Oliver is a long baby. He was born long, he has two long parents (I guess “tall” is the appropriate word…ha!), and he continues to measure long at each of his doctor’s appointments. So, he outgrew his baby car seat pretty quickly. (I guess most babies stay in the carrying car seats until they’re 1, right?) Which is a bummer because a few months ago, I decided to make Oliver a few toys to hang from the car seat handle, to give him something to look at, touch, grab, etc.
However, he grew right out of that car seat before I completed them. But I still had all of the car seat toy pieces laying around, so I decided to go ahead and finish the toys anyway and I’ll just hang onto them and use them for a baby gift or something. :)
After finishing the toys, I just had to attach them to the old car seat…..and then plopped Oliver in there as well, just to see how he would respond to them. And he was in little baby HEAVEN! :)
Each of the toys attach right to the handle of the car seat, with a simple snap…..and hang freely for baby to play with! (For these pictures, I had the shapes facing outward. But you would obviously turn the shapes inward for baby to see. Or even attach shapes to both sides if you want.)
Oliver LOVED them! He grabbed them, squished them, batted at them, etc. (And he wasn’t even looking at the shape side…ha!) And now I’m wondering how I can somehow hang these above his new car seat in our car! Thumb tacks? ;)
The great thing about these, is that they are perfect for baby of all ages. They have bright shapes for tiny babies to look at and are soft and squishy for older babies to touch and grab. It would also be fun to hide bells inside so they would make noise while in motion.
Such a fun toy. And very inexpensive to make. And I’m happy to say…..baby Oliver APPROVED!
Want to make a few of your own??
Of course you do… :)
SUPPLIES:
***Check out my Sewing Terms 101 post, for additional help.
To make ONE Car Seat Toy, cut out 2 outer circles and two inner circles. Also, iron some of your fusible adhesive to the back side of your knit fabric. (You could also use woven fabric for your inner shapes but knit fabric won’t fray…so that’s a perk!)
Place two of your inner circles together, with right sides together, and sew together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance (like shown on the left). Trim down your extra fabric edges down to about 1/8 of an inch. Cut through one of the circles (be sure you don’t cut through both layers) and then turn your circle right side out through that hole…..then press flat.
Now, trace your shape onto the paper side of the adhesive on your knit fabric. Cut out.
Then peel off the paper backing….leaving the adhesive attached to the fabric.
Center your shape onto your inner circle and iron to activate the adhesive. Sew around your shape, closely to the edge. Then center the inner circle onto one of your outer circles…..and then sew around the outer edge of the inner circle, attaching the 2 circles together.
Cut two pieces of your ribbon, 6 inches long each. Pin the 2 pieces of ribbon at the very top of the circle, placing the ribbon 1/2 inch above the top edge of the fabric.
Place the other outer circle on top, right side facing down, and then sew the two layers together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Be sure to leave about a 1 1/2 inch gap along the bottom of the circle.
Turn the circle right side out and stuff with batting. (Also, hide a bell or other noise maker inside, if you want.)
Tuck the raw edges in 1/4 inch and hand-stitch closed.
Melt each end of your ribbon (with a lighter or a candle flame) and then attach snaps to the ends of the ribbon so that it can wrap around the handle of the car seat.
Then, sew the ribbon layers together along both outer edges…..but be sure to leave enough room at the top so that the ribbon ends can wrap around the car seat handle.
Use a steam iron and press the toy flat. This will just help with the shape of the toy.
Now, repeat with the other shapes and repeat the previous steps.
And then hang your little toys right from the car seat!
And enjoy!
-Ashley