Using free videos, this page will walk you through how to make a diaper cake step by step with simple instructions. You’ll be able to make multi-tiered, rolled diaper cakes for baby showers for friends and family and save yourself some money in the process.
If you have a friend who is expecting a baby, a cake made of disposable diapers is a great gift or makes a really cool centerpiece for a baby shower.
Choose decorations like balloons, banners, and streamers that match the colors of the diaper cake and plates and napkins to match, have the real baby shower cake made in similar colors and your entire party will be coordinated in one, beautiful theme.
Photo by Baby Tiara CC BY 2.0
How to Make a Diaper Cake Step by Step Video
Video instructions for a diaper cake
Unless you have time to sign up for a class at your local craft shop, online videos are the best way to learn how to make a diaper cake. They’ll walk you through every step of the process and you can pause them while you finish one step before moving to the next.
This video will walk you through a simple, three tier, rolled diaper cake. In later videos, we’ll learn how to make a more complex, elegant diaper cake.
Diaper Cake Ingredients
Baby shower diaper cake supplies
Diaper Cake Ingredients
Supplies:1 pack 66 count, disposable baby diapers Newborn or Size 1
1 pack of small, rubber bands
3 large rubber bands
1 round diaper cake base (10″ diameter)
1 8 oz baby bottle
1 4 oz baby bottle
1 roll of ribbon 1/4″ wide
1 roll of ribbon 1/2″ wide
1 roll of ribbon 1-2″ wide
1 bag of candy to fill the baby bottles (optional)
Smooth Style Diaper Cake Video
How to make a smooth style diaper cake step by step
Another style of diaper cakes for baby showers uses unrolled diapers to make smooth sides. You can then wrap the tiers of the diaper cake in baby blankets for a nice, finished look.
The video above is one of the easiest, fastest ways I’ve seen for forming the wheels of a diaper cake.
He decorates them with just ribbon but below I’ve listed some items you could tuck into the wheels or attach to the decorating ribbon to create the gift cake kind that you see online.
Smooth Style Diaper Cake Supplies
Ingredients list for smooth diaper cake
Smooth Diaper Cake Ingredients
Supplies:1 pack 48 count disposable diapers in Newborn or Size 1
1 large baby blanket
1-2 infant receiving blankets
1-2 bibs
6 baby washcloths
6 infant socks
1 pacifier
1 8 oz baby bottle
1 bottle of baby powder or baby shampoo
1 teething toy
1 rubber duck
2 small, stuffed toys
1 stroller toy
1 brush and comb set for infants
1 feeding spoon
12 decorative diaper pins
1 pack of clothespins to assist in holding items in place during construction
Tips and Tricks for Making Diaper Cakes
Unique trimming ideas
While this step by step tutorial differs in the initial steps from the earlier videos, the instructor has some wonderful ideas for attaching the presents and also shows you how to make pretty, sock roses to attach as trim.
Basic Diaper Cake Instructions
Steps for making any style diaper cake
While the ways in which you can make a diaper cake may differ, the standard steps are mostly the same. First, you’re going to roll a lot of diapers, each one secured with a rubber band….then
- Form the first layer of your diaper cake by stacking one half of your diaper supply for the first tier. Wrap a larger rubber band around the entire tier and then shape the tier to make it circular.
- Form the second layer of your diaper cake with two thirds of the remaining diapers right on top of the first tier. Wrap one large rubber band around the entire tier and shape the layer into a circle.
- Form the third and final layer of your diaper cake with the remaining diapers, secure with one, large rubber band and form a circle.
- Wrap coordinating ribbon around each layer of the diaper cake to hide the rubber bands.
- Attach baby gifts and toiletries to the diaper cake (optional).
However, you can do even more with a diaper cake to make it a fun and exciting baby shower present.
How to Make a Fun Diaper Cake
Adding creativity and color to your baby shower centerpiece
Photo by Baby Tiara CC BY 2.0
Once you’ve made the diaper cake, rather than wrapping each tier in ribbon, you can wrap the diaper cake in blankets, bibs, onesies, baby towels, and baby bathrobes rather than leaving the diapers exposed. This approach costs more money because of the items that you’re going to need to decorate the diaper cake but the end result is so adorable and completely unique.
If you want to make a diaper cake like this, follow the steps above but then stop where the ribbon gets wrapped around the layers. Wrap each layer in a fabric item, making sure the items are coordinated in color and theme. Then wrap the layers in ribbon and use diaper pins, rubber bands or additional ribbon to attach baby gifts and toys.
If you’ve never made a diaper cake before, follow the videos that show you how to make a diaper cake step by step and then once you have the basics down, branch out and get creative. You never know – you may just discover a hidden talent.