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

Pencil Case Tutorial

This pencil case is a wonderful beginner project. I've taught it to Moms who were distracted by toddlers. I've taught it to elementary students who were just learning to sew. It is a versatile design that is useful as a gift or simply as a way to store your art supplies.

This case can be modified to hold knitting needles, crochet hooks, artist's paint brushes, and other similarly shaped objects. Suggestions for modifications will be given at the end of the tutorial.

The YouTube version of this tutorial may be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/qnIjmmG_A8g

Completed Pencil Cases

 Materials

• ¼ yard of fabric (measured across the full width of the fabric, NOT a fat quarter)
• 12 - 18 inches of ribbon (between 1/4 inch and an inch wide)
• Thread to match the fabric 

 

 Instructions

 

 Step 1:

Prep your fabric by washing and drying to preshrink it, if you plan on having a washable pencil case. Iron your fabric.

Step 2: 

 

Cut or tear a strip of fabric that is 9 inches wide and extends across the full width of the fabric. (Press the edges flat if you tear it.) The reason you might wish to tear your fabric is that you automatically have an edge that follows the grain of the fabric when you do. It is also easier to get a straight edge all the way across if you tear the fabric than if you cut it.

Step 3:

Take one selvage edge and measure over 13.5 inches. Fold your fabric here. Cut your fabric so you have a 26 inch piece that is folded in half. (So, you'll cut 13 inches from the fold. The extra half inch is the selvage edge.) This is piece A. 

Make sure you have a good crease at the fold. Use an iron if you have stubborn fabric. The picture is below. Please note that this is a piece of fabric 26 inches by 9 inches that is folded in half.

Piece A (from step 3)

 Step 4:

Cut a 13 inch by 9 inch piece from the remaining fabric. This is piece B.
If you are not using ribbon, cut your ties from whatever remains of your original piece of fabric.

Piece B and a small bit of extra to use for ties if ribbon isn't used.

Step 5: 

If you are using ribbon, skip to step 6. If you are using fabric ties, fold each piece of tie fabric (right sides together) lengthwise and stitch to make a long tube. For each tie, stitch across, closing one end of the tube. Turn the tubes right side out and press. If desired, top stitch the ties.

 Step 6:

 

Fold piece B lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. You should have a rectangle measuring 13 inches by 4.5 inches. The folded edge will be the top of your pocket.

 Step 7:

Open up piece A so the full 26 inches is right side up. Line up the folded piece B in the bottom right quadrant of piece A. You want one short edge of the rectangle to be right in the crease and the other to line up with the outside edge of the big piece of fabric. All of the cut edges of piece B (except the one in the crease) should line up along cut edges of piece A. If you have the fold of B along a cut edge of A, rethink that plan…
 

This shows what the work should look like after steps 7 and 8.

 Step 8:

 

If you are using a ribbon fold it in half and place the fold in the crease of fabric piece A. If you are using fabric ties, place them with the open end in the crease.
The ribbon or ties will be lined up along the top edge of the pocket.  As you can see in the picture, the ribbon, folded, is shorter than the pocket. This is to be desired. Fabric ties should also be shorter than the pocket.
Pin your ribbon or fabric ties in place, but place the pin at least ½ inch back from the crease. You don’t want to sew over this pin later. You may want to pin the outside edges of piece B at the point as well. Again, make sure the pins are well back from the edge.

Step 9:

Fold piece A at the crease. You should now have a fabric sandwich with piece A on the outside, piece B and the ties (ribbon or fabric) on the inside. It should be a rectangle measuring 13 inches by 9 inches with wrong sides showing. Pin carefully, making sure that the edges of all the layers line up. 

Step 10:

 
Stitch around your fabric sandwich using ¼ inch seam allowance. Leave an opening in the middle of an edge to turn your work. I prefer to turn mine using a 2.5 inch opening in the top. Clip your corners so they will lay flat when the work is turned. Just be careful not to clip into your stitching. Turn your work carefully because there are pins on the inside.

Notice the stitched edges and the opening at the top.

 Step 11:

Remove any remaining pins and press your work flat. Remember to tuck in the opening before pressing everything flat.

Step 12:

Draw guidelines for the channels for the pockets. I draw mine from the bottom to the top so I don’t "trip" over the edge of the pocket. I used chalk and made my pockets 1 inch wide. If you have newbie pencils or are making pockets for knitting needles, crochet hooks, or paint brushes, you may want a different size. Pin the pocket down in a few places after you have drawn the lines.

Chalk guidelines for the channels.

 Step 13:

 

Stitch along the guide lines from the bottom to the top, again, so your foot doesn’t trip on the pocket edge. Topstitch along the outside edge, closing turning opening. 

Step 14:

 

Finish. Trim your threads, melt the ends of your ribbon or turn them under and stitch them. Wash and dry to remove chalk lines. Stuff with pencils, crochet hooks, knitting needles, paint brushes, or other similar items. Roll your filled case and tie closed with your ribbon or fabric ties.

Completed case, stuffed for illustration. After use or washing the chalk lines come off.

  

Modifications

 

This pencil case design can be easily modified to fit any set of long, narrow objects. As you can see in the picture, knitting needles are too long for this case when it is constructed according to these directions. However, if you cut your piece A to be 18 inches by 26 inches, the knitting needles will fit. Likewise, these pockets are likely too wide for all but the largest crochet hooks. However, if you make your channels a bit narrower, your crochet hooks will fit better. Similar modifications can be easily made for varying sizes of paint brushes, as well. 

Thanks for reading! Tune in again for another exciting post.