Did you see the article I did on the comfort snuggle blanket for babies and toddlers over at Little House Living? This one was made with super soft flannel and minky and was SO soft and cuddly.
But I'm told babies don't sleep all the time and sometimes they're pretty active and like to play. One mom-to-be tells me that her crinkle sheet was kept with the changing mat and was the only thing that would keep the little devil angel from squirming away during changing time.
So this version has smooth satin ribbons around the outside in some nice bright colors, a regular cotton front and back – and the special crinkle liner that makes the interesting noise babies love when you scrunch it and wave it.
To Make Your Crinkle Ribbon Toy
Supplies:
- Two 12 inch squares of regular cotton in nice bright prints
- assorted ribbons
- crinkle liner for the play version – I suggest a washed cereal bag
This can be made in any size of course, smaller for smaller babies, larger for toddlers. See below for my smaller version too.
Cut your cloth accordingly! Cut out your two fabric pieces. Cut lengths of ribbon.
I cut mine 5 inches long and used a total of 24 pieces on a 12-inch square, 6 pieces per side. Fold the ribbon pieces in half with the printed or satin side facing out and pin them at regular intervals around the outside, taking care not to get too close to the corners. No need to measure, just eyeball it to get them fairly even.
Baste all of the ribbons in place with a quarter inch seam and then remove all of the pins.
Place the other fabric square on top, right sides facing in, then place the crinkle liner on the top and pin around the edges.
For the crinkle liner, I used a cereal bag because I considered that it was ‘food safe' and therefore safe if the baby sucked on it. Of course, I gave it a good wash beforehand. You can also use the sort of cellophane you can find in florist stores too. Anything that is clean, waterproof and makes a nice crinkly noise.
Stitch around the perimeter with a half-inch seam allowance, leaving a gap in one side of about 3 or 4 inches for turning.
Trim and round off the corners. Trim away the extra crinkle material close to the stitching line.
Turn the right side out and smooth everything flat. Give it a press if you need to, but be careful of using really high heat in case the cereal packet melts! Topstitch around the edge with a quarter-inch seam, taking care to fold in the raw edges and close up the gap you left earlier.
Crinkle and enjoy!
Here are some I made in smaller sizes too. Perfect to keep baby distracted during changing times and small enough to roll up with the changing mat or stuff in your bag. These are 6-inch squares. For the ribbon, it looks a bit over-sized at 5 inches, so my next one I made with 4 inches of ribbon for each piece, and that worked better.
Want some more ideas for sewing for new arrivals? Try some of these…click each element of the picture – they are links!
Dangerous for babies fingers the open ribbons.
Thank you for your tutorial on this beautiful tag blanket . Two questions:
Hi Nilda, Great questions; I would since some ribbon’s dye run, it is better to know in advance, second the amazon bag is a great idea; I would definitely use it. Great way to recycle!
Can you wash these toys if theres a plastic crinkle bag or something similar inside?
Yes you can.
The links in the photos at the bottom don’t work…
Hi Joanna, please give it a try again now.
I have made several of these for sale or gifts. I like to change the ribbons up with rick racks, lace hem tape, and mini pompom trims for extra tactile touches.
I would be careful with Pom poms in case they pulled one off – it could become a choking hazzard
Great ideas for dementia patients
Will have to try this for our new great nephew. Thanks
The links to other baby crafts isn’t working for me.
Hi Marnie, thanks for letting me know. Please give it a try again now.
How well does it wash? I would think the bag would break down after a few washings.
this would be a great idea for the kitty toy.
Beautiful staff dears keep it up
I wonder if punching some holes in the plastic would help airflow, for anyone worried about it not drying completely.
Could you use wax paper?
it is not noisy enough and may not last many washings.
It may just be me being overly cautious but are these really that safe with the plastic in the centre? Suffocation risk maybe?
These are for playing, not for sleeping. Play time should geberally be supervised so I wouldn’t worry too much about these personally.
Thanks great idea I will make one this week for my grand sons this week
I am not a seamstress by any means but I just tackled this project and love them!
