An Easy DIY Quiet Toy

A few months ago, I attended a busy bag exchange where each parent made several copies of one quiet activity and we all swapped, so you came home with five or six different activities for your toddler. Of all of them, this button toy is perhaps my daughter’s favorite.

And, bonus, it’s so simple to assemble. You probably have everything you need to make it sitting around your house right now.

Ella wasn’t really able to do it by herself until just after her second birthday, but now it’s a staple for us at church or on airplane rides where it keeps her occupied for twenty or thirty minutes at a time as she threads all the felt squares on to the ribbon one by one and then takes them back off again. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

And when she’s done, it just all slips inside a little bag and can be tossed in my purse. My favorite kind of toy.

Supplies You'll Need

- A ribbon (about eighteen inches long)
- Two buttons
- Needle & Thread
- Assorted felt
- Scissors

Step 1

Cut a length of ribbon about eighteen inches long. Mine is about 3/4 of an inch thick, but any thickness will work.

Step 2

Sew a button onto each end of the ribbon. They’ll be getting handled a lot, so make sure to sew them on securely.

Step 3

Cut your felt into squares (mine are about 2 inches square) and cut a slit in the middle of each one that is wide enough for the button to slip through.

Step 4

Repeat until you have an enormous pile of felt square or until you are completely sick of cutting squares and slits. My set has about 30-40 squares.

Ta-da! Completed Toy

Hand it over to your small child, and pat yourself on the back for your handmade toy. You’re pretty much Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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