baby mobile

Forgive my absence.  The boys are sick and I am going on less than three hours sleep over the past 48.  And my voice is completely gone today....not that having no voice is an excuse not to blog I guess but that's where we're at.

I put together a mobile for my little sister's expected baby.  I can't wait to cuddle my little niece!  The mobile looks adorable and I can't wait to see it above her crib. 

To make a mobile all you need is:

1.  Felt balls in colours and size of your choice.  You can make your own or purchase them here.  The ones I got are about 20 mm diameter.  Don't go smaller than that. I bought 25 felt balls.

2.  Yarn in a coordinating neutral colour.

3.  Large needle

4.  Bamboo embroidery hoop in size of your choice.  I used a six inch diameter.

Let's start!
1.  If you know what you like, lay out the felt balls the way you want them strung to get an idea of what looks good.  If you're OK with something more random proceed to step two.
2.  Thread your large needle with a piece of yarn.  Tie a knot at the end.

3.  String your first ball onto the yarn and push it to the knot at the end.  Tie another knot just above the ball to keep it in place.

4.  Tie your next knot about 1 1/2" away and string your next felt ball on.  Tie another knot just above this ball to keep it in place.

5.  Repeat.  I varied my strings with from two to four balls at varying heights for interest.

6.  Once you've strung your felt balls, tie the end of the string to the inner ring of your embroidery hoop.  I tied three knots to keep it secure.  Repeat with all your ball strings and adjust the placement on the  ring until they look evenly spaced to you.  The pretty part is done.

7.  Now to hang it up, cut three lengths of yarn.  Tie one end of each to the inner ring evenly spaced from each other.  Using your needle, thread each string through the same felt ball.  Adjust so it looks level.
8.  I braided the three lengths of yarn together.

The mobile is quite light so a small hook secured to the ceiling will hold it above the crib.  (Once baby can pull themselves up though the mobile must be removed to prevent injury.)