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Bear nappy cake: step-by-step instructions

This cute bear nappy cake is a variation of the ever-popular nappy cake. It’s easy to make at home and you can customise it with lots of useful little baby accessories.

In general, it should take about 45 minutes to make this bear nappy cake. Exactly how much time you’ll need, will depend on how well you have prepared and whether you have a pair of helping hands. Even though it is easier to make if you have help, with a little patience, it is also possible to make it by yourself. If you have all the necessary materials at hand, then you’ll be able to put this cute bear nappy cake together in no time at all.

Materials you’ll need to make a bear nappy cake:

  • 62 size 3 nappies

  • Wide ribbon to tie the pieces together

  • Construction paper in different colours

  • Rubber bands, pins, and tape

  • Coloured ribbons, approx. 2 meters

  • A thick, black felt-tip pen

Time required: 45 minutes

Difficulty: medium

Cost: 40 - 60 €

You can be creative when decorating your homemade bear nappy cake. Decorate your nappy cake with useful little newborn gifts, such as clothes or care products, for an extra special touch. Examples of little new-born gifts are:

Step-by-step instructions for the bear nappy cake

Step 1: how to make the body of the bear nappy cake

Once you have collected all the necessary materials for your bear nappy cake, you can get started right away. You will need some space to make the body. A large table is a good surface for this purpose.

Use the wide ribbon to help you fix the nappies as you roll them up. After rolling up the nappies, you can easily pull the ribbon out from the roll. This means that the colour of the ribbon makes no difference, and you can reuse the same piece for other parts of the project. If you prefer to leave the ribbon on the bear nappy cake, it is best to pick a colour that matches your colour scheme. Alternatively, you can also use a length of string.

To make the bear you will need:

  • 36 nappies for the body

  • 20 nappies for the head

  • 2 nappies each for the arms, legs, and ears

Place the nappies for the body on the string or wide ribbon so that they overlap slightly. Once you have all the nappies in place, roll them up tightly to form a body. Make sure that the roll is straight and neat. Once all the nappies are rolled up, cut off any excess ribbon or string and secure the ends with tape. This step is a little easier with a pair of helping hands. One person can hold everything in place, while the other rolls up the nappies. Finally, tie a colourful ribbon around the body so that it sits tightly. If you did not remove the ribbon you used to help roll up the nappies, you can skip this step.

You should now have a plump bear body. Repeat these steps to make the bear's head using 20 nappies instead of 36.

Tip

With different colours of construction paper, you can give your bear any facial expression that you like. Attach the eyes, nose, and muzzle with pins in the same colour.

Step 2: making the face of the bear nappy cake

Now your bear needs a cute face. Be creative with your design. You can make the eyes out of construction paper.

For simple and cute bear eyes, cut out two circles of black construction paper with a diameter of about 5 centimetres. Then add two small white dots to complete the eyes.

Alternatively, you can draw the eyes on white paper and cut them out. To make your bear extra cute, you can give him big eyes and long eyelashes. After cutting them out, simply draw in the details with a black felt-tip pen.

Attach the eyes to the head of your bear with matching pins. To make the bear's nose and muzzle, cut out a large oval shape from beige construction paper, about 12-15 cm long. Cut out a smaller black oval for the bear's nose and glue it onto the large oval shape. Lastly, draw a mouth and discreetly pin the paper to the head.

As an alternative to the muzzle made of construction paper, you can use a dummy. To do this, use a finger to create space between the layers of nappy and simply insert the dummy. If it does not hold, you can fix it with two pins. Push them diagonally through the holes in the shield. Be careful not to poke through the teat.

You can, of course, decorate the face with red lips made of construction paper, lush eyebrows, or stylish children’s sunglasses.

Step 3: how to assemble the bear nappy cake

It’s time to assemble a sturdy and cute bear nappy cake with all the parts you’ve made.

First attach the bear’s ears to the head. For each ear, take a single nappy and roll it up tightly. Fix them in place with a small rubber band. You can cover the elastic bands with coloured ribbons. Wide ribbons tend to wrinkle when knotted, so pin the ribbon in place.

Instead of the ribbons you can pull a baby sock over the nappy roll. This is a clever way to add more gifts to your bear nappy cake and the ears will stand out nicely. Use pins to discreetly attach the two ears to the head. By the way, plain baby bodysuits are also suitable for making the ears with. The technique is the same as for rolling individual nappies.

Using the same technique, make 2 arms and 2 legs, each from a nappy or a baby bodysuit. Use the legs to make sure your bear nappy cake is stable. The legs should stick out from the sides, so both legs and the body support the bear. Alternatively, you can place the bear nappy cake on a potty without legs. In addition, you can attach all sorts of useful care products or baby clothes to the potty as well.

Attach the head of the bear nappy cake to the body using ribbons. Put the ribbon around both parts and tie it tightly.

Tip

Always let the parents know that there are pins in the nappy cake. Then they can safely remove them and prevent any injuries. Make sure you use pins with plastic heads to help prevent them from disappearing into the fabric.

Step 4: how to make a bear nappy cake for boys and girls

Your bear nappy cake is almost finished. Now it just needs to be embellished. If you don't know the baby's gender yet, you can use neutral baby colours like green, yellow, white or grey.

Customise a bear nappy cake for girls

A girl’s bear nappy cake will look cute in shades of soft pink. You can decorate the bear with a pink baby hat, a pink dummy and a bib or molton cloth as a bandana. Colour-coordinating all the bows will complete your cute bear nappy cake for girls. Make sure not to combine too many shades of pink, otherwise your newborn gift will look too busy. Add some grey or white accents as a contrast to the pink and keep the design subtle. Bright red lips and eyes with long eyelashes and rosy cheeks will work well. You can find all the girls’ baby clothes and accessories you’ll need in our online shops and outlets. Add a few care products and baby toys to complete your gift for first time parents.

Tip

If you place your nappy bear in a basket or on a potty, you’ll have enough space to add all kinds of practical baby gifts. Great little extras to add are bodysuits, booties, hats and baby care products.

Customise a bear nappy cake for boys

If your bear nappy cake is for a boy, then you can decorate it with shades of blue. For example, you can use cute blue baby socks to cover the bear's ears. You can add a blue bow, a soft baby blue hat, or a cute cap to the head of the bear. Finally, adding blue bibs, bodysuits and care products to your bear will make your gift particularly useful to new parents. Our wide range of boys’ baby products has everything you’ll need to craft a gorgeous bear nappy cake. Stick to the rule of ‘less is more’ and use white or grey baby bodysuits as a calming contrast to your blue colour scheme.

Teething rings, dummy chains and stuffed animals will complete your bear nappy cake. You can find even more inspiration for individual baby gifts for girls and baby gifts for boys in our other step-by-step craft instructions.

Conclusion: make a bear nappy cake as a newborn gift

With our step-by-step instructions, you can make a cute bear nappy cake in no time at all. This will be a highlight at any baby shower, and it will show the parents that you care. You can make this nappy cake for a baby boy, a baby girl or even create a unisex gift with almost unlimited design options. A bear nappy cake is sure to put a smile on the parents’ faces and is a useful newborn gift too. Let your imagination run wild and have fun with your creativity!

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