DIY Number Pillows FOR BABY MILESTONE MONTH NUMBERS OR KIDS PLAY
I was searching for a cute way to do those milestone monthly numbers that a lot of moms do with their new babies for the first year! I think it’s a cute way to document their first year of growth but I couldn’t find any number markings I was really loving aesthetically. That’s when I came across these letter pillows on Etsy. I thought a number version would be so cute, but $68/piece was not in my budget and I wanted to choose my own color combos anyways because I loved the idea of a muted rainbow with some plaid like the listing has too.
I decided to make my own from fat quarter fabric scraps from Joanns. These came to about $4 per number, and I love them because they’ll also become a toy that he can play with of course. It was a little bit challenging, but if you’re up for some sewing, hope this step by step will help! I think they look adorable in a basket in the nursery and I’m tempted now to make more to give as gifts!
INSTRUCTIONS
Create or print your pattern on card stock
I drew them myself but you can print out a font if it’s easier
I made mine 12.5” high and made each section of the number about 3.5” wide. The depth is also 3.5”, so in the end they were a foot tall, 3 inches deep and the “font” looked consistent 3 inches ish wide across each part of each letter.
Fold your fabric in half and pin your pattern to it
I used cotton fat quarters which means 18x21. They are usually sold at the end of the fabric aisles for about $1-3 each
3. Cut out both faces of your number
Since the fabric is folded in half you should get both faces with one cut
4. Measure the length of each side section on your pattern and cut rectangles for each length.
I added about an inch to each length when I cut because it’s easier to sew with a little extra fabric
The width of each side piece should match the depth you want for the pillow and should be the same on every side piece. Mine were, again, 3.5” (3 inches with 1/4inch seam allowance on both sides), so if the length of the side piece I’m cutting of the number four is 7 inches, I would cut a 7.5 x 3.5 rectangle
5. Sew the side pieces to the face pieces, leaving an opening for stuffing
For numbers with no holes, you can do this like any other pillow — sewing right sides together while inside out, leaving one section open, turning it right side out, stuffing, and then hand stitching the last little section.
For numbers with holes, you won’t be able to turn it right side out if you do this, so here’s what worked better:
Sew all the side pieces to one face
Turn everything right side out and sew any edges that you can on the machine without turning the entire number inside out. On the 4, I was able to machine sew almost all of it by just twisting one edge inside out at a time. On the 8, I had to hand sew a lot of it because there was not enough fabric to machine sew without fully flipping the number inside out.
6. Stuff the number if you haven’t already, and hand stitch the final gaps using a blind stitch
Here is a video of how to do a blind stitch
I used this poly-fil — probably about 40 oz total for all 10 numbers
