Otis isn't ready for the walker yet but we decided to order it for him for Christmas anyway. It will be waiting for him when he is ready. It makes for perfect storage for his soft blocks.  

I am sure many of you have guessed how I made these. I am no sewing expert and chose what I thought were the easiest options. Because I used one colour per block I made each block using only one piece of fabric sewn into a cube. The pictures may make more sense than the words. Here is my basic how to.

1. Pick your block and fabric

I used an actual block as the template as it helped me to visualise the size my blocks would turn out. I chose drill fabric in primary and secondary colours. 

Iron interfacing to the fabric. Interfacing adds strength and will help the block keep it's shape. This isn't essential but it looks nicer and I had plenty of interfacing available.

 2. Outline

For each block I simply traced, using a fabric pencil, around the block six times in this layout.

 3. Add seam allowance

Using the fabric pencil I made a seam allowance of around 5mm.

 4. Cut out

Cut out around the seam allowance, removing the seam corners.

 5. Iron

To get a neat looking cube, iron all of the seams and creases. With the drill fabric and interfacing they came out nice and crisp with defined edges. Ironing the seams also makes it easier to fold for the next step. 

 6. Fold and sew

Fold on the creases so the cube is inside-out and sew the seams. I used a machine on a short (1.5) stitch but you could handsew if you didn't have a machine. Sew all but one or two seams.

This is what the cube looks like once all but one seam has been sewn.

 7. Turn right-side out

Using the one open side turn the cube right-side out. It may be easier to turn right-side out if you have left two seams open.

 8. Fill and finish with blind stitch

I filled the blocks with polyester stuffing from my local sewing shop. It would be ideal to fill with foam blocks cut to size if this was an option for you. 

The last and final seam was sewn by hand using a blind stitch. I used this video to show me how. Each block got easier and by the time I was finished I had a neat and consistent blind stitch. 

The final product. Lovely, bright and colourful handmade soft blocks. 

I thought of a few extension activities. Initially Otis may just throw them, hopefully stack and knock them down. Because of their colour they could be used in colour matching activities, with language cards or even gross motor - throwing them from a distance onto a target or into a hoop.