Scrappy Blocks

Scrappy Blocks

Wow! Your daughter/niece/bff/neighbor/sister/co-worker is having a baby. How exciting!  

What are you supposed to give as a baby gift? 

      These scrappy, squishy, colorful baby blocks are my go-to answer to this inevitable question. They are quick, easy to make, colorful, fun, and a great way to use up scraps from other projects.

If you don’t have a new baby in your life, consider donating blocks to a less fortunate child through a local hospital, homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter, Children and Family services office, etc.

       Alternatively, your cat might enjoy these, too. Maybe add some catnip to the filling, if making them for a cat.

      These blocks are an excellent beginner project. The blocks are made up of squares sewn together with straight seams. At the same time, these blocks are very forgiving of slight errors. If you are a new sewer and want to learn to sew by hand, these are a wonderful place to start. If you have a new sewing machine and want to learn to use it, these blocks are a fun first project. Finally, for beginning sewers of all sorts, these blocks are a great way to practice sewing on scraps while still making something useful and fun.

      This project is also a really good first project to try with a new sewing machine. The blocks are very forgiving of tension that might be slightly off, seams that don’t line up exactly, etc. However, the squares and seams also leave room to play with new stitches. If you want to use a new serger to practice serging the edges, go right ahead. If you have some new embroidery stitches to try out, the blocks give you about 4 square inches per side to experiment. Do you have an edging technique you’ve been dying to try? These blocks have lots of seams to decorate. If, after trying out all these new techniques, your seams shouldn’t see the light of day, they can be turned to the inside and no one but you will ever have to know. However, if they are beautiful, you’ll be able to show them proudly.

A video of this project is available on the Mile Wide Crafts YouTube channel, here:

https://youtu.be/wo-AHUmhv5c

Materials:

Fabric scraps

Ribbon scraps (optional) – Do not use yarn.

Fiber fill

Small jingle bells or shakers (optional)

Instructions:

Step 1: Choose your fabric.

Fabric Options. A finished block is in the upper left corner.

These blocks are intended for babies, so fabric choice is important. Here are things to consider.

1.      Is it washable? Babies sense the world through their mouths as much as any other sense organ, so these blocks need to be washable. (Not to scare off prospective/expectant parents, but babies also spit up, have diaper blow-outs, share with the dog, etc.)

2.      Is it sturdy? Babies sense the world through their mouths, so steer away from fabrics that will fray, have sewn on beads, random dangly bits, etc. Eventually the baby will have teeth which they will inevitably try to use on these blocks, so make sure your fabric can stand up to this kind of wear.

3. Is it textured? Babies sense the world through their mouths. Make your blocks interesting to chew on. Also, an interesting mix of textures will keep baby fingers entertained. Terry cloth, fleece, cotton quilting fabric, smooth satin, and occasionally bits of lace can all be good choices to mix in your blocks.

4.      Is it visible? I know standard baby colors are traditionally pastel, but babies actually see saturated colors more easily. So, include an interesting mix of colors. Contrasting black or navy and white patterns are especially interesting to babies.

Step 2: Cut your ribbon.

This much loved, much washed block was used as a floor toy.

The ribbon will be used to hang blocks from mobiles, car seats, strollers, etc. It isn’t absolutely necessary as these blocks can be used as floor toys. 

Cut the ribbon 6-8 inches long.

If your ribbon scrap is narrow (less than about ¼ inch), cut it a bit longer so the ends can be tied in a knot. The knotted end will be inside the block and will keep the ribbon from coming through the seam as the block is used and tugged.

Many children like to chew ribbons as they have an interesting feel in the mouth, so please make sure your ribbon follows all the considerations mentioned above for fabric. This is NOT a place to use your yarn scraps, as they will fray and may be ingested.

Step 3: Cut your fabric squares.

Cut 6 squares anywhere from 2 ½ to 6 inches on a side. As long as all your squares for your block are all the same size, it will work. Don’t go any smaller than 2 ½ inches as your resulting blocks will be small enough to be a choking hazard. Anything larger than 6 inches will be too big for a baby to handle. Babies are unbelievably tiny.

I generally cut my squares 3 inches on a side as this is how wide my ruler is. When I’ve finished a project and have mid-sized scraps, I will cut 3 inch blocks and store them in a bag for later use in making baby blocks. These squares can also be used in other projects like quilt blocks.

Step 4: Sew your squares into a “T”.

Fabric squares in a "T" with a ribbon.

Lay out your squares so they form a capital letter T. You will have three squares across, and three more squares extending down. See the picture for details. Stitch the squares together (right sides together with a ¼ inch seam) where the edges of the blocks meet. You can add the ribbon into one of these seams. See the picture for details.

Variations (Pictures of some variations at the end)

This is one of the places where more advanced sewers can play.

