Sewing Tutorial: Charming Soft Baby Cube Toy

I first made one of these as a baptism present for my cousin’s baby girl. The six symbols are an Ichthus (Jesus fish), Alpha and Omega, INRI (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudoreum, Latin for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews), an IHS symbol (Latin for In Hic Signa, which means in this sign, from the story of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity), a Chi-Ro (one way to abbreviate Christ, again from Latin), and a cross. I later also made a set of simpler ones with geometric shapes: circle, square, triangle, octagon, star, and heart. Both sets of shapes are in the PDF at the bottom of the page, which you can download to act as a guide for cutting the shapes.

She's one of my godchildren

SUPPLIES

Six charm squares or one quarter yard of background fabric

Six charm squares or one quarter yard of fabric for the shapes/symbols

Poly-fil or other stuffing

Optional: 6-12 jingle bells

DIRECTIONS

Prewash and iron your quarter yard of background fabric. Cut six 5x5 inch squares, one for each of the cube’s faces, or iron your six background charm squares. If you’re using a single cut of fabric and want all the faces the same size, you can also cut a cross shape told fold into a cube.

 I still sewed along the edges of this one to help it keep its shape.

Prewash and iron your second fabric, or iron your second six charm squares. Cut your desired shapes and appliqué them onto the six faces of the cube. 

Assembly line!

Using a quarter-inch seam allowance, sew the faces to each other right sides together along their edges. Leave an inch or two open for turning and stuffing. Be sure they’re facing the ways you want them to, and that they’re in the order you want. The arrangement is completely up to you, just be sure you do it the way you mean to. 

 For the religious symbols, I like the Ichthus and the Alpha and Omega on opposite sides, the INRI and IHS on opposite sides, and the Chi-Ro and cross on opposite sides. For the shapes, I pair them circle and octagon, square and triangle, and heart and star. 

Once they’re sewn and turned, stuff them firmly with Poly-fil or something similar. If desired, put a jingle bell or two in the middle so the cube will make a noise when shaken. Hand stitch up the last little bit, and you’re done!

A bit of thread to close that gap, and they’re ready to be played with. 

Here is the PDF of the symbols and shapes: Shapes and Symbols