Best DIY Travel Gear Sewing Projects for Babies and Small Children

When my children were ages 2 and a newborn, I decided to learn how to sew. You might think that it is a crazy thing to add a hobby on top of being a new mother (again), but it was a time when I could get out of the house once or twice a week without my children. Being a stay-at-home mom at the time and breastfeeding meant that I was very rarely without my children. I quickly found that I loved to sew and even as my children grew, I still continue to find time to sew.

It is as true now as it was then that I love sewing travel gear for children and babies as well as other daily essentials. Luckily for me, I always know someone having a baby, so I am able to gift the items I make.

Also, because my husband came from Denmark and we lived in the USA, we often made long trips to Europe. Having certain travel gear items along for the ride really made life easier when traveling with babies and children.

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When my boys were babies and even now as kids in elementary school, I looked and still continue to look for beginner sewing projects that will make traveling easier and more fun for them. Some of the ideas were found online, and I give credit to those moms whose projects I tried. They are super moms in my book! There were many sewing projects that I altered to fit my children’s needs better, and there were also other projects that I created myself, because I couldn’t find anything that fit exactly what I thought would be the best travel gear items for my babies/children.

Of all the projects that I have made for my children, here are my favorite sewing travel gear items that we have used when flying or taking road trips with our children.

1. Tag Blanket

When my boys were babies, they would throw their toys on the floor for me to fetch. It was like a game. When I thought about traveling by car, I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach the toys if the boys threw them on the floor of the backseat, and the thought of them throwing toys on the floor of an airplane put me into germ-phobia paranoia. I had to do something to avoid this pressing catastrophe!

This is when I found the idea of making a tag blanket, but it wasn’t just any tag blanket! This blanket didn’t just have ribbon tags on the sides, but it also had Velcro sections where I could attach toys and not worry about them falling on the floor. If my son wanted to throw his toy, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of it completely, and this gave me a lot of peace of mind. All of his favorite rattles and chew toys were secured onto the blanket that would also keep him warm and cozy. There was even a small pocket for a little book! This item was a MUST-HAVE!! See how I made it here!

2. Airplane Tray Table Cover

When you hear the name “airplane tray table cover”, you might automatically think that this is only for the airplane. That isn’t true at all, since this can easily be converted into a lap desk for the car. Just insert a thick, sturdy piece of cardboard into the middle section, and you are ready to go on any road trip! Your little one is ready to play with toys or cars or even color on this fantastic, number two of my must-have travel gear items.

When we traveled by air, I, again, had some issues with germs on the plane. Though I did bring cleaning wipes to disinfect the area, I thought that this tray table cover would offer my children more benefits than just my peace of mind. It was perfect for keeping track of my son’s things.

Just as the tag blanket was helpful for keeping things off the floor, this tray table cover was too. There were pockets on either side that could hold a sippy cup or bottle and lots of toys and/or snacks. It was nice NOT to have to put all of his things in the pocket of the seat in front of him (especially after we found chewed-up gum in it). Gross! 🙁 If you are traveling with little ones via car or plane, this is a great addition to your travel gear, must-have items. See how I made it here!

3. Diaper Bag Organizer

This next sewing, travel gear item was something I never left home without. We may have been on a vacation, weekend trip or a short play date in our own town, but I was never without my diaper bag organizer! I absolutely loved how this insert could fit into any bag and had a place for all my necessary items for baby and toddler.

There was no more fondling at the bottom of the bag to look for my car keys or the snack bag. Everything had a place! Since it was an insert, it could easily be put in the diaper bag or switched to my husband’s backpack. Any bag could be a diaper bag with this insert. Don’t leave home without this must-have item for traveling with babies and children! Here is a video of how I made it!

4. Waterproof Car Sear Mat

I love this next one so much that we still have it in our car even though it has been many years since the boys were potty trained. This waterproof car seat mat is perfect for potty training on the go. Just put this mat on the car seat when you travel to insure a carefree trip.

We flew abroad when my son was only a few weeks into potty training. To say that I was freaked-out about traveling in an airplane with a potty training child was an understatement. That little guy was a ticking time bomb about to go off at any moment, and I was so scared that he would wet himself within minutes of the trip. I really wanted to avoid him sitting in a stinky, pee-filled chair, and I didn’t want to undo all of our hard work by putting him in a diaper. 

This travel gear item from the heavens caught an accident that little man had as he slept on the plane. There were no leaks, and the airplane seat stayed dry! It was an absolute miracle!! This mat was a lifesafer!! It was also very absorbent and could be easily washed in the washing machine! (Just don’t put it in the dryer!)

Now, those potty training days are behind us, but we still find ways to use this mat. My boys love to get dirty and since there are many days when it rains in Denmark, there is no telling what state their pants will be in when I pick them up from school. Luckily, we have these mats to ensure that the car seats won’t get wet or dirty just because the boys are! We don’t travel without this must-have travel gear item!

5. Wet Bag

You may be wondering just what a “wet bag” is and how it finds a place on my list of best sewing, travel gear items, so let me tell you why you need to make this item for your next trip with babies or children. A wet bag is a zipper bag made with waterproof material that is perfect for those unexpected potty-training fails, motion sickness episodes or soiled pants from a massive poop blowout. No one is immune from the fate of a very messy diaper or a child who tends to get sick when he/she travels. 

