looking for DIY baby shower gifts to make yourself? We have a list that covers everything from gifts made of paper to gifts made from wood, so no matter what your preferred crafting medium is, and regardless of if you have a sewing machine or not, you can make great homemade baby shower gifts!
Perfect DIY Baby Shower Gift Ideas
I’ll be honest, diy baby gifts are not my go-to these days.
But they SHOULD be!
When I think about the gifts I received at my baby shower, and the ones that I will keep forever – as treasures – it’s mostly the “personal touch” stuff that people made for me and my babies that comes to mind. (There were a few things that came from the store that I wouldn’t have known what to do with out also!)
Check out these great ideas for diy gifts before the next baby shower you attend.
(THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY IS REALLY BORING, BUT YOU CAN FIND ITHERE.)
A quiet book
I actaully made this quiet book (sometimes also called a busy book) for my sister’s first baby – and it was a true labor of love!
I always intended to make more (you know, for my own kids and stuff) but it’s much harder to make this kind of thing when you HAVE a baby.
Though I can’t find the exact tutorial I used to make this one (and to be honest, I probably pieced together many tutorials, because I wanted it to have some very specific pages that my childhood quiet book had – like this lady bug pouch page for the tic tac toe game) you can get loads of info on making a quiet book here.
I have to show you my other favorite page:
I sewed each little stuffed thing by hand while I was making this homemade baby shower gift and it was slow going but fun! It was SO AWESOME to watch the little creatures come to life!
My nieces have well loved this book I made for them, and I’m so glad I did it – this puzzle page has also been a huge hit:
Wooden Ring Crinkle Teether
These diy wooden ring crinkle teethers are not at all unlike an extremely expensive teether we got from a high-end store (as a gift at our baby shower). And when it comes to creative home made baby gifts, you can’t go wrong with toys!
They’re easy for baby to hold on to, and they love the crinkle-y sound they make!
Wood is a great teething medium for babies because it has a little give to it, unlike hard plastic.
Personalized blanket tag toy
My first baby had a tag blanky just like this one that I bought from the store – and he had so much fun with it!
This minky tag blanket looks straightforward for beginner sewers to make and absolutely just as professional as the one we had from the store – but the benefit of making this baby shower gift yourself is that you can personalize it for the baby or make it whatever design + colors you like!
Plush baby rattle
I can’t possibly be the only mother that watched her babies whack themselves in the face with hard plastic rattles that thought – “there has to be a better option”…
And there is!
A soft toy or rattle is fantastic.
There are so many free patterns online for plush toys like this baby block style rattle(above), or this rainbow plush rattle (below) – you can save your mom friend from from all the worries about rattle-induced concussion. (I’m kidding! Sort of.)
Pacifier clips
My kids were both big into their pacifiers… and my life was made so much easier by pacifier clips!
The thing was, I bought a bunch of blue pacifier clips for my baby… and wasn’t about to spend more money just to get pink ones for my second, so she used blue ones too!
You can make these easy pacifier clips from any color and fabric, and make a BUNCH so some can be in the wash and some can be in use!
Pair them with your favorite pacifier (or two – because you can’t have too many dummies), for a very thoughtful diy baby shower gift.
A jar of lactation cookie mix
If the mom-to-be plans on breastfeeding, she’ll appreciate this lactation cookie mix!
Lactation inducing snacks are probably something she hasn’t ever thought about before – I know I never had!
(Most of these won’t work out as great last minute baby shower gifts, because you have to plan ahead and buy supplies to make them, but you probably have the ingredients for this mix right in your cupboard.)
You could create an entire “nursing kit” with a breastfeeding cover, nipple butter and a haka… all things she never knew she needed before I became a mom.
Maybe you can crochet and you want to gift this cookie mix with the hand-made breastfeeding cover below!
Breastfeeding scarf / cover
This diy nursing cover is easy to make and practical but really pretty!
Covers like this (that are a loop of material, rather than a square or rectangle) are SUCH a lifesaver for moms with a new baby who will never know the struggle of trying to hold up a blanket over themselves with one hand while holding a screaming squiggling baby in the other, smack in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. (I’ve been there – can you tell?)
Baby bibs
Sew her a stack of these sweet diy baby bibs. (Make like 15, because you know she’ll use at least 3 per day, and that means she only has to do laundry every 5 days).
Bibs weren’t something I got at my shower and I actaully had to go out and buy them.
A set of handmade burp cloths
Just like bibs, mom will use more of these than she can imagine yet – and it’ll be good to have quite a few of them, so when there’s 4 in the wash, it just doesn’t matter. (I had one kid that puked every single time he ate for 9 months. Nothing we did made a difference. I ended up buying swathes of burp cloths at the second hand store because I just needed THAT MANY in my life.)
This tutorial will help you diy your own burp cloths as shower gifts.
A portable changing mat
You can find instructions for both a baby changing mat with a handle and a clutch style baby changing mat right over here at So Sew Easy.
While some people may suggest sewing a diaper bag as a a diy baby gift, I don’t recommend it. A diaper bag is just a very personal thing to choose in my opinion – kind of like a purse – and it’s not something that I would want made for me.
A portable diaper changing mat to go IN the diaper bag however?
Absolutely.
Gauze Swaddle Blankets
Every mama needs a few really nice swaddle blankets, and to be honest, the nice ones aren’t cheap.
The REALLY nice ones though, aren’t even available to buy, because they’re the ones that some one takes the time to MAKE! Swaddle blankets were one of the best baby shower gifts I ever got!
