DIY: 3 Incrediby Useful Baby Items You Can Make with Ribbon

Here are 3 extremely useful baby things that I have made myself by combining left-over and scrap ribbon with a few jewelry/craft findings...



I have this clear zipper bag from some old set of sheets or something I purchased a while back, and whenever I come across a piece of ribbon to recycle, I stuff it in here:

As you can see I have quite a variety after not a long time of collecting them. You'd be surprised how much ribbon you can accumulate if you really pay attention to what you throw away. I've saved pieces off boxes of chocolates, baby gift sets, torn gift bag handles, and even the tie on a wrapper of a giant sucker. They come in handy later for wrapping gifts, making cards or scrapbook pages, and in this case, 3 extremely useful toddler items...

#1: Bib Clip
You may have seen my recent post about bib clips that you can buy. Well, if you'd like to make your own, or make a coordinating set of these three useful items, here's how you can make one yourself!

Supplies:
a) Ribbon, 15-20" or whatever size looks right around the back of your child's neck
b) Alligator clips (Badge clips also work great!)
c) Eyelets
d) Jump rings or split rings
Tools:
Scissors & pliers
Rivet tools (I love the Crop-a-Dile)

Steps:
1) Fold the end of your ribbon over twice. You can sew it if you want or glue it for extra durability.
2) Insert eyelets through ribbon. Repeat on the other end.
3) Put rings on the ends of the clips.
4) Connect the clips to the eyelets with another ring (or the same one if big enough).

Here it is in use. You can do a couple things to make it adjustable. Here I've simply rolled it at the center and clipped it with a binder clip. You could also use one of those spring loaded button sliders like you often see on the hood strings of a jacket. Oh, and binder clips can even work in place of the alligator clips!


#2: Pacifier Clip
If your kid is attached to his or her pacifier, make life easier by attaching it to your child!

Supplies:
a) Velcro
b) 8" Ribbon**
c) Clip (from fabric store)

Tools:
Needle & thread, OR sewing machine, OR fabric glue
Scissors


Steps:
1) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the loop on the clip and fold over about a 1/2". Sew/glue the ribbon closed.
2) Fold the other end of the ribbon over about 1/4" and sew/glue one side of the velcro on the end. Sew/glue the other side of velcro a few inches down the ribbon.
3) Pass the velcro end through the pacifier handle, fold over, and stick to other velcro end!

Variations: Try a button or snap closure instead of velcro!
**Make sure that the ribbon on your clip when the velcro is folded reaches no more than 6" for safety!

#3: Cup/Toy Tether
I'm sure something like this already exists on the market, but this is a contraption I came up with last spring. The thought of my toddler losing his precious puppy or sippy cup on the streets of Paris and trying to fluently say "have you seen my child's irreplaceable puppy blankie?" in French made chills run up my spine. So, I fashioned this little tether from some ribbon that came off of a box of Godiva chocolates that my husband gave me, and some findings that I had salvaged from some old bag years ago...

Supplies:
a) Ribbon (I used 2 wide pieces, with the polka dots, & 1 skinnier green piece)
b) Metal hook
c) D-ring
d) velcro

Tools:
Needle & thread, OR sewing machine
Scissors



Steps:

Tether:
1) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the loop on the clip and fold over about a 1/2". Sew the ribbon closed on the hook.
2) Fold the other end of the ribbon over about 1/4" OR do a zig-zag stitch to finish the ribbon end. Sew a loop of the skinnier ribbon to the end as shown.
Loop:
3) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the D-ring and fold over about a 1/2". Sew the ribbon closed on the D-ring.
4) Sew a piece of one side of the velcro on the front side of the ribbon, up near the D-ring.
5) Sew the other side of the velcro piece toward the opposite end of the ribbon, on the opposite side of the ribbon as shown.



Now, wrap the ribbon on the loop around any part of your stroller so the velcro comes together. Slip the tether through the handle of your child's sippy cup or toy. Now you can simply hook your child's important items to the stroller, un-hooking when needed. It works similarly to the pacifier clip, but the spring loaded hooks and loops allow you to easily swap out which items are attached to the stroller, leaving the loops there. I made two tethers and two loops, and we never lost a single item on our 11 days in Europe! (see below, Sammy in front of Notre Dame, sippy cup safely dangling from the side of the stroller, and his nuk clipped to his coat!)



Priceless items protected by recycled left-overs! It doesn't get much better than that!