How to Make a Baby Mobile
Purchase your supplies., Wrap the hoop in yarn., Create your fabric/felt shapes., Sew your shapes together., Stuff your mobile pieces with batting., Cut pieces of thread., Attach thread to the fabric/felt pieces., Connect your thread to the hoop...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Purchase your supplies.
For this kind of mobile you will need a metal hoop or ring, about 10 inches in diameter, several different colors of felt and/or fabric, strong thread, cotton balls or batting, and yarn.
The felt, fabric, yarn, and thread, can be in any colors you want.
For this project you will also need a pair of scissors and a needle.
You can choose to use hot glue or tacky glue if you aren't comfortable with your sewing skills. -
Step 2: Wrap the hoop in yarn.
Taking the metal hoop that you bought, wrap it in your yarn until you have completely covered the metal.
This is what the fabric and felt will hang from.
Start by tying a bow when you first begin to wrap your yarn.
After you have wrapped the entire hoop, untie the first bow that you made, and then tie it in a knot with the other end of the yarn.
Cut any remaining yarn.It could be fun to wrap the hoop in a brightly colored yarn, or you can keep it simple by wrapping it in a white yarn.
Make sure that you keep the yarn tight together as you wrap it so that none of the metal will show through.
You'll want to give yourself a good thirty minutes to do this, and try to do it in one setting so the yarn doesn't unravel. , Here you have lots of room to create whatever shapes you like and be creative.
Cut your fabric or felt out in your desired shapes, making sure to cut two of each shape so you can sew them together.
You can make as many shapes as you want, but a good start is making at least three shapes, with two cut-outs of each shape.
To come up with shape ideas, think about the theme of your baby's room.
Maybe you want to make little clouds, flowers, hot air balloons, dinosaurs, or stars.
Use your creativity to make different shapes suited for your baby.
If you aren't sure what to make or you need help creating the shapes, you can find pictures of the shapes online, print them out, and then trace them onto your felt or fabric. , Take your needle and thread, and sew your cut-outs of your shapes together.
Flip your pieces around so that their fronts are against each other, and then match the pieces of fabric or felt up so that they are lined up together.
Begin by sewing around your shape until you have about an inch left of fabric to sew.
Then, turn your fabric right side out.
You can sew your shapes with a needle and thread, or you can use a yarn needle and your yarn for a thicker seam.
It's your personal preference what kind of seam you want.
A yarn seam can be a really cute addition to a baby mobile, especially if you have used felt fabric, but a regular thread stitch looks great too.
If you sew with yarn, you'll want to match the shapes with their right side out, because you won't be flipping them once you have sewn.
The yarn stitch will be outside of the fabric instead of inside the fabric. , Now that you've sewn most of the way around your pieces, you'll want to stuff them with cotton balls or batting to give them some depth.
Fill your shapes with as much stuffing as you want, and then sew them up so that the stuffing does not come out.
Then, cut off any remaining thread., You will need the same number of pieces of thread as the number of fabric shapes you have made.
You can cut your thread equal lengths, or you can cut them in different lengths so that some shapes hang down lower than others.
Make sure you use light weight thread here as your shapes may not be heavy enough to pull down heavy thread.
You can also use fishing line here if you want your connections to be less noticeable.
Whatever connection you choose to use, make sure you cut pieces that are longer than your desired length, as you'll need some extra thread to sew into your shapes.
To figure out the length of your thread you may try holding your mobile up above your crib or in your baby's room, and then holding the shapes underneath it at your desired length.
Then, cut a piece of thread for each shape that is long enough to connect the shape to your hoop, with a few extra inches for sewing. , Take pieces of thread and attach them to your fabric pieces by sewing them to one of the seams.
Make sure to start sewing the thread into the side of your shape, and then finish once you have reached the middle, top of your piece.
This will ensure that your shape hangs straight.
Once you have reached the middle of your shape, tie a knot in the thread but don't cut it.
You can also sew a line straight down the middle your shape.
Start the thread in the middle, center of your shape and sew a line upwards, to the top middle of your shape.
This could be a good idea if the color thread you are using is the same as the color of the shape. , With your remaining thread, bring it up to your yarn hoop, and connect it by tying a secure knot around the hoop.
You'll want to space your thread out evenly around the hoop so that your shapes hang an equal distance from each other.
If you want more security with the knots, after you have tied them you can glue them to the inside of your yarn hoop with hot glue. , In order to hang your hoop, you'll need to attach three pieces of thread to your hoop, equal distance apart.
The pieces should be about 36 inches long.
Once you have attached your pieces around the hoop, tie a loose knot in the middle of the thread by taking the three pieces of thread and wrapping them around each other., After you have tied your loose knot, hang your mobile to figure out the perfect angle.
You'll want the hoop to lie flat, so you'll need your knot to be in a place that doesn't cause your hoop to lean one way or another.
Once you have the right angle for your hoop, secure the knot on the thread.
Once you have done this you should see your hoop with three threads connected to it, that meet in the middle to form a knot.
Then, the rest of the threads will be used to hang your mobile. , With your remaining thread, tie a loop at the very end of it so that you can hang it onto a hook.
To make the loop, loop the end of the thread so you have a small loop, and then tie it to the hanging thread with a double knot.
Hang your mobile up, and if you decide you want it shorter you can cut some of your thread and tie the loop lower. -
Step 3: Create your fabric/felt shapes.
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Step 4: Sew your shapes together.
