Make your own baby toys: 3 great upcycling ideas

The special charm of homemade toys for your baby lies in the high degree of individuality and, above all, the safety of the materials used. Only when you make baby toys yourself do you have complete control. At the same time, it's also a lot of fun.

But we want to take it one step further: Our ideas relate to baby toys that you can make from sustainable materials (upcycling). We'll explain exactly what that means and what you should generally keep in mind when making your own baby toys in the course of our article.

You can let your creativity run wild and create the baby toy that best suits your needs in terms of style, materials, and production. Some people prefer sewing, while others prefer to craft, crochet, or assemble something. To give you some DIY ideas, we've selected a baby toy from each of three different areas and provide detailed instructions.

What does upcycling mean?

Upcycling involves transforming seemingly unusable, old items into something new, better, and of higher quality. Recycling, such as glass, results in a loss of quality. Upcycling, on the other hand, such as making furniture from old Euro pallets, increases the value.

So if you sew a baby toy from an old towel or make a tealight holder from an empty can, you're practicing upcycling at its finest.

What should you generally look for when buying baby toys?

For newborn babies, the voices and faces of their parents are initially exciting enough. A pretty mobile above the crib and perhaps a comfort blanket are all that a baby otherwise needs or finds interesting.

However, as your baby gets a little older, they'll enjoy many different sounds, shapes, colors, and textures. This is where you come in—and we do with our ideas for making your own baby toys.

When making baby toys, you have to keep in mind that your child will be touching them with their hands and, especially, with their mouth. So, it goes without saying that the toy must be safe. Here are some additional tips:

• The materials used should be free of harmful substances.
• If you buy a finished toy, it should have the necessary safety seals and certificates.
• Wood is better than plastic. If plastic, then BPA-free.
• The toy should have a neutral scent. If you notice an unpleasant odor, it's probably due to chemicals evaporating from it. It's best to stay away from it.
• The toy should not have any parts that are too small to fall off and be swallowed.
• If you buy something with a noise, such as a rubber duck, make sure the noise isn't too loud - otherwise, it will damage your baby's hearing.
• Make sure there are no dangerous corners or edges (burrs).

Once you've familiarized yourself with the basics, you can start sewing, crafting, building, bobbin lace making, crocheting, knitting, or whatever hobby you'd like to pursue.

Sewing: Crackling cloth

If you're particularly fond of sewing, you'll definitely enjoy making a crinkle cloth for your little one. You have complete freedom in the design, fabrics, and extras you choose. A crinkle cloth is ideal for upcycling many different materials and objects.

When your baby is taking a nap or actually falls asleep in the evening without any problems, you can devote yourself to your hobby in peace and quiet.

What exactly is a crinkle cloth?

As the name suggests, it's a piece of fabric that crinkles pleasantly when touched, creating a sense of interest for babies. The crinkle effect is achieved by sewing in a layer of material that rustles in an interesting way.

In addition to the crinkle cloth, you can sew many different things onto the crinkle cloth that could be exciting for the baby and train his fine motor skills, such as a wooden teething ring, a discreet bell or a piece of felt or velvet.

By the way: 15-20 x 15-20 cm is the perfect size for a crinkle cloth.

What can you use for a crinkle cloth – especially from an upcycling perspective?

Basically, (almost) anything will do, as long as it's safe. What you'll definitely need are some fabric scraps. You can use an old towel, an old blouse or pair of jeans you no longer wear, or even fabric scraps from other sewing and crafting projects, such as velvet, felt, plush, or teddy fabric.

Then you need the crackling layer. Roasting bags or an emergency blanket from your car first-aid kit are great options (don't forget to refill them!). Both have a wonderful rustling sound. Of course, you can use a used roasting bag for upcycling purposes, rinse it thoroughly, and disinfect it if necessary. Transparent wrapping paper from a gift you once received also crackles beautifully and is also durable.

Finally, you'll need a few extras for your homemade baby toy. These might include:

• a teething ring
• leather fringes
• a thick knot of fabric that you sew onto one corner
• a woolen braid (from the knitting loom)
• large wooden beads with a hole in the middle
• Pompoms of every kind, shape and size
• a small plush toy and much more.

All you need now is your sewing machine, thread, scissors and a little skill and patience.

Sewing a crackling cloth: How to do it:

Here are step-by-step instructions for sewing a crackling cloth from upcycled materials:

1. Gather all your utensils, fabric scraps, crackling material, and extras.
2. Cut out a square of 15x15 cm from a piece of fabric and place it on your work surface with the “good” side facing you.
3. Now place all the utensils that will be on the crinkle cloth at the end on the fabric so that they point inwards (after turning them over later they will be oriented outwards).
4. Now place a second, equally sized square of fabric on top of all the extras. Position the fabric so the "good" sides are facing each other (so the inside is now facing you) and secure the fabric and the extras with pins or strong clothespins.
5. Next comes the crackling layer: For this, cut a piece of roasting bag, for example, to the same size and then place it on top of the fabric. Don't forget to cut the air holes!
6. Now sew all the layers together all the way around with your sewing machine, and double-stitch any extras. Leave an opening of about 6 to 7 centimeters at the edge so you can turn the scarf inside out later.
7. Now you have to fiddle a little and turn the cloth completely through the opening.
8. If you like, you can add a beautiful decorative seam all around and hand-sew on additional appliqués. If you don't want to add a decorative seam, you'll at least have to finish and close the opening for turning.

Your baby will surely have a lot of fun with your homemade baby toys.

Crafts: Pimp my Hula Hoop

Maybe you have an old hula hoop lying around in your basement that you haven't used in years. Now you can give it a new purpose. Similar to the crinkle cloth, you can use a variety of leftovers and scraps from other craft projects.

Ultimately, the hula hoop is designed to train babies' reflexes as well as strengthen fine motor skills. Suitable materials include ribbons, cords, and fabrics of all kinds, a teething ring, wool, "sausages" from a knitting loom, pompoms, a stuffed animal, or even an old mop (washed in the washing machine at 90°C).

Now, as you wish, you can attach all of these items around the hula hoop. Fabric and wool can be easily wrapped around it. A stuffed animal can be cut in the middle, wrapped around the hoop, and sewn back together. Cords, pompoms, and the like can be easily tied in place. Again, the only limits are your creativity (and the child's safety).

Building: Activity Board

If you're a bit handy or enjoy working with wood, a hammer, and screws, an activity board is a wonderful upcycling project. What's special is that you can adapt the board over the years, creating a toy that's appropriate for each age.

Essentially, an activity board is a fairly large wooden board to which you can attach a variety of items. For very young babies, a protective cover made of foam and/or fabric is recommended. Depending on the child's age, you can attach pompoms, various textures, balls, ribbons, and more to the board. Later, you can also attach an old calculator, various puzzles and dexterity games, a used light switch, and much more to the board. This way, the activity board remains interesting over the years and you can give new purpose to many different objects – with the idea of ​​upcycling.

How YOU want to build the board is entirely up to you. Basically, anything is possible. Just make sure it's age-appropriate and safe. For example, sand the edges of the board all the way around and secure it to prevent it from falling over (or screw it firmly to the wall).

You can also cut out small flaps and attach them with hinges. Behind them, you can occasionally hide new things like photos or even a piece of candy (similar to an Advent calendar).

Making baby toys yourself is a lot of fun in itself. When you add a deeper meaning to the process by upcycling old items, it's twice as much fun.

With that in mind, happy sewing, crafting, and building. If you'd like to do something good for your baby, just stop by our shop and check out our vegan booties or cute dungarees .