Baby mobiles are a cute addition to any baby's room, and they keep your baby entertained for a long time.It can be expensive to purchase a baby mobile.You can make your own baby mobile with a few supplies.You can make it even more special for your baby by tailoring it to their room.
Step 1: Purchase the supplies you need.
You will need a metal hoop or ring about 10 inches in diameter, several different colors of felt and fabric, strong thread, cotton balls or batting, and yarn for this kind of mobile.The felt, fabric, yarn, and thread can be any color you want.You will need a pair of scissors and a needle for this project.If you're not comfortable with sewing, you can use hot glue or tacky glue.
Step 2: The hoop needs to be wrapped in yarn.
Wrap the metal hoop in yarn until you have completely covered it.The fabric and felt will hang from this.When you first wrap your yarn, tie a bow.After you have wrapped the entire hoop, untie the first bow that you made, and tie it in a knot with the other end of the yarn.Cut the yarn.You can either wrap the hoop in brightly colored yarn or wrap it in a white yarn.Make sure you keep the yarn tight as you wrap it so that the metal won't show through.Try to do it in one setting so the yarn doesn't break, and give yourself a good thirty minutes.
Step 3: You can create fabric/felt shapes.
There is a lot of room to be creative here.Make sure to cut two of your desired shapes so you can sew them together.You can make as many shapes as you want, but it's a good idea to make at least three of them.Think about the theme of your baby's room to come up with shape ideas.Maybe you would like to make clouds, flowers, hot air balloons, dinosaurs, or stars.You can make different shapes for your baby.You can find pictures of the shapes online, print them out, and then trace them onto your felt or fabric if you don't know what to make.
Step 4: You should sew your shapes together.
Attach your shapes with your needle and thread.If you want your pieces to be lined up, you need to flip them around so that their fronts are against each other.Once you have about an inch left of fabric to sew, begin by sewing around your shape.Your fabric should be turned right side out.You can either use a needle and thread or yarn for a thicker seam.It's up to you, what kind of seam you want.A yarn seam can be a really cute addition to a baby mobile, especially if you have used felt fabric, but a regular thread stitch looks great too.If you sew with yarn, you'll want to match the shapes with their right side out, because you won't be flipping them once you have sewn.The yarn stitch will be outside of the fabric.
Step 5: Put your mobile pieces in a bag.
You'll want to stuff your pieces with cotton balls or batting to give them some depth now that you've sewn most of the way around.If you fill your shapes with too much stuffing, the stuffing will come out and you will have to sew them up.Remove any remaining thread.
Step 6: The pieces of thread need to be cut.
You need the same number of pieces of thread as you have made fabric shapes.You can either cut your thread in equal lengths or in different lengths so that some shapes hang down lower than others.Make sure you use light weight thread as your shapes may not be heavy enough to pull down heavy thread.If you want your connections to be less noticeable, you can use fishing line here.You'll need some extra thread to sew into your shapes if you cut pieces that are longer than your desired length.To figure out the length of your thread, you can try holding your mobile above your crib or in your baby's room, and then holding the shapes underneath it at your desired length.Cut a piece of thread for each shape that is long enough to connect it to your hoop, with a few extra inches for sewing.
Step 7: Attach the thread to the pieces.
Attach your fabric pieces with pieces of thread by sewing them to one of the seams.Once you have reached the middle, top of your piece, make sure to start sewing the thread into the side of it.This will make sure that your shape hangs straight.Don't cut the knot if you reach the middle of your shape.Straight down the middle is where you can sew a line.Start the thread in the middle of your shape and sew a line to the top of it.If the thread you are using is the same color as the shape, this could be a good idea.
Step 8: The thread needs to be connected to the hoop.
Bring your remaining thread up to the yarn hoop and tie a knot around it.Your shapes hang an equal distance from each other if you space your thread out evenly around the hoop.You can glue the knots to the inside of the yarn hoop with hot glue if you want more security.