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Step 5: Stuff your mobile pieces with batting.
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Step 6: Cut pieces of thread.
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Step 7: Attach thread to the fabric/felt pieces.
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Step 8: Connect your thread to the hoop.
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Step 9: Attach strong thread to the hoop to hang.
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Step 10: Position your mobile.
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Step 11: Hang your mobile.
Detailed Guide
For this kind of mobile you will need a metal hoop or ring, about 10 inches in diameter, several different colors of felt and/or fabric, strong thread, cotton balls or batting, and yarn.
The felt, fabric, yarn, and thread, can be in any colors you want.
For this project you will also need a pair of scissors and a needle.
You can choose to use hot glue or tacky glue if you aren't comfortable with your sewing skills.
Taking the metal hoop that you bought, wrap it in your yarn until you have completely covered the metal.
This is what the fabric and felt will hang from.
Start by tying a bow when you first begin to wrap your yarn.
After you have wrapped the entire hoop, untie the first bow that you made, and then tie it in a knot with the other end of the yarn.
Cut any remaining yarn.It could be fun to wrap the hoop in a brightly colored yarn, or you can keep it simple by wrapping it in a white yarn.
Make sure that you keep the yarn tight together as you wrap it so that none of the metal will show through.
You'll want to give yourself a good thirty minutes to do this, and try to do it in one setting so the yarn doesn't unravel. , Here you have lots of room to create whatever shapes you like and be creative.
Cut your fabric or felt out in your desired shapes, making sure to cut two of each shape so you can sew them together.
You can make as many shapes as you want, but a good start is making at least three shapes, with two cut-outs of each shape.
To come up with shape ideas, think about the theme of your baby's room.
Maybe you want to make little clouds, flowers, hot air balloons, dinosaurs, or stars.
Use your creativity to make different shapes suited for your baby.
If you aren't sure what to make or you need help creating the shapes, you can find pictures of the shapes online, print them out, and then trace them onto your felt or fabric. , Take your needle and thread, and sew your cut-outs of your shapes together.
Flip your pieces around so that their fronts are against each other, and then match the pieces of fabric or felt up so that they are lined up together.
Begin by sewing around your shape until you have about an inch left of fabric to sew.
Then, turn your fabric right side out.
You can sew your shapes with a needle and thread, or you can use a yarn needle and your yarn for a thicker seam.
It's your personal preference what kind of seam you want.
A yarn seam can be a really cute addition to a baby mobile, especially if you have used felt fabric, but a regular thread stitch looks great too.
If you sew with yarn, you'll want to match the shapes with their right side out, because you won't be flipping them once you have sewn.
The yarn stitch will be outside of the fabric instead of inside the fabric. , Now that you've sewn most of the way around your pieces, you'll want to stuff them with cotton balls or batting to give them some depth.
Fill your shapes with as much stuffing as you want, and then sew them up so that the stuffing does not come out.
Then, cut off any remaining thread., You will need the same number of pieces of thread as the number of fabric shapes you have made.
You can cut your thread equal lengths, or you can cut them in different lengths so that some shapes hang down lower than others.
Make sure you use light weight thread here as your shapes may not be heavy enough to pull down heavy thread.
You can also use fishing line here if you want your connections to be less noticeable.
Whatever connection you choose to use, make sure you cut pieces that are longer than your desired length, as you'll need some extra thread to sew into your shapes.
To figure out the length of your thread you may try holding your mobile up above your crib or in your baby's room, and then holding the shapes underneath it at your desired length.
Then, cut a piece of thread for each shape that is long enough to connect the shape to your hoop, with a few extra inches for sewing. , Take pieces of thread and attach them to your fabric pieces by sewing them to one of the seams.
Make sure to start sewing the thread into the side of your shape, and then finish once you have reached the middle, top of your piece.
This will ensure that your shape hangs straight.
Once you have reached the middle of your shape, tie a knot in the thread but don't cut it.
You can also sew a line straight down the middle your shape.
Start the thread in the middle, center of your shape and sew a line upwards, to the top middle of your shape.
This could be a good idea if the color thread you are using is the same as the color of the shape. , With your remaining thread, bring it up to your yarn hoop, and connect it by tying a secure knot around the hoop.
You'll want to space your thread out evenly around the hoop so that your shapes hang an equal distance from each other.
If you want more security with the knots, after you have tied them you can glue them to the inside of your yarn hoop with hot glue. , In order to hang your hoop, you'll need to attach three pieces of thread to your hoop, equal distance apart.
The pieces should be about 36 inches long.
Once you have attached your pieces around the hoop, tie a loose knot in the middle of the thread by taking the three pieces of thread and wrapping them around each other., After you have tied your loose knot, hang your mobile to figure out the perfect angle.
You'll want the hoop to lie flat, so you'll need your knot to be in a place that doesn't cause your hoop to lean one way or another.
Once you have the right angle for your hoop, secure the knot on the thread.
Once you have done this you should see your hoop with three threads connected to it, that meet in the middle to form a knot.
Then, the rest of the threads will be used to hang your mobile. , With your remaining thread, tie a loop at the very end of it so that you can hang it onto a hook.
To make the loop, loop the end of the thread so you have a small loop, and then tie it to the hanging thread with a double knot.
Hang your mobile up, and if you decide you want it shorter you can cut some of your thread and tie the loop lower.
About the Author
Nicole Hughes
Committed to making practical skills accessible and understandable for everyone.
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