I am really excited to take part in this plastic canvas blog hop. I love seeing all the different things people are doing with it, it’s such a fun material! I haven’t ever used it before, and I’m realizing how many options there are for plastic canvas!
I made these baby blocks and stuffed them with polyfill and put bells inside so they rattle. They stitch up really quickly and can be customized with any colors. I’ve included a PDF to download with all of the different patterns I used. Each block has two solid sides and four patterned sides. I used 7ct plastic canvas and the blocks are 18 squares across. This makes the blocks a slightly odd shape (2.571 inches) but 18 is a perfect number to work with when designing patterns.
After you’ve stitched up all the squares, attach them with a whip stitch. Normally I would use a color that would blend in, but since each side is different and has so many colors, I decided to embrace it with a contrasting color. The white adds a nice pop around the edges. Diane from Craftypod has a fantastic tutorial on making a box that you can see here, which helped me with the construction.
When you fold the edges up to attach them, just continue whip stitching around the outside. Seal up all the edges except one and then stuff in the poly-fill and tuck some bells inside. The first block I made has about 6 really tiny bells and isn’t very loud so I made a trip to get bigger bells. These fancy pink bells are much louder and I used 3 of them, but you can decide how loud you want your blocks.
The pouch can easily be pinched open to make space for the stuffing. I filled it pretty full, I wanted my blocks to have a bit of squish to them.
Mira is a fan of them and I struggled to get a photo that wasn’t blurry because she was shaking them so much. She looks shocked, but believe me, she was very excited.
I really loved working with the plastic canvas and I have another project I’m working on for Evie, so stay tuned for that one! Have you worked with plastic canvas? Don’t forget to check out the other awesome projects in this blog hop!
Download the block pattern PDF here.
That’s a really cool idea! I’m tempted to see if my neighbour’s cat would like one (since I don’t know any babies)! I’ve done a bit of work on plastic canvas- Christmas decorations which will last! I
I hadn’t ever used plastic canvas before but now I’m plotting all the different projects I want to use it for. I will definitely be making some Christmas decorations!
Let me know if you make it for your neighbor’s cat and if they like it!
These are awesome!!! Such a great idea, I want to make some!!!
Thanks Danielle! I think I’m officially plastic canvas obsessed now!
Plastic Canvas is a natural for baby blocks and the possibilities for designs are endless! Beautiful tutorial! I am so inspired to make some and I don’t even have any babies!!! But I will keep it in mind for when friends have babies! Perfect gift!
I want a friend to have a baby so that I can make some blocks! They were so fun and quick to make!
Great idea, and I love the designs and colours, they look gorgeous.
Thanks so much! The yarn was leftover from making my daughter a blanket, and I always loved how they fit together!
Awesome idea! They’d be perfect for stacking after the rattling phase was over, too.
I’ve never tried plastic canvas… but maybe I should!
You definitely should! It’s my new personal crusade to make plastic canvas cool.