Craft Tutorial: How to Make a Diaper Cake

A diaper cake is a great homemade baby shower gift that doubles as a baby shower decoration.  This diaper cake was for my friend's baby girl with a brown and pink nursery, but a diaper cake can be easily personalized to fit either gender and any taste.


Supplies for Diaper Cake:
1 large package size 1 diapers (at least 60, Pampers Swaddlers are recommended - because they are white and because they are the best)
Bag of rubber bands, assorted sizes (or about 60 small, 6 large)
Empty paper towel roll
Cake plate or circle of cardboard
Ribbon at least 1 in. wide to go around each layer
Tape or adhesive for ribbon
Decorations for diaper cake (Mine: cluster hat, headbands, washcloths, toy, a pair of booties.  Other ideas: pacifiers, rattles, toys that go with the theme of the cake.)


Instructions for Diaper Cake:

1. Roll and rubber band about 60 diapers.  With the picture facing up, roll in with the white back on the outside.  Rubber band in the middle.  Try to keep the sides even so that the cake will be nice and flat.

2. Bottom, 3-Ring Layer: Stand the paper towel roll on a flat surface.  Place a large rubber band around the paper towel roll.

Start putting diapers around the paper towel roll with the seam to the inside, touching the roll.  As you start to get too many diapers to hold with your hand, the rubber band will start to hold them.  The inside ring will take 6 or 7 diapers.

Put a second large rubber band around the inside ring.

Start putting diapers inside the second rubber band, with seams touching the first ring.

The second ring will take 12 or 13 diapers.  When you finish the second ring, wrap another large (the skinniest, biggest one you have) rubber band around it.

Put 18 or 20 diapers inside the rubber band, creating the third ring.

3. Middle, Two-Ring Layer: Set a rubber band around the paper towel roll, on top of the first layer.

Put 6 or 7 diapers inside the rubber band for the inside ring of the second layer.

Add a second rubber band around the inside ring, and put 12 or 13 diapers inside it, to create the outside ring of the second layer.

4. Top layer: Roll up a diaper and stuff it inside the top of the paper towel roll.

Put a rubber band around the remaining portion of the paper towel roll, and add 6 or 7 diapers inside it.  You have now made the layers of your diaper cake!

5. Cover your rubber bands with ribbon.  Either tie a bow in the front, or use a piece of double sided tape in the back.

6. Decorate!  Set the diaper cake decorations on the edges, or if they won't stay, tuck them into the diapers.

And there you have it!  You've made a diaper cake!


©2011 Alli Hyer, all rights reserved.  You may sell items you make with this pattern, but if you sell them online, you must link to this pattern.  You may not sell this pattern or claim it as your own.  You may publish or post a link to this pattern, but you may not publish or post this pattern in whole or in part.