Motorbike Nappy Cake: The Speedster among the Nappy Gifts
For all parents-to-be who like to ride around on two wheels or just like a bit more adventure, the motorcycle diaper cake is a suitable gift for their little ones. Even though a motorcycle seems a little strong and wild, in terms of cuteness, the motorcycle diaper cake is no less than the owl diaper cake and the bear diaper cake. By using a few carefully selected colours and accessories, your motorbike nappy cake will be a fantastic newborn gift for both a boy and a girl.
Step-by-step instructions for making a motorbike nappy cake
With a few simple steps, you can make a motorcycle out of diapers and other useful baby items. We'll show you how to create this wonderful little gift for new parents.
Materials for the motorcycle diaper cake:
20 diapers
2 toilet paper tubes
A baby bodysuit
A cuddly toy
Rubber bands, pins, tape, and heavy-duty string
Coloured ribbons
Time required: 45-60 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Cost: 40-50 €
Before you buy all these things, you should think about the colours you want to use for the gift. For boys or girls, classic blue or pink tones are a good choice. If you want to keep the baby gift neutral, then try green and yellow.
When choosing the body, the flannel cloth, and the socks, you should make sure to mix some plain colours along with some patterned items. Too many patterns can cause the gift to look a bit chaotic. With light patterns and subtle colours that are well-coordinated, you can achieve a much more pleasing look.
Decorative ribbons, bows and other gift-wrapping materials should also be colour-coordinated.
Step 1: Make the wheels of the motorcycle diaper cake
The basic structure of the motorcycle consists of two large wheels. These are made from 20 diapers, two toilet paper rolls, and string. You can use gift-wrapping ribbon, raffia string, or crimped ribbon as the string. This doesn't have to look pretty, as it will be covered by a decorative ribbon later.
Start by attaching the string to the toilet paper roll with the help of double-sided tape. Now place the first nappy in the middle between the toilet paper roll and the string.
Before you start rolling the nappy onto the toilet paper tube, place the second nappy in position. The nappies should overlap each other by one third. You can line up all 10 diapers in advance for each wheel, but this makes it more difficult to check whether the string stays in the centre. It makes more sense to prepare 2 to 3 nappies at a time and only add more nappies when you have half of the last nappy left to roll.
Pull the string taut at regular intervals to ensure that you have wrapped the nappies tightly around the toilet paper tube. Once all 10 diapers are nicely rolled up, tie the end of the string tightly to itself.
Attaching a wide decorative ribbon will make the wheels look nice and adds more stability.
Step 2: Connecting the wheels
With a decorative ribbon, you can quickly turn the two diaper wheels together to make the base of the motorcycle. Simply thread the ribbon through the toilet paper tubes and fasten with a knot. Then slide the knot inside one wheel to hide it.
Alternatively, you can thread a flannel cloth or baby blanket through one of the toilet paper tubes. To thread it through it needs to be rolled or folded into a narrow strip. If the strip is too short, don’t worry. There is a trick that can help: Fold the item from the corners to form a triangle and then fold or roll it to a strip. Folding diagonally makes it longer than folding it square on.
Step 3: Making the handlebars
So far, the motorcycle consists of only two diaper wheels, so we need to make something to steer it. Start by folding another flannel cloth into a narrow strip as described above. You can also fold it diagonally to lengthen the cloth.
Feed the folded flannel cloth through only one of the two wheels and then pull both ends up evenly. Make sure that both sides are the same length. Now take a rubber band and wrap it around both ends of the flannel cloth near the wheel.
With the help of a pair of socks, you can turn the ends of the flannel cloth into two handlebar grips. If the protruding end of the flannel cloth is too long, fold them together and fix them with a string or a rubber band. This step makes it easier to roll the sock over evenly.
After the two socks are pulled over the ends, the elastic band will still be visible.
To hide the rubber band, use a piece of ribbon. Slide the ribbon under the handlebar and secure the end with a pin. Next, wrap the ribbon around the centre of the handlebar and tuck the end under the flannel cloth.
Note: When using pins, let the parents know so they don’t cause an injury. Also, use pins with a large plastic head to stop the pin from disappearing into the fabric and injuring the baby later.
Step 4: Making the mudguard
The motorcycle could be just decorated and given as it is but adding a mudguard made from a baby bodysuit will make the motorbike nappy cake look even more authentic. Start by folding the sleeves of the bodysuit backwards to make the suit the same width as the wheel. Fold in the lower third to shorten the bodysuit.
Then place the folded bodysuit on the back wheel with the design facing upwards. To fix it in place, slide the top part between the two wheels. Use pins with matching plastic heads to help secure it.
If you also want to attach a mudguard to the front wheel, a bib works well for this. Simply fold it to fit the front wheel and fix it in place.
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Don't forget...
There is not a lot of room to stash extra baby gifts on the motorbike. If you put it in a gift box, you can hide quite a few things in the extra space.
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Step 5: Decorating the motorcycle
Compared to the standard nappy cake, the motorcycle diaper cake takes much less decorating. There are several ways to add a light to the front. You could attach a small, narrow plastic cream tub or even a round bow directly to the ribbon on the front wheel. Just use double-sided tape for this.
For the taillight, you can put a small plastic tub between the rear wheel and the flannel cloth. If you want to personalise the gift, add a small piece of card with the baby’s name or initials and stick it below the rear light as a licence plate.
The most important decoration on the motorbike nappy cake, which you cannot do without under any circumstances, is the driver. You can use either a bear, pig or even an elephant plushie. All stuffed animals that can sit upright will be suitable.
You can use a piece of cardboard wrapped in colour-matched paper as a base. Or you can put the biker and his nappy motorcycle in a gift box. The gift box will have extra room for other small items and gifts.
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Don't forget...
This gift will always need a rider - either a teddy or a cluddle cloth. That’s up to you. Securely attach the driver to the motorcycle so it won’t break on the way.
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Decorate the motorcycle bike for a boy or girl
If you know that the new baby will be a boy, then you can colour it in traditional colours. Shades of blue are traditionally used for boys’ items and in particular, baby blue is very popular. The baby gift looks boyish and cute at the same time. Darker shades of blue, as well as grey or even a bit of black will also work.
Matching items for your boys’ motorcycle diaper cake can be found in all our stores or under the section boys’ baby clothes in our online store.
If you want to make the motorcycle diaper cake for a girl, it is difficult to avoid the colour pink. For the little princess look, you can’t have enough pink. Combining lighter and stronger pinks also works well.
If you want a more subtle and calmer look, you can combine pink with a white or a delicate grey. When using shades of grey, try dusky pink instead of a delicate light pink. To match the rider with the bike, put a matching ribbon bow on the stuffed animal. It's best if you used the same ribbon for this as you did for the motorcycle.
For girls’ items, you can find all kinds of bodysuits, rompers, baby blankets and much more in our stores or our online store.
In addition to the instructions for the motorcycle diaper cake, there are many other craft ideas from diapers and other baby items, such as the teddy bear diaper cake, the owl diaper cake, the pram nappy cake, the standard nappy cake or a bouquet made of baby bodysuits. We show you how to make these fantastic baby gifts in no time at all and how to decorate them with other useful baby products.
Have fun making and giving them away!
