DIY Pinwheel Mobile

The nursery is coming together and it's time to put on the finishing touches.  I decided that I could make the mobiles to hang above the cribs.  This would save us some money and be something handmade I could do for my babies.  

Before I decided on what kind of mobile to make, I did a little research.  To be honest, I wasn't really sure if mobiles even had a purpose beyond looking cute.  It turns out, they actually can serve a function.  Not only do they give babies something to look at, but they help visually stimulate them.  When babies are born, they can only recognize black and white colors, along with shapes.

So I decided to whip up some cute black and white pinwheels to hang above the babies' cribs.  The black and white color scheme will help their eyesight develop and the fact that they are pinwheels will hopefully invite some movement.  

The first thing I did was gather my supplies.  You don't need a whole lot of materials.  Here's what you need: 

  

-embroidery hoop (I just used the inner circle of a 9" one.)

-6 inch squares of scrapbook paper (You can find two sided scrapbook paper or just glue two squares back to back, like I did.  I ended up using 6 squares per mobile, 12 total.)
-brads (I ended up using 12.)
-clear string or fishing line
-scissors
-hole punch

The first thing you'll want to do is make your pinwheels.  You want to cut from each corner of the square towards the center, but don't cut all the way.  You want to leave the center of the square in tact.  

Use a hole punch to punch a circle in one of the corners of each of the triangle shapes you just made. Since my brads were smaller, I used a small hole punch.  You could use a regular size hole punch, too. Just make sure you buy bigger brads.

 

You also need to punch a hole in the center of your square.  I just used the point of my scissors to make a tiny hole.  

  

From there, fold the corner with a hole towards the center of the square. 

Once all the corners line up with the center hole, place a brad in the hole and flip up the ends of the brad to secure it.  

Once all your pinwheels are made, you can start tying them to your embroidery hoop.  I decided to put six on each hoop.  I just tied one end of the string around the ends of the brad and the other end to the hoop. I opted to use clear string so the pinwheels would be the only thing visible.  You could definitely use ribbon or yarn if you want the strings to stand out.  You can choose to make all your pinwheels the same distance from the hoop or you can vary the distances.  I decided to vary the distances.  

Then you will want to tie some string on the top of the hoop in order to hang it up.  After a little trial and error, I ended up tying 3 pieces to the hoop.  I tied each end of the string, so there were 6 connections in the end.  I followed the pattern on the little diagram below, putting a pinwheel in between each of the connection knots to help balance everything out.  

I'm going to get Adam's help to hang them up since I probably shouldn't be climbing up on ladders at this moment.  We're going to use a hook that is screwed directly into the ceiling.  Even though the mobiles are super lightweight, we didn't want them to fall down on the babies, so we are opting for hanging hardware that attaches directly into the wood ceiling.  But I wrapped it around the ceiling fan pulls so you can get an idea of what it will look like all hung up.    

 

(How do you like that little sneak peak of the nursery?  Aren't the walls gorgeous?!  The full reveal will be coming soon.  Also, I promise I won't keep the blanket hanging on the back of the crib when the babies are in there.  I just stuck it there in the meantime.)

We plan to hang it up high enough that it wouldn't be in the way when we are putting the babies in and out of the cribs, but still low enough that the babies will be able to see it.  As the babies get older and start pulling themselves up in their cribs, we might have to raise the mobiles so they can't grab onto it.  

  
This was a very simple, inexpensive project!  It would be super easy for you to recreate it if you are in the market for a mobile.  I could also see this being a cute decoration for a party or even a fun addition to an older kid's room that they could make themselves.  Happy crafting!