What is a diaper cake?
A diaper cake is a cake-like structure made out of diapers and decorated with ribbons and flowers or other baby-related things like pacifiers, shoes or teddy bears. They are a great and creative gift for events like baby showers and Christenings, since they are both decorative and very useful. Diaper cakes are evolving, and you can also make other fun shapes like strollers or cars, but we chose to keep it simple with a traditional three-tiered diaper cake.
What size baby diapers should you choose for a diaper cake?
Did you know that during the first 5 months of their lives, a baby can go through 8-12 diapers every day! That’s why a diaper cake is so practical; If you only use elastic bands and ribbon to secure the diapers, the mom-to-be can easily take the diaper cake apart afterwards and use the diapers. Now, you might be tempted to go for size 1 baby diapers, since you are making the diaper cake for a newborn and they use size 1, right? Well, others have probably had the same thought, so the mom-to-be might already have plenty of baby diapers in size 1. Besides the baby can grow out of size 1 and 2 very quickly. We recommend using size 3 or size 4 baby diapers, since the larger sizes will also be easier for you to roll.
What do you need to make a diaper cake?
- Baby diapers – depending on the size and shape you choose for your cake, you will probably need between 40-70 diapers
- Cardboard rolls from kitchen towels, toilet paper or wrapping paper
- Round cake pans or casserole dishes in different sizes
- Rubber bands
- Scissors
- Ribbons
- Other decorations
- A base – like a tray, cake stand or maybe a clean slice of wood if you’re going for a rustic look
- Some wooden skewers or dowels to secure the layers on top of each other
- If you have chosen very thick ribbon, you might also need a glue gun to secure the ribbon
Here’s how to make a DIY diaper cake step-by-step:
1. Start by arranging 4-5 diapers neatly in your largest pan, overlapping them slightly.
2. Keep adding diapers to make the layer tighter.
3. You should be left with a circular space in the middle of your layer. Roll 2-3 diapers together and put them in the space to finish the layer. We rolled the diapers around a cardboard roll for a little added stability and fullness.
4. Secure your diapers with elastic bands – the cake pan should give you free hands. You can use both heavy duty bands or thinner bands, but just make sure to use enough to keep the diapers firmly together. You can now remove your first tier from the cake pan.
5. For the second tier, follow steps 1-4 again, using your second size pan to measure.
6. For the third tier, again follow steps 1-4, using your smallest pan.
7. Now it’s time to assemble the cake. If your tiers cannot stand by themselves, or if you just want some added security for transportation, you can stick wooden skewers in between the tiers to keep them together, just make sure not to damage the diapers.
8. To decorate the cake, tie your ribbon of choice around each tier to hide the rubber bands. If you have chosen additional decorations, arrange them on top of and around the cake.
9. Place the finished diaper cake on your tray of choice and you’re finished!
There you have it! The perfect gift for the mother-to-be at any baby shower. Are you looking for other great gift ideas for a baby shower? Check out our other blogpost with 5 great gift ideas for baby showers.