Step 9: Attach the thread to the hoop.
You'll need to attach three pieces of thread to your hoop in order to hang it.The pieces should be at least 36 inches long.Wrap the three pieces of thread around each other and tie a loose knot in the middle of the thread once you have attached your pieces around the hoop.
Step 10: You should position your mobile.
You should hang your mobile to figure out the perfect angle after you have tied your knot.You will need your knot to be in a place that doesn't cause your hoop to lean one way or another if you want it to lie flat.The knot on the thread needs to be secured when you have the right angle for your hoop.You should see your hoop with three threads connected to it, that meet in the middle to form a knot once you have done this.The rest of the threads will be used to hang your phone.
Step 11: Hang up your phone.
If you want to hang it on a hook, tie a loop at the end of the thread.To make a loop, loop the end of the thread and tie it to the hanging thread with a double knot.If you want your mobile to be shorter, you can cut some of your thread and tie the loop lower.
Step 12: Make the paper mobile by gathering your supplies.
You will need different colors of construction paper or card stock, an embroidered hoop, yarn or thread, and hot glue or tacky glue for this type of mobile.If you use a sewing machine instead of glue, your mobile will be more secure, but you can use glue for the sake of simplicity.
Step 13: Cut out circles.
You can cut any shape, but circles are the easiest.If you want a multi-colored paper mobile, use five different colors and cut them as follows.
Step 14: Place the circles.
In the order that you want them, lay out the circles on the ground.11 columns of circles are needed to use the above circle numbers and colors.Once you have used all of the circles, you will lay the colored circles in rows across the columns.Your columns won't be as long, but it will make your mobile look better.The color #1 circles in two rows with an inch between them.You will have two rows of the same color with 11 circles in each row.On the third row, you will lay your color #2 circles, alternating between sizes.Place one of the two-inch circles in your first column.In the second column, lay a 1.6 inch circle and underneath that in a fourth row lay your two-inch circle.In the fourth column, lay the two-inch circle, and in the next column lay a 1.6 inch circle.Continue until you have used all of that color.You can place the circles randomly for the third color.On column one, you can use two circles, on column two, one circle, and so on.Place the circles in the columns and have fun with it.If you already have a lot of circles on one column, it's okay if you only have three or four on another.The gaps will be filled with the remaining colors.
Step 15: Continue until you have used all of them.
You will place your remaining circles in a random order on your phone.If you place all of one color at the same time, it will look better.When placing the colors, try to group them together.You can make the changes you want after you have placed all of your colors.The columns should be even with only one or two circles difference.Make sure that the two columns are close to the same length because you don't want one column to have 5 circles and the other 15.The space between your circles doesn't have to be the same length.If you don't try to make the space perfect, it looks like the randomness was intentional.
Step 16: Attach the yarn or thread to the circles.
Take the yarn or thread and cut out 11 pieces, each piece long enough to cover the length of your circles with two inches remaining.Glue each circle to the yarn by placing it along the circles.Make sure you glue the yarn to the circle so it doesn't bend over.If you use a sewing machine, this may look better.If you want to do that task, use thread instead of yarn and push each circle through your machine.To use your machine, place a circle under the presser foot, sew it, and then pull the thread before placing your next circle down.The machine shouldn't be stopped between the circles.The sewing machine can make this project much easier because you won't need any special thread or needles.If you choose to use glue, yarn is better than thread because it will hold better against your paper.
Step 17: You can paint your hoop.
Paint your hoop before you attach the circles.It is possible to use the same color for your hoop as your first row of circles to make it look uniform.Before attaching the yarn, let your hoop dry.
Step 18: Attach the yarn to the hoop.
Attach your strings to the hoop by tying knots around the end of the yarn.It won't be noticeable if some of your circles are closer than others, because there are so many strings.
Step 19: Hang your phone.
