Have scraps of fabric?
Have a baby?
Know a baby?
If so, you might have a new project to start on.
Go ahead, let your kiddo (or a kiddo you know) chew these to death. It won’t hurt a thing. And if they get oozy and stained……pop them in the washing machine. Presto…all clean.
Wanna learn?
You’ll need:
- Strips of fabric 8 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches (however many you’d like to make)
- Batting
- Thread
- Sewing Machine
Start by sewing the strips together in half, lengthwise.
Then turn them right side out……
…………..and start stuffing them with the batting. You’ll want it to be full but not too full. You still want the ring to be semi-flexible. Use a pencil to shove it down in there. (Be patient with this part. It helps to bunch up pieces of the batting and then shove them in.)
Make sure that the batting doesn’t go all the way to the ends. Sew one end closed, about an 1/8 inch away from the edge.
On the other end, fold it down about a 1/4 of an inch to the inside.
Then slide (or maneuver) the sewn end into the folded end. Sew along the fold.
Then do the same with your next ring but before closing the ring, slide it through your first ring and then fasten it closed.
Attach as many rings together as you’d like and toss it on over to the baby.
And let that baby munch away.
And no worries, I have run out of time, but I’ll show you how to make the cloth blocks tomorrow. Stay tuned………
Ashley Johnson is a DIY sewist, crafter, costume maker and home interior designer.
Can you use cotton balls if you don’t have batting?
I wonder if these will work if I fill them with rice or something that will get cold. I bet it would make a great teething chain. Thank you for eating up my scraps…:)
Thanks for the instructions! I did one variation. I used cellophane wrapping paper to fill every other ring so that they crinkle. My little one LOVES it!
what a nice idea… I just tried it out and made some for my baby daughter.
thanks for the tutorial, really good explanation and easy to make.
Here are mine: https://justjoolez.blogspot.com/2012/01/stoffkette-fur-die-zwergin-und-nen.html
These are great! I can hardly wait for my twins to wake up from their naps so they can chew on them! Thank you!
so cute!!!!! thanks for sharing!
It doesn't really matter what type of stuffing you use with these. And darn, sorry they didn't really work out for you. You're right though, stuffing them more may help. Good luck!
Ashley
Well, I made them and I hate them! Ugh! I know, totally goes against your blog title but I just couldn't function with a screaming child in the background. Can you tell I only have one babe? Ha – hopefully it's better next time. I don't think I stuffed enough.
My babe has been screaming all morning, literally. So instead of pulling my hair out, I started making these. What stuffing do you use? Does it matter?
Thank you again! I just love all of your projects! You can see a picture of the ones I made here, https://simplejoycrafting.blogspot.com/
Anna, if you're having trouble with your needle getting stuck…..try starting in the middle of the ring and then sewing out to the edge. Then flip it over, start in the middle, and sew out to the other edge. Sometimes it's hard for a machine to get through a bunch of bulk without any other fabric behind the needle for the machine to pull on.
If that doesn't work, try rotating the wheel (moves the needle manually) and work your way through the beginning of the bulk……and create a few stitches that way. Then try sewing normally.
Hope that helps!
Ashley
I just made these for my very first sewing project EVER! Thanks so much!
I just made some for my 6 month old girl for Christmas. They turned out great. Thanks for the tutorial.
So I am trying to make these and for the life of me can't figure out how to sew the ends of the ring together on the machine. The needle keeps getting stuck at the beginning of the fabric. Any suggestions? Thanks!
These are waaaaay tooo cute!
I'm making these tonight!!!!
hi! I just made a set for my babies but I changed the way of closing the rings. More work for me! Love your work. Thanks!
Oh awesome idea about using snaps!! I was just thinking it'd be great to atleast be able to attach the end rings to something to hang!
Trying these today :)
What a great idea! I'm fairly new to sewing, but am in the process of making baby items for my expecting sister and cousin. These will be perfect! I'm so excited!!!
