When you have a baby, chances are you’ll find yourself with a ton of baby clothes. There will be items you come to cherish, ones your baby doesn’t get to wear, and ones that are just strikingly adorable. 

Your baby will get to wear so many awesome outfits in the early months of their life. As your little one grows, some of your favorites will undoubtedly need to be left behind. 

There are a lot of great options for making use of baby clothes after your baby no longer needs them. Of course, most parents prefer to pass them on. For those items you just can’t part with, here are some creative ideas to make them into sentimental keepsakes with fun DIY crafts. For those things you are ready to part with, make sure to list on BundleUp, the best mobile marketplace for buying and selling baby and toddler clothes sizes Preemie / Newborn – 5T.

Baby Baseball Caps

If your baby, toddler, or little kid is sensitive to sunlight, but won’t tolerate sunglasses, this craft can come in clutch. You can use one or more baby t-shirts or onesies to create soft, custom-fitting hats that will keep the sun out of their eyes. Me Sew Crazy shares patterns for making these sweet hats for 0 – 6-month-olds and another for 6 – 12-month-olds, but you can adjust the dimensions to make ones that are right for your child. As you make a few, you may find your own technique to get sizes that work even better for you.

Once you’ve got your pattern, you’ll want to start positioning and pining your fabric so you’re ready to sew. With a simple zig-zag stitch, you’ll be able to make a wonderful, sweet hat that has enough stretch to grow with your baby for a bit. 

Baby Clothes Quilt

There are tons of tutorials out there for baby clothes quilts. It may feel overwhelming, but it’s actually for a good reason! Baby clothes quilts have become pretty popular since they’re such they come out so beautifully and can be made in so many different ways. These are adorable keepsakes that your kids will cherish as they grow older. A baby clothes quilt can live on your child’s bed well into their older years and will be something they’ll love passing down to kids of their own.

You’ll want to start by cutting the clothes you’ll be using into squares. You’ll want the squares to be the same size ideally if you want a patchwork of symmetrical rows and columns. Once you’ve cut all your squares, lay them out and arrange them the way you want. You’ll want to sew them together into rows, then sew together the rows. Heather’s Handmade Life shares the easiest way to add the middle and backing layers easily. Remember, your quilt doesn’t have to be perfect for your child to adore it. 

Christmas Stocking

If your baby was born around Christmas, this is a truly sweet idea. Create a stocking using strips or squares of fabric from baby clothes your baby has grown out of, depending on your preference. Draw a stocking the size you want it. Then, measure to determine how much fabric you’ll need. It’ll help you best decide how big the pieces of fabric you’ll want to use need to be. Consider colors and themes as well, so you can create something truly beautiful.

You’ll carefully sew the pieces together into the stocking shape. It’s a simple sewing project and when paired with some fake fur trim, it can look better than store-bought and have all the more meaning to you and your child.

Mittens

Take old baby sweaters and make some toasty mittens! Take a sweater and lay it out flat. Using the bottom hem of the sweater, use some fabric chalk or a heavy marker to trace out the mittens, with the hole for the hand as the sweater opening. 

You may be able to repeat this with the collar of the sweater as well, depending on the shape. If you make any mistakes, you can easily sew them up and have yourself some nice, cozy mittens for any member of the family to enjoy. Gloves are a little trickier, but also easy enough to achieve with this technique.

Baby Teddy Bear

A closed-foot baby onesie can be transformed into a teddy bear easily by any crafty mom. Some moms take multiple items of clothing to use for different pieces of the bear. There are different patterns out there based on your sewing abilities, but there’s an accessible answer for everyone. 

You’ll want to pay attention to the fabric when picking onesies for this project. Woven fabrics don’t have any give, so you’ll need to factor that in. In many cases, it’s easier to go with stretchier fabrics.

Aside from the onesies, you’ll need fabric scissors, stuffing for the bear, a needle, and thread. It can be done without a sewing machine but if you’ve got one, it can certainly make the project go a bit faster.

Baby Ribbon Block

Turn baby’s old clothes into a toy baby will love! Cut your favorite clothes into six equally sized squares. You’ll want to use different colors and patterns to really make the ribbon block pop. Put two squares together with a ribbon folded in half and pin them together. That will be one side of the block. Sew them together with a ¼” seam, then repeat with other squares as you create your block. Make sure to switch up textures and patterns in both ribbon and fabric where possible to make it extra fun! Before you get to your last side, you can stop and stuff the cube. It’s a soft, fun, interactive toy kids will absolutely love.

Plush Alphabet

This is another fun way to turn lots of little scraps of baby clothes into something fun they can play with and enjoy for years to come. You’ll need six pieces of fabric. The outer two should match or be otherwise coordinated, while the inner four will serve as cotton batting. Trace each letter, cut them out, then sew the edges up. You can also add magnets and add them to the fridge when your baby gets a little older.

Wall Art

This one calls for a lot of creativity, so some parents may see this as a challenge. If you have an idea for wall art for your child’s nursery, you can find ways to incorporate baby clothes into it. Cut characters from onesies and put them on a canvas with a painted scene, for example. Make a collage that relates to the theme of the nursery. You can also create plush letters spelling out your child’s name. There are a lot of creative ways to make those old baby clothes into something your child will cherish. It’ll also stand out to guests as a one-of-a-kind tribute, made of art, especially for your child.