How to Make Toys Out of Baby Clothes

Don't throw out those old baby clothes! You can make a lot of really cozy, tactile toys for your baby without spending any extra money. The colors and patterns of baby clothes make colorful blocks, toy rabbits, snowballs, doll clothes, and cloth books. Your baby will enjoy the homemade treats, and you'll feel good knowing you recycled. And because babies grow out of their cute outfits so quickly, when you reuse the baby clothes as toys, you'll get to see your favorite outfits for an extended time as part of a baby toy. Enjoy the creative process. You might be surprised how inspired you can get while making your new toys!

Things You'll Need

• needle and thread or sewing machine
• hot glue
• scissors
• baby clothes
• cotton batting
• fabric markers
• paint
• markers

Instructions

1. Make a Stuffed Bunny
   Take a onesie and a pair of white baby tights. Sew the sleeves of the onesie closed. Stick the tights inside the onesie with the legs of the tights sticking out the leg holes of the onesie. Stuff the tights and the onesie with cotton batting until they're plump. Sew up the neckline of the onesie. Turn the onesie upside down. The tights should hang down like rabbit ears. Stuff two baby socks with cotton batting. Sew on the neckline for rabbit legs. Draw or paint a face on your rabbit just below the ears.

2. Make Snowballs
   Take all your old mismatched baby socks. Stuff one sock into another sock. Pull a third sock over the two socks to form a sock ball. Make a bunch of these, and you can have an indoor snowball fight with your baby!

3. Make Soft Blocks
   Cut 3 inch by 3 inch squares out of baby onesies, pajamas, or shirts. Use different colors and patterns. Also cut out letters and numbers using old baby pants, sweatshirts, and jeans. Take one square and lay it on the table wrong side up. Set four other squares against each edge of the first square, using different colors, wrong side up. Sew the edges together. Then fold the squares up into a cube and sew each side seam to each other. While the block is still inside out, add a remaining square and sew that side to three of the four remaining sides. Turn it right side out. Stuff the soft block with cotton batting. Sew the final side. Add cloth letters and numbers to the block's sides with hot glue. Repeat to make lots of blocks!

4. Make Cloth Books
   Take a baby shirt and cut off the neck. You should have a cloth square. Cut up one side of the shirt. You'll have a seam on one end. This is the outer front and back cover for your book. Repeat by cutting 2 other baby shirts. Lay them on top of your first shirt and sew up the middle to bind them together. Cut out cloth letters or numbers, shapes, or animals and hot glue them to the pages of the book. On the front, glue a square of white material and write your baby's name in fabric paint. She'll love carrying this book around.

5. Use for Doll Clothes
   No cutting needed! Save your tiniest infant clothes and use them as doll clothes for American Girl dolls and other dolls. Infant clothes will fit a bigger doll, too. Why buy new when you have the clothes ready to use?