That is why having a wet bag is so important. You can put those messy clothes in this wet bag, so that the smell or wetness doesn’t get on any of the other items in your diaper bag. We used this more than once.

But to look a bit on the bright side, it could easily be used for a swimsuit if you have an unexpected water play date. Having a wet bag is always a good idea! (For the outside of this bag, I used 100% cotton, and for the inside, I used PUL.) 

6. Quiet Book

When my children were toddlers (and even now that they are in elementary school), I try to steer away from letting them use too much technology (or any at all). This was what inspired me to create a Quiet Book. This busy book is a set of pages that have different activities on them and is made of fabric. Here is an example pictures of two pages that went together. They are of a barn and 5 barnyard animal, finger puppets.

The Quiet Book allows children to use their imaginations when playing, and it is called “quiet” because it keeps them so busy that they sit quietly for quite a while, playing with the different pages. I chose not to bound the pages together so that both boys could play with them at the same time! This was a HUGE hit for my boys when they were toddlers and at the preschool age, and it made traveling much easier. If there is one travel gear item that will keep your children occupied during a road trip or flight, it is this Quiet Book! See how I made my quiet book here!

7. Car Caddy

The next item on my list of best sewing projects when traveling with babies and children is the Car Caddy! If your children are like mine, they love to play with small cars, which I think is great, since they don’t take up much room in a suitcase. An issue with packing cars, though, is that they fall to the bottom of the bag or that they can easily be misplaced. One of the reasons why I love this car caddy is that there is a spot to “park” the cars so that they don’t move and will be easy to find.

The car caddy rolls up and is easily stored in any bag. My boys still like playing with these. We only get them out when we travel, so they still seem exciting and not overused after many years of having them. The race track on the caddy is also great to have an extra place for the cars to “drive”, which adds entertainment to any flight or road trip.

We love camping, and these must-have travel gear items are so great to keep in the camper for when the boys need a quiet-time activity to wind down after a long day.  Here are links to the blog post and the video tutorials of the car caddies that I made for my boys.

8. Travel Pillow

One travel gear item that is also in our car at all times is the travel pillow. This rather clever pillow can be attached to a seat belt, but since we don’t want to jeopardize the effectiveness of the belt, my boys tend to put the pillow in between their heads and the side of the car seat. I just hate it when their little heads drop to their chins when they fall asleep in the car. This pillow helps them stay a bit more upright and can be used also by adults. It is the perfect item to take on any road trip with children!

9. Crayon Roll

When your child is old enough not to eat everything he/she comes into contact with, it is a great time to introduce coloring. I have always had a certain love of crayons and coloring kept me busy on plenty of afternoons!

I was happy to see that my boys found a similar fondness of this activity at home and during our travels. That is why the crayon roll is number 9 of my list of must-have, travel gear items.

These little holders roll up nicely and can fit 16 crayons easily and tightly in individual spots to make it the perfect way to transport crayons in any bag. There is no need to worry about losing crayons on the bottom of the airplane floor when traveling with children if you’ve got this neat holder. You will love making it and will definitely find that it deserves a spot on your list of travel gear items for traveling with children!   (Click  the  picture  for  the  video tutorial.)

10. Travel, Fabric High Chair

When our boys were babies, we didn’t want to stop traveling, and since my husband’s family lived abroad, we knew that there would be many travel opportunities in our future. We weren’t sure if the family we visited would have a high chair for our little man, so this lead me to making my own travel, fabric high chair for when we traveled with our baby.

There are plenty of good, portable high chairs on the market, but we really wanted to cut back on the bulk of travel gear for the baby for our trip. Isn’t that just how it is with babies? They seem to need a lot of stuff, which ends up making mom and dad feel like pack mules! 

Another great thing about this travel, fabric high chair is that it folds neatly and easily to where it can be placed in one of the pockets of my diaper bag organizer. It takes up as much room as a few diapers would since it is essentially just a piece of fabric, which can be used on most chairs.

This travel gear item for baby came in handy so many times, that we decided to keep it with us whenever we were flying and traveling abroad. (Tutorial available upon request in the comments!)

11. Crinkle Taggie

One item that is sure to please baby on any road trip, flight or just to use on an average day is the crinkle taggie! So small and flat, this taggie is easy to pack in any bag when traveling with babies.

Differing from a normal taggie, babies love the sound of the crinkle in this taggie and enjoy playing with it. It is also so easy to make. If you are a beginner at sewing, this could easily be your first project! (You can find the video tutorial HERE.)

Bonus Travel Gear Item for Baby: Pram Pillow

If you are not from Europe, you may be wondering what a PRAM is. I know that the baby strollers are different depending on what country you live in, and when it comes to getting baby around town, Danes (and other Europeans) like to use a pram stroller. This reminds Americans of an old-fashioned baby buggy and allows for much more room. That being said, babies will often need a pillow to help prop them up. This is where a pram pillow comes in handy.

I created my own pattern for a pram pillow, which is free to download.

Also, you can watch my full tutorial to learn how to make your own! They are fabulous! 🙂

Now, you are ready to get started sewing a few projects before your next road trip or flight when traveling with babies and children. These easy-to-make travel gear items are perfect to keep babies and children entertained for a long time, which will make the entire trip much more enjoyable for all involved.

Do you have a favorite sewing item that is good for traveling with babies and children? Let me know about it in the comments below! Which of these must-have travel items for babies and children are you going to make for your next trip?

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