This are so cute. I only got 2 sewn together before my son stole them and started chewing on them. However, I did mine a little different. I machine sewed the edge down the is on the outside of the ring before, I sewed it into a tub. Makes the edge look great and finished. I also made my strips 9 1/2 inches instead of 8 1/2. A little easier to sew. But great anyways.
I am SO making these!
Amazing blog! I did a Christmas craft show and made these for "garland" on my tree…beautiful! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
just made some of these last week! i had no idea you had a tutorial on them until now haha.. but they were super easy! thanks for sharing :)
Just made these they're great only thing I did differently was snap the ends together so we can take the links apart. We have a snap press for making cloth diapers and thought we'd put it to good use. Worked great for this project :)
SHOOT!! I've just discovered your AMAZ-ZA-ZING BLOG!! And I'm IN LOVE!! And that probably means I'm NOT going to get ANYTHING done at ALL today so that I may have time to DIG IN to all of your AWESOME tutorials. BLESS YOU and your turorials. Bless you for taking AWESOME PICTURES STEP BY STEP!!!
I love you.
I just made these and they turned out great! Thanks for a great idea.
These are fantastic! Thanks for tutorial, pics of my first (and there will be many more!) at https://www.flickr.com/photos/iwannabcreative/3831460505/
Great idea! I linked to this tutorial on my site, www.simplymodernmom.com.
Can I just say that I love this blog so much!! I am so excited to make these for my "little vacuum" boy. Can't wait to get started! Thanks for the idea.
thankyou so much, i just made 2 blocks using your directions.. although i cant find my hand stitch needles so used the machine. i stuffed my blocks with Memory foam! hehe posh.
i'm going to try to make the rings they look fantastic x
if you can put a large jingle bell inside the block with the stuffing, it makes noise! the kids love it and you can still wash it in the washer.
i’m saving this one to my site too! Awesome projects!
I made the rings but I didn’t follow your directions. Kind of a problem with me and sewing. I get excited and then mess up one tiny measurement. So instead of 2 1/2 inches wide I made mine 2 inches wide which made them pretty much impossible to stuff. But then I remembered that I had some cotton cording for some piping I was going to make. After digging my little rings out of the trash they were a breeze to stuff using the cording and two safety pins. Thanks for the cute idea! I did a much better job on following directions for the block. :)
I was wondering if we’d ever cross ideas… I like the chain idea! It’s super cute. But I thought maybe I should let you know that I’m just about finished with another little etsy project I’ve been working on…that has to do with fabric blocks. I don’t want you to think I’m stealing it from you. Hopefully I can get good pictures and post it tomorrow, but just wanted to let you know. :)
So cute! My 8 month old would love these. Thanks for all your super cute ideas.
these are so cute. i was wondering though how you make your neck ties. i have a little boy who needs ties for church
great, great idea. i’ve seen cloth stacking rings and fallen in love with them, but these i could actually make. thanks!
That is SUCH a great idea!!! My mind is going a little gaga now, I know what I can do with most of my pretty quilting/project scraps now.
THANK-YOU THANK-YOU…
What a great idea! I would have never thought about this one. Thanks!
Ooooh I cannot wait to make these!!!!
I have a little baby girl who would absolutly love to have these rings…I will make them right now!!!1 thanx! You are so dang creative!!!!
love these, will be making them very soon….so many babies being born lately! thanks for the great tute!
Hahaha Ash…..I hear ya on that one!!
And yes, they are the perfect baby gift…….so hurry, go get started! ;o)
Thanks, glad you guys like them!
Perfect! I think I HAVE found the new baby shower gift!
Cute!!! :) I’ve made one of those blocks, and they are super easy.. of course the hole where you stuff the batting into is STILL opened (because my projects always get stuck at 90%). Plus I don’t know how to hand stitch it shut. I should finish that…
if you don’t sew by hand, use fabric glue on the ends..no one will know…
LOVE it!!! Thanks so much!