How to Make a Cloth Baseball Bat

Eager to teach your young child how to hit a baseball but not so eager to see him pretend to be Bam-Bam? Groom the next slugging superstar and save your lamps at the same time with a cloth baseball bat. It's a fun-to-use toy that your child will love. Best of all, it's not only functional and safe, but it's also easy to make using common household items.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wooden dowel (between 1/2 and 1 inch thick) of any length Old cotton T-shirt of any color Cut of fabric (any color) that is 6 inches longer than the length of the dowel and between 1 to 2 feet wide Tennis ball Roll of athletic tape (any color) Needle and thread Scissors Hot glue and hot glue gun

1. Cut the tennis ball in half with the scissors

2. Attach one half of the tennis ball to one end of the dowel with the hot glue gun, making an umbrella shape.

3. At the other end of the dowel, wrap the athletic tape around the end until you form the "butt" of the bat.

4. Tear the T-shirt into long, narrow strips.

5. Glue on end of a strip of the T-shirt to the base of the bat, near the butt. Tightly wrap the strip up the length of the dowel and under the covering of the tennis ball cap.

6. Add more T-shirt strips as you approach the tennis ball cap, giving the bat a conical shape. Secure the additional strips by either tucking them into the cloth already on the bat or by gluing them.

7. Lay the bat on the cut of cloth and make sure that the cloth will be able to cover the entire surface of the bat. Cut off any excess cloth.

8. Sew the cloth around the bat using the needle and thread.

Tips & Warnings

• Get creative with the style of cloth you use -- don't limit yourself to plain ol' brown.
• Use a soft ball either made of plush or plastic with this bat. Be careful -- this bat can still do damage if swung hard enough.