Attach your thread to your hoop, then tie a knot to connect the strands.To secure the knot, position your hoop as you please.Hang it on the wall.
Step 20: Pick out your supplies.
You will need about 10 to 20 spools of ribbon and an embroidery hoop for this mobile.Depending on the variety you want for your mobile, you can use one or two colors of ribbon.Each ribbon is doubled up so that you have enough to cover the mobile's circumference.
Step 21: You should cut your ribbon.
You can use your ribbon to cover the entire hoop.Each piece of ribbon needs to be long enough to double over and knot around the hoop.If you want your ribbon to be a foot in length, you'll want to cut it to 26 inches.You can vary each length of ribbon by one or two inches if you cut different lengths.Place your hoop on the floor to figure out how much ribbon you need.Take a piece of ribbon and put it over the hoop.You should cover the entire hoop with ribbon.You will know how much ribbon to use.
Step 22: The ribbon needs to be tied around the mobile.
Double the ribbon so that the ends meet each other.Place the folded end over the hoop.If you want to create a full circle around your hoop, take the rest of the ribbon and stick it through the loop.Attach your ribbon to your hoop by pulling tight.If you use thin ribbon, you will be able to create tighter knots.You may have to glue the ribbon to the hoop if your ribbon is too thick.
Step 23: Attach the ribbon to your phone.
Take two pieces of ribbon, about three feet long, and tie each end to the hoop.If you want to tie one end of the ribbon to one side, you should tie the other end to the opposite side.Take your second ribbon and tie one end in between the other two ends, in the middle.The other end should be tied across from the previous one.You should have your ribbons evenly spread on your hoop, at the 12 hands of a clock.
Step 24: Hang up your phone.
Take the middle of the ribbons you just tied and place them on the hook to hang your mobile.You may have to position your ribbons so that the hoop of your mobile is flat.
Step 25: You can find supplies at a craft store.
Silk flowers, thick ribbon, straight pins, and a straw or styrofoam wreath are required for this mobile.You'll need several bouquets of flowers for a 12 inch wreath.
Step 26: The wreath should be wrapped in ribbon.
Attach the ribbon to the inside of the wreath with two pins.Wrap your wreath in the ribbon.If you have a lot of ribbon to spare, you may want to wrap it tightly.The wreath will not show through if this is not changed.Attach the end of the ribbon to the wreath with two more straight pins.If you leave the packaging on, it's easier to wrap your wreath.Styrofoam wreath don't always have packaging, but straw wreath do.The straw will not fall out of the wreath.
Step 27: Cut the flowers.
If you don't like parts of the flower, take your flowers and cut them off.The flowers need to be relatively flat and you don't want to leave the flowers connected to one another.One flower would look pretty here.
Step 28: The flowers should be pinned to the wreath.
Place the flowers on the outside of the wreath with pins.The pin shouldn't show if you place it as far inside the flower as possible.The wreath should be covered with flowers.Glue can be used to attach your flowers, but pinning will give you a more secure hold for the flower.You don't want to place the flower on the wreath in a way that makes it look like you are hanging it from a door.Imagine your wreath is on the ground.The side of the wreath that is more parallel to the ground is where your flowers should be.If you are creating a crown, place your flowers around the wreath.
Step 29: Attach ribbons to the wreath.
Attach two ribbons to the wreath as you did in the previous section, on the 12 points of a clock.Your ribbons will need to be much longer because your mobile doesn't have anything hanging from it.The mobile will hang down about two to two and a half feet from the ceiling if you cut your ribbons four to five feet.If it's too long, you can always cut it.You will have to cut another length of ribbon if you cut your ribbon too short.
Step 30: Put your phone down and hang it.
Attach a hook to your ceiling and position your mobile so that the wreath is parallel to the ceiling.You can trim the ribbon if you find it too long.The wreath is simple and elegant.Adding different types of flowers or using a white or off white flower with a solid color ribbon can make it more exciting.