Make it with everyday materials! A collection of DIY toy ideas recommended for 1-year-olds
One-year-olds are curious about everything! Homemade toys are perfect for nurturing that curiosity.
You can make them with familiar materials you already have at home, and adapt how they’re used to suit your child’s development.
Using items like plastic bottles, milk cartons, and fabric, you can create everything from toys that promote finger dexterity to cleverly designed, interactive playthings.
Here, we’ll introduce ideas for handmade toys that one-year-olds will be eager to play with.
Enjoy making safe, fun toys that are easy to incorporate into childcare settings, too!
- [Childcare] Easy to make! Handmade toys that delight 0-year-olds
- Recommended for 1-year-olds! Craft play ideas and fun crafting techniques
- Fun DIY Toy Ideas You Can Make with 100-Yen Store Materials
- Ideas for indoor play and physical activities recommended for 1-year-olds
- Let’s play at home with a one-year-old! Activity ideas using things you already have at home
- Toddler-approved fun! DIY toy ideas for 2-year-olds
- [For 1-year-olds] Fun to make! A collection of winter craft activity ideas for use in childcare
- Handmade ideas for wall-mounted toys for 0-year-olds
- Even 1-year-olds will be captivated! A collection of craft ideas to enjoy the art-filled autumn
- Let's make toys with milk cartons! Easy and fun DIY crafts!
- Fun November craft ideas for 1-year-olds!
- Fun for 0-year-olds! DIY Wall-Mounted Toy Ideas
- [Daycare/Preschool] Handmade toys that delight infants
Handmade Toys to Promote Finger Development (11–20)
Sandwich shop
How about making a sandwich toy inspired by Anpanman characters? Try creating baguettes shaped like Anpanman or Shokupanman’s faces, as well as fillings like ham, cheese, and vegetables.
The basic material is felt.
Since the baguette needs thickness, you’ll have to stuff it with cotton and sew it, but I think the other parts can be assembled by gluing them together.
Be sure to make it with your child’s favorite characters and enjoy some pretend play!
Paku-Paku Bear
Pakupaku Kuma-san: a bear face sewn onto a large piece of felt with a zipper for its mouth.
Next to the bear, items like rice balls, bread, eggs, and vegetables are attached with snap buttons.
You can unfasten them and feed them to the bear—it’s a toy, right? The actions of unbuttoning and buttoning seem helpful for developing fine motor skills, and seeing the bear eagerly eat everything might spark children’s interest in food, making them think, “I want to try the same thing,” or “I wonder what it tastes like?”
Perfect for button practice! Onigiri
Here’s an idea for felt rice balls that help kids practice buttoning! First, cut a rectangle from white felt and fold it.
Keeping the middle of the folded edge intact, cut it into a rice ball shape.
Make fillings like pickled plum or salmon and sew on snap buttons.
Sew matching snap buttons to the center of the rice ball’s inside as well.
Sew a two-hole button to the upper inside part of the rice ball, and make a slit on the opposite side.
Finally, glue a strip of seaweed cut from black felt to the outside, and you’re done! Attach your favorite filling and close the rice ball with the buttons to enjoy making onigiri.
picture book
How about making a cloth picture book for babies out of felt? You can find colorful felt at 100-yen shops and craft stores, so try cutting, pasting, and sewing it to match your vision.
You can recreate a picture book your child loves, or add interactive elements they can play with.
There are many kinds of mechanisms: for example, motifs that can be peeled off with hook-and-loop tape, parts that fasten with buttons, and classics like puzzles or matching games.
cloth picture book
Why not try making a fabric picture book inspired by Anpanman? Fabric books are a staple toy for babies.
They often crinkle, include features that promote finger development, and pack in all kinds of clever ideas.
Let’s try making one by hand.
With your own ideas—like a buttoning activity using Anpanman’s face, peekaboo flaps or matching games with various characters—you can create a delightful fabric book.
If you’re not confident at sewing, using felt and glue to craft it like an art project is a great recommendation!
Magnet and fabric sticking play
https://www.tiktok.com/@nagoya_kodomo/video/7119471763578244353It’s fun how they stick with a snap! Here are some ideas for magnet-and-fabric sticking play.
Let’s make fabric toys that even infants can enjoy! You’ll need fabric or felt, magnets, fabric adhesive, needles, and thread.
If you create popular characters or illustrations from picture books with fabric or felt, children will be captivated! Sew magnets into each piece, and they’ll snap together so kids can play over and over.
Please be very careful to prevent accidental swallowing of magnets.
Handmade Toys for Sound Play and Physical Movement (1–10)
Spinning Picture Match
The Spinning Picture Match is a toy that stimulates the curiosity of one-year-olds.
You can make it using a plastic wrap core as the base and upcycled materials.
Choosing the images and deciding how to arrange them are valuable moments to share with the children.
Using clear tape keeps it durable and makes cleaning easy.
If you place a bell inside, it engages not only their sight but also their hearing.
It’s a good idea to adjust the colors and shapes to match your class’s atmosphere.
It’s an eco-friendly toy that you can enjoy from the process of making it together.
It looks like it will create a lovely childcare time that nurtures children’s curiosity.