First of all, I want to give a shout-out to Gizmogirl over on GC bc when I was first starting out as a fledgling toy maker, her DIY toy thread really gave me some inspiration. In fact, her landware net ball pit was what made me want to play with mesh to begin with.

Secondly, this is going to be a long tutorial, so bear with me as I probably like the Step by Step pics more than the usual person.

Lastly, don't feel like you have to do every single thing I suggest. If you think that you can get the same results better or easier, do it your way. So long as it's safe and fun, go for it!

And now, the tutorial...

1) First of all, pick a size for about how big you want your mesh cube to be. I'm going to for a rectangle because I'm hoping to join my two colonies in the long run, so the roomier the better! I will typically use more mesh than I want because you can always trim DOWN but there's little you can do if you don't have ENOUGH mesh except cuss a little and cut out another piece.



2) Trim down the excess with either scissors or wire snips.



3) Cut out a long piece of fleece and tie a knot at the end, securing the fleece to the mesh.



4) Lace through by darting in and out through the mesh.



5) Continue until you've either finished the floor piece completely, or to your liking. I am leaving a little row bare so I can clip foraging cups to it later.



6) Add another square/rectangle of mesh and tie down with Rexlace. (I prefer to do the sides first, then the middle piece) I take a long piece of Rexlace & fold it in half. Then I "feed" it through the mesh, and the ends of the Rexlace goes through the loop end of the Rexlace.



7) Next, I will lace it like you would a shoelace. X over, then push ends through under to the other side.



8) This is what it should look like:



When you're through, tie it in a knot. What I do, is right over left. Left goes over and through the loop. Repeat. Then tie both single strands in a single knot for extra security. If you cut the ends off but leave enough dangling, you can tuck the extra Rexlace at the end into the X lacing. *Not pictured but feel free to PM me if you need pics of this and I will make knotting a tutorial. :D)

9) Push the alternating fleece fringe through the new panel's mesh and tie in a knot to cover the Rexlace.



10) It will look like this when you're finished.



Don't worry: you can always add extra fringe later! (And I will!)

11) When you've done both sides, do the middle piece.



12) I start at a corner then work my way into the middle. I'm pretty OCD about things matching, so I'd rather have 2 knots that meet in the middle but feel free to start on one end and do a continuous loop for the back end. Whatever makes you happy and gets that sucker tied down!



Then, do the sides if you haven't already.

13) Attach the "roof" of the cube.



I do the sides first and the middle last.



14) And you have your basic shape to work with!



15) Now, I am going to cover the Rexlace. Push through a REALLY long strip of fleece.



16) Tie in a knot.



17) And wrap around. I find that tweezers make this an easier process.



This is what it should look like wrapped:



18) AND end it in another knot.



19) Continue until you've finished all sides.



20) Go back and add fringe where necessary. I just tie them in knots in alternating colors.



21) And add chain to the top, beads, fleece fringe and toy chain 3/4" to the "doorway", whatever you want!

Front View:



Side View:




*Special Note: you may also find it easier to just create the mesh cube first and THEN add all the fleece.



I am making another one and both ways work fine for me. I will post pics of this second mesh cube later!

Have fun!!!!

I did something like this but combined all the pieces with just the fleece. I made a solid cube and then cut and wrapped the edges of 2 holes, oe on top and one on the side and filled it with pom poms for a ball pit! They love it and play with it every night!

Very nice toy, and great "how to" instructions.

quote:

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Originally posted by Skyfire

I did something like this but combined all the pieces with just the fleece. I made a solid cube and then cut and wrapped the edges of 2 holes, oe on top and one on the side and filled it with pom poms for a ball pit! They love it and play with it every night!

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Post pics!!!

awesome Church :)

Thanks for this. I have extra mesh from making my PVC cage and this will make a wonderful add on!!

I have a question, how do you would clean it? is it just safe to just throw into the washer? or would you have to pull each and every fleece out and then wash it? I've been hosing mine down and soaking it in dish soap but I don't feel like its clean enough since it still smells.

I don't know about throwing it in a washer. I'm not familiar with landwire mesh. I haven't ever worked with it, maybe someone who has made toys can post the way they clean theirs.

I have a couple of plastic baskets that have weaved fleece strips throughout, and I wash those in dish detergent. They get soaked in hot soapy water, then rinsed well. Occasionally, I will follow with a v/w solution dip or spritz on my girls toys, the larger get spritzed while smaller toys can be dipped, then get followed up with a final rinse.