1.           Practice your embroidery by embroidering the center of your squares before sewing them together, as shown in the "T" picture. Just be sure to anchor your stitches in a child-proof way, and avoid long runs of thread in your pattern.

2.            Finish your square edges so they don’t ravel and leave your seam allowances on the outside for a deconstructed look.

3.           Try out that new edge finish you’ve been dying to try. If it looks acceptable, leave your edges exposed. If you still need more practice, turn your edges to the inside and make a few more blocks to practice more. 

4.            Try out some of the narrow embroidery stitches on your sewing machine and decorate the seam allowances. If the seams are pretty, finish the edges and leave the seams outside the blocks, for a deconstructed look.

Step 5: Sew your T into a Cube.

Sewing the cube, stage 1

Fold the sides of the top part of the “T” up so they become two standing sides of what will be your cube. Holding those sides, roll your entire top of your “T” towards you so you can see where the sides of the cube will meet the squares forming the “l” part of the “T”. Sew the cube edges together that are newly acquainted. Look at the pictures, as they are likely to be far less confusing.

Sewing the cube, stage 2

When you have finished this step, you can see in the picture that you will have something that looks a bit like a recliner with arms. Continue to roll the sides forward, sewing the new seams as you go until you have sewn all the seams except the last one.

If you forgot to add the ribbon in Step 4, add it into one of these seams.

Sewing the cube, stage 3

Back stitch or tie off all of the thread ends on all of these seams. You don’t want your seams to come undone when a baby is playing with these blocks as the filling can be a choking hazard if it leaks out.

Sewing the cube, stage 4

  

















Step 6: Filling the cube.

Fill the cube with fiber fill. You want it to be firm but not super hard. Keep in mind that you will have to stitch the last seam closed.

Variations

1.           Add a small jingle bell into the center of the filling. Keep in mind that this still needs to be washable, so choose your bells carefully. Also, try to avoid having any of the hard parts of the bell next to a side where it could injure a baby.

2.            Add a shaker to the center of the filling. The plastic shakers available on the internet are good for this as they are more washable than metal ones might be. As with the bell, avoid having hard edges or points touching the sides of the block.

3.           Use thread or tiny fabric scraps in place of fiberfill. This can be done with great caution. In my experience this type of filling tends to be heavier than fiberfill. Just be careful that your block isn’t so heavy that the baby can’t play with it. Also, you will need to take extra care with your last seam closure to be sure none of these tiny scraps (aka choking hazards) can escape.

Step 7: Close the cube.

 

Turn the edges under and stitch the last seam closed. If you have used a variation with exposed seams, continue with that method.

Closing the cube.

I generally sew this last seam by hand using a whip stitch or one of the many invisible seaming methods. I’ve found the block looks a bit odd with only one seam showing on the outside. 

However, if you have “misplaced” all of your hand sewing needles, you may sew this closed with the machine.

In any case, make sure this seam is a secure as all the others. I’ve seen children choke on fiberfill, so we don’t want any to escape.

Completed cube

Step 8: Wrap your gift.

New block (left) and Experienced block (Right)

Wrap your gift and present it to a grateful new parent.

When I give blocks as a gift, I generally give a set of 4 or six blocks. Every house with a baby should have a toy to two under the couch, so this gives the baby numerous options to try.

As always, if you have questions, get stuck, or absolutely LOVE this project, leave me a comment.

Variations: 

If there is interest in any of these specific techniques, leave a comment below and I can do a post specifically about the technique.

Hand Embroidery: The squares making up these blocks offer a bit more than 4 square inches of space to try out new embroidery stitches. Just be sure to fasten your thread ends securely so a baby can't pull them out.

Hand Embroidered Squares

Edge finishes: Some fabric like fleece don't ravel, so the edges don't need to be turned to the inside. Fleece or felted wool can be used with decorative edge finishing stitches like blanket stitches.

Even and uneven Blanket stitches

Hemming stitches: Each block has six squares, and each square has four edges. This means you have 24 edges to practice different hemming techniques. By the end of 24 edges, you should be pretty good at the technique and may even have mastered turning corners. If they aren't all pretty, you can just turn the hems to the inside of the block, as I did... Depending on how much fabric is taken up in the hem, you may find you need to cut your squares a bit larger to still have a decent sized block.

Hand Rolled Hems

Machine Stitches: As with the hand embroidery, each block offers a bit more than 4 square inches of space to try out new stitches, new techniques, new threads, etc. In my case, I used different stitches on the edges of the blocks. It is a great place to practice turning corners. Depending on the amount of fabric taken up by any hems, you may need to increase the size of your original squares. Again, just be sure your threads are secure. If you've used a wash-away stabilizer, please wash the blocks before giving them to a baby.

Machine Embroidery used to hem the edges.

Happy Sewing! 

As always, if you have questions about this project, please leave a comment. 

Up Next: Lavender Sachets