– used the cellophane from the florists’ bags for flowers
– used sheers to make the edges zig zag, so I didn’t have to sew and then turn inside out
-made the cellphone the same size as the fabric and sewed together
– used only one ribbon for a tag; i like the simpler design
also: i should have washed the fabric first, but forgot
– I ironed the fabric first
Easy and cute! thank you!!
what kind of ribons did you use
This are common ribbons for a haberdashery store, nothing special but for a baby make sure the color do not run.
I have them here for my two dogs-Boston Terrier and Min Pin and they just love them-use all the time and I send through washer and dryer just fine-come out like new-)
Thanks for this, I’d been wondering what crinkle material was. Grandson on the way and itching to do some making so this will be a great way to start
Congratulations Gail, such happy news! I am sure he will love it and spend much time trying to figure out the noise. It will be great to have a camera in hand the first time he touches it, it will be one of those Visa moments, Priceless!
My favorite “crinkle” noise piece to use is the top flap of
an Oreo package.
How can I tell if a ribbon is washable? Also … With the cereal bags inside how do I know if it’s drying vs molding inside between fabric ? Giving as a gift so I want to be sure it’s ok.
1 layer of the bag wouldn’t allow for water to get trapped. And a normal cotton cloth will wick the water away from the plastic, anyway, so you’ll know there’s still water if the cloth is damp. I had these for my daughter and they dried quickly just in air, and were even fine washing then throwing in the dryer on regular or low heat. Not sure I’d want to use any cloth that was slow to dry, though, simply because it would get soggy too quickly from baby gumming on it. I hope this helps!
The crinkle cat toys that are .99 at Petsmart or Petco work great. One makes about 3 toys.
Does sewing through the baggie dull the needle?
Hi Nadine, as far as I know it really doesn’t dull the needle very much. I suppose in truth everything dulls the needle a little bit, but the baggie would have very, very little impact. Hope this helps. Good luck with the project. Please let us know how you go.
I know this might be silly but can you easy this in the washer and dryer? Or does it have to be hand washed?
Yes, just throw it in the washer, it will be fine.
What about the dryer?
Thank you so much! I made one for my new grandson and can’t wait to give it to him next week.
I also made one for my little yorkie dog and altered slightly–I used two squares of cereal bag and slid a few of his dry, smelly salmon treats between the squares and sewed as directed. He LOVES this toy and it is giving me a little free time.
Super cute. Just don’t sell them. Taggies has a patent on any fabric item with three ribbon loops. Sounds silly but they are always goin after sellers who violate their patent. You can clip the loops to be in compliance
I , in the past, talked to a Patent lawyer and he said if 1 thing is changed on a pattern then the copyright /patent does not come into play. It has to be EXACT .
Are you saying that you cannot sell ANY fabric item with three or more ribbons?
I made one of these in 2012 before my second was born, and I used cellophane paper (clear plastic gift wrap). LOVE IT!! It’s worked very well and is very crinkly and noisy! I’m expecting a boy in July and making him one too 🙂
I’m still concerned about the durability of plastic bags because so many are made to disintegrate. Any comments on something that sewing stores carry¿
I use the plastic wrapper that baby wipes come in. It’s noisy and waterproof.
When I think of laundering these I think of the dryer versus the washer – do the bags hold up to the dryer sufficiently?
And thank you for the hint as to the durability of the ribbon! I have purchased several brightly colored spools of ribbon to make these blankets for our church nursery….I’d best check out the materials beforehand!
I can’t advise about the dryer because I’ve never owned one Wendy. Perhaps you could post a question in the forum and see if the ladies there have tried it. There is a section for Questions about So Sew Easy patterns and tutorials so that could be a good place to ask. You can find the forum here.
I washed and dried two different store bought books that had crinkly stuff in the inside. One was just fine and the other shrunk/warped. I would say to not use the dryer to be safe.
Great idea. Although how washable are chip bags and celephane etc (thru the wash)?
The bags are all waterproof so its not trouble putting them through the wash, although not on a boil wash, and be careful if you iron not to use a very hot iron and potentially melt the plastic layer inside.
My only comment is make sure the ribbons are washable! We had a friend make one of these for our daughter. Since she was going to put it in her mouth the first thing I did was wash it. It fell apart! I never did tell the friend but I was saddened that her work was for naught.
Babies are fascinated with taggie blankets and they love the sound the crinkle adds.