This tutorial for diy gauze swaddle blankets is perfect.
Crochet baby blanket
One of my very favorite gifts that I received for each of my kids was a handmade crocheted baby blanket.
Homemade baby blankets are practical and make a great gift – because you can never quite have enough baby blankets. They can be used as nursing covers or car seat covers. But they’re also precious, because they’re handmade.
I couldn’t part with my crocheted baby blankets, and they some of the only unique baby shower gifts that I will keep forever.
No-sew fleece blanket
If sewing and crocheting and knitting are not your thing, but you’ve always wanted to be able to give a blanket as a diy baby shower gift, have I got the answer for you!
These no-sew fleece blankets are amazing – you can make them any size, from any color + pattern, and if you’re thinking they’re not going to last because they’re not sewn, well. You’d be wrong!
I have one here in my office that’s at least ten years old. It was a hand-me-down when my kids were little and now that they’ve outgrown it I still use it to cover my office chair lol.
If you’re not an over the top fan of tassels, here’s another option for diying no-sew fleece blankets that created more of a finished edge. (I can’t speak to the longevity of these ones, but I’d assume it’s the same).
Crochet baby hat
If you’re from a cold weather place this is the perfect gift – you can’t have too many baby hats! My aunt and my grandma both made my kids a hat like this as a shower gift and we got loads of use out of them! (Only we don’t call them hats… we call them toques lol.)
Follow this chrochet baby hat tutorial to create this cute hat as a diy baby shower gift.
A tiny dress
This adorable dress and diaper cover for a baby girl would make any little princess look like… well, a princess! I love the little bow details.
Handmade baby clothes are so precious, they’re the kind of thing you keep forever.
A Faux Vest Onesie- WITH BOWTIES!
What little man doesn’t need this?!
This faux vest onesie is the perfect baby shower gift for a baby boy.
Baby shoes
These sweet little leather shoes from Heather Handmade are so unique!
I got a couple pairs of crocheted and knitted baby booties, but I didn’t get ANY leather shoes for my baby.
A star mobile
Here’s one for all the non-sewers out there! (I promised there’d be things for you on this list of handmade baby shower gifts).
This gorgeous ombre star mobile is made from PAPER and an embroidery hoop, so it will also be pretty cost-effective if you’re looking to not spend a ton and make something that still LOOKS fantastic.
(You could use this idea and origami up any adorable little shapes you want for the mobile.)
Personalized flower shadowbox
This is such beautiful nursery room décor.
You can personalize this floral shadow box with the baby’s name (and even birthday / weight etc).
Try to find out the color scheme of baby’s room if you can, to make your diy baby shower gift match, and this will be a treasure!
A pretty picture frame
You can make a picture frame out of almost anything, but this one, created with paint samples, is really cool.
Laundry Hamper
Because she’s going to need a place to put all those spit-upped on burp clothes and swaddles!
Babies = laundry, and there just doesn’t seem to be any way around that.
Also, did you know cute laundry hampers are NOT cheap?! But you can make this one look like ANYTHING you want it to, and bonus – it’s collapsible!
Nursery door latch cover
Get the instructions on how to make a nursery door latch cover here (hint – it’s wildly easy)!
There’s nothing like placing your sleeping baby in his crib, and tip-toeing out just to have to click of the door wake him up again.
Most new moms have never even heard of a door latch cover, and you’ll probably have to explain it to her, but THEN you’ll be her hero.
For an excessively awesome baby shower gift that you make at home, pair this door latch cover with the sleeping baby sign below!
Sleeping baby sign
If this is hanging on the front door, no delivery men or vacuum sales people or even less-than-in-tune mother in laws will ring the bell. It’s also one of those cute baby shower gifts that’s both decorative AND useful, so that’s win win (much like the growth ruler below.)
I don’t have a tutorial for this specific sign, but it looks like it would be quite easy to make for anyone crafty. If painting text is not your thing (I find it super hard) you can use a cricut etc to cut the letters out, or even buy letter stickers at a craft store.
Growth ruler
I actually didn’t get this one for my baby shower, but I absolutely did buy if for myself at the farmers market – and I would have been THRILLED to get it as a gift!
Here’s instructions for making your own growth ruler as a handmade baby shower gift.
A diaper cake or diaper wreath
When in doubt, what do we KNOW mom will use?
Diapers.
Dress them up like a cute little cake! They might not be as tasty as the actual baby shower cake, but they’ll probably be even more appreciated. (Even if she plans to use cloth diapers, it’s good to have a few disposables for the car etc!)
A postpartum care kit for mom
If you’d rather get a gift for mom, not baby, you can put together a postpartum care kit.
You can add anything that will make postpartum life easier or more comfortable – herbal bath soak, a heated neck pillow, a cozy throw, tea, candles, a water bottle, a sleep mask, headphones etc. – maybe even a cute coffee mug or a bottle of wine (depending on what kind of new mom she is lol).
A great DIY baby shower gift is anything that a new mama will use and appreciate
It certainly doesn’t have to be expensive! In a pinch, a gift card will do fine, but when you have extra time a handmade item will really stand out and it’s a great way to show her some love. Hopefully these creative ideas will help you do that!
Check out these other baby shower ideas:
25+ Unique Baby Shower Gift Ideas
23 Easy DIY Baby Shower Decorations
Cute Baby Shower Balloon Ideas (To Make Yourself)
