares out of the corners and then cut tassles around the edges and tie. like this... http://www.instructables.com/id/No-Sew-Fleece-Blanket/
    This gives you 8 squares cut out from the corners... perfect for making a blanket and matching soft block! and no wastage from the blanket if you keep the extra 2 squares for future blocks. hope that helps. =]

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  43. Thank you for the tutorial! They are so cute! I made one for my daughter but the Poly-fil fiber pieces will come through my cotton fabric. My daughter will suck on the block and some of the fibers will be in her mouth. Is there another type of fabric that I could line the cotton fabric with (like flannel maybe)?

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    1. I have been using fabric scraps for stuffing these days as well. I think lining the block with flannel would work as well.

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  44. I made something similar several years ago for my grandson. I didn't have these wonderful directions as I made it...I was just figuring it out as I went along. Your directions will make it easier the next time I make some. I lined each square of fabric with flannel first. One thing I did that I (and my grandson) liked was to add a bell on the inside. I used one of the small cat toy plastic balls with the bell in the middle and pushed it to the inside middle along with the stuffing. He liked the ringing sound as he played with it.

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  45. Thank you! Just finished my blocks for my goddaughter, I added a jingle bell inside for added fun :)

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