After purchasing foam from a craft store (ridiculously expensive stuff), I saw these blocks at a friend’s house and wanted to try something similar in the colors of our big kids’ room. Using this tutorial, I developed my own tweaks, and here’s how it worked!
What I Used:
- Foam
- Bread knife
- Cardboard scrap
- Fabric scraps
(1) Mark your foam with a sharpie and cut along lines with bread knife. I would recommend marking the foam on at least two adjacent sides so you have multiple guides as you cut. For visual reference, my blocks are 5″ x 5″.
(2) Add 1″ to your chosen block dimensions and trace a square using that new number onto cardboard (for instance, my blocks are 5″, so I traced a 6″ x 6″ square on cardboard). Cut out.
(3) Using your cardboard square, trace squares out of your fabric scraps.
I wasn’t able to find more of one of my fabrics (the flower print), so I went ahead and pieced it together, hence why there’s several squares that look somewhat uneven.
(4) Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew the squares according to the diagram below, leaving the seam allowance open (red lines below). Press seams flat.
(5) Cut heat transfer vinyl into letters (or numbers or shapes or objects) that you’d prefer (the templates for the letters I used are available here). Press onto fabric.
(6) Manipulating your piece, sew all seams but one together with a 1/2″ seam allowance and squeeze your foam to fit into the fabric “open box.” You may need to smooth the fabric over the foam to make it look uniform.
(7) Hand sew final edge closed with a blind stitch.
That’s it! Now let your little ones go to town building, constructing, and discovering with the blocks!
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