This super easy DIY crib rail teething guard only takes a few minutes to make and will save your crib rails from the dreaded bite marks.
Have any of your children turned into teething monsters?
My son is teething and he chews on everything he can get his hands on. I try to keep teething friendly toys within arms reach of him at all times. He still manages to find things to chew on that frankly appall me: the metal safety gate at the top of the stairs, Mommy’s water bottles, oh, and the drawers in the bathroom vanity. I know this stage is typical for all children. However, I wanted to cry the morning I went into the nursery to get C-boy out of his crib and found bite marks all along the crib railing.
NOOOOOOO!
Luckily, the crib is a hand-me-down from a relative. Nonetheless, I definitely put some good blood, sweat, and tears into refinishing it before baby-boy was born. From the day he cut his first tooth, I was determined to try to keep his crib bite mark free. Unfortunately, keeping a teething friendly toy in his crib at night obviously did not prevent this terrible tragedy.
To prevent any further damage, I put my basic DIY sewing skills to use with this wonderful tutorial from Our Little Beehive.
DIY CRIB RAIL TEETHING GUARD: MEASURING
The first step to any sewing tutorial is measuring—my absolute worst nightmare. For this project, I only miscalculated my measurements about 3 different times (I have a master’s degree and can’t even do basic math—it’s rather tragic). Thankfully, my miscalculations were an over-measurement of the fabric pieces (phew), and an underestimation of how much ribbon I needed for the ties.
MY CRIB MEASUREMENTS
Every crib has a slightly different design, which yields slightly different measurements. These are the measurements from my crib (they both include a 1.5-inch seam allowance):
- 2 side rails = 29 x 14.5 inches
- Front rail = 53.5 x 11 inches
To orient myself to my vision, I scribbled a rough depiction of the crib (see image below). I included my calculations (and subsequent miscalculations) and random notes as well.
PERSONAL ALTERATIONS
I made a few alterations to the tutorial from Our Little Beehive’s.
- Grosgrain ribbon. For the ties, I used grosgrain ribbon; satin ribbon is slippery and loosens easily compared to grosgrain.
- Choice of fabric. I chose a minky and a flannel fabric which, in my opinion, are both softer than a basic cotton or quilted fabric. Using quilted fabric would have given my teething guards more padding, but I had my own “cheapskate” solution for this problem (see my next alteration).
- Cheap extra padding. C-boy no longer uses burp rags and swaddling blankets, both of which I have in excess. I opted to use these as extra padding underneath the teething guard before I tied on my finished product.
FINISHED PRODUCT
TADA! I am super happy with the end result of this DIY project. I am 100% honest when I say I usually fail at most DIY projects I attempt. If I can do this project, you definitely can too!
What are some of your favorite, easy (very easy), DIY projects?
Head over to Our Little Beehive for a full list of supplies and instructions.
Check out our other DIY projects.
