How to make a nappy cake – step by step guide

If you’re anything like me, and you like to give baby shower gifts that are a little more personal but still incredibly useful, making a nappy cake is the way to go.

Gift ideas for a baby

I’ve made around 8 nappy cakes for various friends and family over the years and every single one has gone down brilliantly.

Parents have commented on how thoughtful and unique the gift is and it just makes giving ‘ordinary gifts’ less ordinary and make a great centre piece to any baby shower gift table.

10 brilliant baby shower games to entertain your guests

What you will need

For best results, I’ve found that using a size 2 or 3 nappy works well for a couple of reasons

• just in case the baby doesn’t fit in size 1
• because you use less nappies and get a better overall stability to the cake.

Roll each nappy into a loose but secure roll and secure it with an elastic band.

Baby shower decorations: 5 ideas that pop

The bottom layer

I like putting a bottle of bubbly in the middle of about 6-8 rolled nappies, (depending on how tightly you have rolled them) as it not only helps to hold the whole nappy cake together but it’s also a lovely treat for the parents when they feel they want a little them time.

Once you have placed it in the middle of the nappies, secure them together with a large elastic band.

A lovely treat for the parents when they want a little them time.

Still working in the bottom layer, make a further ring of nappies around the first ring (between 12-14 nappies) and secure with a large elastic band. You can add a third ring, depending on how big you want your nappy cake to be.

5 baby shower ideas for the food and drink lover

HINT: Use a larger elastic band or string if you don’t have an elastic band big enough as you don’t want the outside of the cake to look squashed.

Ice this layer of the cake with baby clothes, muslin cloths or bibs.

Now you can cover the base of the cake with a baby towel, blanket or a large swaddle wrap/muslin. I’ve even used a breastfeeding cover before. This makes it look like the icing on the cake and keeps everything secure. I use pins to secure the fabric in place and then use ribbon to make it look nice.

You may need an elastic band under the ribbon to ensure it stays together (some people prefer to just tie the nappies with a ribbon and leave the nappies on show).

The second ring

Once the icing is on the bottom layer of the cake, place a further 6-8 rolled nappies around the remaining visible section of bottle and secure with an elastic band.

If you have used three rings of nappies on the bottom layer, add a second ring for the top layer.

Dressing and topping

Ice this layer of the cake with baby clothes, muslin cloths or bibs and either top with a cuddly toy or pair of baby booties or add one further layer to the cake before dressing and topping.

Add any finishing touches like dummies, baby wash, talc and teethers.

You can then add any finishing touches like dummies, baby wash, talc, chocolates, teethers etc and use ribbon to hide any remaining visible elastic bands.

The whole process will take you a couple of hours but I’m sure that the end result will be worth it every time!