Another project from:
Fin is getting into all sorts of trouble thanks to his crazy rolling / (almost) crawling skills. To keep him out of harm’s way I decided to stock his play room with soft plushy toys for the time being. The Happy Stacker pattern from Heather Bailey fit the bill and made for a fun project. This project is best reserved for a weekend as it took me about 12 hours to complete. 
I started with the largest ring first. Figuring out the pattern was a little tricky and it took me about 3 hours for just the first ring. The instructions are well-written, but it still takes a little head scratching to match the pictures and instructions with the half-sewn thing in your hand. Once I had the first ring down the rest came much easier. The hardest part of the project was hand sewing the pole and the rings closed after I stuffed. I’ve never worked with polyfill before and the floor of my sewing room looks like it snowed recently.
The nice thing about this project is choosing mismatched fabrics to make each ring stand out. I tried to stick to fun but neutral (non-baby) fabrics (mostly from Amy Butler’s awesome collections) so the finished result wouldn’t look too feminine. Cutting and sewing perfect circles is challenging, and mine came out far from perfect, but I don’t think Fin noticed. When I stuck the completed toy in front of him he seemed confused at first, then dived right in. He is still a little young for this toy (he tried to eat it) but he’ll grow into it. Thankfully the rings are machine washable.
Another “made with love” project that’s Fin approved. He’ll be stacking away and learning his shapes in no time.
Those are so beautiful! I really want to make one. I will save this and go for it when I have a weekend available. Awesome!
Hi,
Love this idea!–and your choice of fabrics. Do you happen to have the measurements for the pieces you used? More importantly, how did you make the stand? Thanks so much
Any interest in making one to sell?
I’d love to buy one.
sitsgirls at gmail dot com
Thanks Tiffany, how flattering! Do you sew? If so, I recommend the Heather Bailey pattern, which gives a great explanation. I’m a beginner and was able to figure it out. Unfortunately, this project took about 12 hours so I’m not sure I’ll have time to make them for public consumption.
Thanks Emily! I recommend the Heather Bailey pattern, which gives the measurements for all 5 rings. (Click the pattern picture to link you to the website for the pattern). It was a fun project. Good luck!
Awesome project! I’m thinking of making this as a christmas present for my cousin’s baby. You said that Fin was a little young for it; how old is he?
Hi Chrissy! Fin was 7 months at the time. He mostly just put them in his mouth. Now he’s a year old and seems to examine the rings more. I think in another month or so he’ll learn to put them on and take them off the holder. The good thing about this project is that it looks great in his room and doesn’t take up much space, though it’s large enough for little hands to grasp. Good luck with yours!
I just saw this posted in Pinterest, thanks for sharing! I am going to try one for my littlest buddy for his birthday in December :)
So cute fabric toy! i love it.
HI! I came across your website on craftgawker and totally loved this toy. Since I have a six-month-old and an eight-month-old niece I thought this would be the perfect gift for them for Christmas. I ordered the pattern and got started with a practice one made out of muslin, but became hopelessly lost when it came to making the “rainbow.” An hour ago, I came back to your website and was going to ask you to help me, but I started looking through your pictures and it really, really helped. Here I am with one completed ring! Thanks for the idea and for the help!!!
Kate, I’m so happy the pictures helped you out. Yes, it’s a bit confusing at first, but so worth it. The rest of the rings follow really easily once you get that first one down. Congratulations!
I am trying to make one of these right now. And boy that outer gusset sure has got me. I cannot figure out what to do!!! lol. It’s definitely a puzzle.
Love this project….but where is the crib in the background from?? It looks beautiful!
Hi Cari, I’m glad you like this project. Griffin’s crib is from a company called Ouef and is the Sparrow model in Walnut. We fell in love with its contemporary lines.
Keep at it Patti! Once you see the “rainbow” shape you’re there. Half of it will be crammed inside while you sew the exposed other half, then it shimmies so you can sew the rest. You’ll get there! The rest will be easy.
This is very cute but not at all practical. My son had one of these but it was too difficult for him to stack the rings on the fabric pole. The pole was too flimsy. Perhaps if a wooden dowel was used inside the pole to stabilize it, it would work better?
Hi Candice, the toy I made had a very sturdy pole, perhaps because I overstuffed it as much as I could. Try adding more polyfill (and then really using strong thread and pulling tight to close), or try reinforcing the pole fabric with heavier interfacing. That should do the trick. Good luck.
Tamara!
You did such a great job! I don’t sew… or should I say, I have never sewed (except for the awesome apron I made years ago in junior high!) ha ha…
So with that being said, do you think I could pull this off? I would love to make this for my little one! Did you do all of this by hand!?!
So adorable!
Thank you Brandy!
Just wanted to let you know I gave you a little shout out on Babble.com:
http://blogs.babble.com/being-pregnant/2012/04/12/nesting-10-diy-projects-while-you-wait/?pid=8929#slideshow
Also — we would love to show you off on cupcakeMAG with an inteview as a featured blogger.
Email me for details.
Hope to chat soon,
Casi
I LOVE THIS! Just featured it on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Thanks so much Brittany! I love your craft blog!