Turn a favourite t-shirt into a keepsake toy

Turn a favourite t-shirt into a keepsake toy

turn a favourite t-shirt into a keepable toy!

Us Mama’s have a tendency to get sentimental over those cute little baby clothes are kiddos wore.. there is always the odd item that you really really love them wearing and shed a little tear over the day that they grow out of {please tell me it’s not just me that does that….?!?}.

I used to have a giant box {and I really do mean GIANT} of clothes that my three girlies wore. When Baya was around 2, I managed to sort a good pile of it out and chopped them up {gasp} and made them into a patchwork blanket. Then when I found out Vega was a boy, I managed to part with a few more… now I just have a small{ish} box of their clothes that I can’t bring myself to part with.

I’ve put aside a few things that Vega has outgrown already, this boy is growing so fast we’ve gotten rid of binbags full of clothes that no longer fit him. Sorting through clothes one day, I came across this batman t-shirt, he wore it loads mainly because Baya really loved it! Looking at it, I realised it would be the perfect t-shirt design to turn into a keepsake toy – a little-stuffed batman for him to cuddle.

If you have t-shirts with animals, characters or just a lovely motif on, they’d be perfect to turn into a keepsake toy – a great way to remember that favourite top without it sitting in a box growing fusty for years.

vega keepsake toy

It’s easy to do – just cut out the motif, and a matching shape from the back of the t-shirt, turn inside and pin together.

Run around the edges, either with your sewing machine or even by hand, leaving a 5mm border all around. Don’t forget to leave a couple of inches unsewn though.

keesake toy

Then, turn the right way out {push through that unstitched section that you left, make sure any pointy bits such as ears are poked through all the way, fill with toy stuffing {I use this} and then sew the hole up.

Voila! One keepsake toy for your little one to play with!

vega batman keepsake toy

keepsake toy cosatto cot

15 Comments

  1. thismummylark

    November 5, 2015 at 10:50

    Love this idea! Batman looks perfect for it. I’ve seen patch work teddy bears for sale made from babygrows but never thought of this.

  2. Becky Brown

    November 5, 2015 at 11:35

    This is such a great idea! I actually have one of my favourite t-shirts from when I was a kid that I just cannot bring myself to throw away. Now I know what to do with it!

  3. Charlotte - Write Like No One's Watching

    November 5, 2015 at 13:20

    Oh I love this Poll! I love that it’s Batman shaped too and it looks ace next to that yellow cot. I want to do more when I have maternity leave this time around. I know it will be hard work with a baby, but I’d like to do lots of crafts with Bill and make some keepsakes too. So cute! xx

  4. Gemma @ Confessions of a Nagging Mother

    November 6, 2015 at 11:13

    WOW! What a fab idea!! I love it honestly. I wish I had seen this years ago when my two were younger. It is fab, so unique and a different way to keep favourite clothing :)

    Gemma xx

  5. Aimee Foster

    November 6, 2015 at 12:41

    I LOVE this idea! I’m not very good at sewing (understatement!) and i don’t have a sewing machine, but I’m going to task the MIL with making a few of these. Thanks for the inspiration! x

  6. Joanna

    November 6, 2015 at 17:03

    This is such a lovely idea definitely something I’m going to consider doing.

  7. Sophie

    November 6, 2015 at 20:27

    Aw this is such a lovely idea! Definitely something I would do in the future :) Lovely post! xx

  8. Natalie Ray

    November 6, 2015 at 20:35

    Oh my goodness, I just love this! I’d never thought of that idea at all but my little girl gets unnecessarily attached to her clothes and she would be so happy if I made a toy for her out of them. Thanks so much for sharing the idea, I think you might have solved our problem next time she has a meltdown about a top being too small for her ;)

  9. Harriet Leonard

    November 6, 2015 at 21:36

    What an amazing idea. The batman looks so good. I’m also a baby clothes hoarder, I love the idea of a blanket to use some of them up x

  10. Jenna

    November 6, 2015 at 22:24

    This is such a good idea – I always think it’s such a shame when my LG outgrows certain items of clothing. I never really thought to give them a new lease of life like this. Very clever! :)

  11. Michaela Britton

    November 7, 2015 at 07:53

    Wow that’s amazing. I would have never thought to do this but it’s such a great idea x

  12. Scruffy Dad

    November 12, 2015 at 21:27

    This is fantastic. There is the slightly pesky issue of a second baby in the works and all the hand-me-down demands they will make on the cool stuff, but there must be a way round that. :)

    1. polly

      November 15, 2015 at 14:02

      hehe!! There is that! Maybe buy two of the coolest t-shirts??!!

  13. Natalie

    January 19, 2016 at 12:22

    This is fab! We have that tee for P too.. I love creating things out of old! X x

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