DIY Montessori Topponcino

This weekend while Jason and Matilda were out of town camping, I knocked out one of my last projects I had planned for baby Mabel.  While we aren't strictly following all Montessori principals from birth (no floor bed until she's 6-12 months old), one thing I had researched and previously didn't have with Matilda was a topponcino. 

A topponcino is basically a flat security pillow you use with newborns and infants.  You can use it when holding the baby, under them when they sleep, for play time, etc.  The thought is that it will retain their smell and your smell and provide them a comforting spot, especially when you might be traveling or handing them off from adoring relative to adoring relative.

The typically run about $37-40 online, with each case running an additional $12-15 (plus shipping).  I had found several sets of instructions online to make your own, and was confident this was a project I could handle. These were the two instructions I used for my topponcino (here and here). 

The materials for the topponcino and 2 covers ran about $31.  I could have probably gotten them cheaper had I waited for the right sale at Hobby Lobby.

To make it, I bought 1 yard of wide cotton batting, 3 yards unbleached cotton muslin, and 2 yards of fabric for the cases (I chose 1 yard of while flannel with cute delicate flowers on it and 1 yard of very plain white gauze.)

Once I had my materials, I had to cut a pattern out of paper.  My pattern was about 26x16, with slightly rounded corners.

One tutorial said to use about 4-8 layers of batting, and 6 seemed about right for me.  (Remember, while this is a "pillow," it still needs to be rather flat for safety reasons.)  You layer muslin between the batting, so all in I had to cut 6 layers of batting and 5 layers of muslin to get me started.

Here's what the batting and muslin looked like layered together.

Then you hand whipstitch around the edges to combine all the layers.

I didn't take a picture of the next step, but I made a permanent cover out of muslin.  I cut about 1/2-1 inch around my initial pattern and sewed it on the sewing machine leaving about 8 inches open.  I turned it right side out, inserted the batting, and hand stitched the opening close.

The permanent cover needs to be attached to the batting by darting it in place in 5 spots.

Here is the finished topponcino.

I also sewed two covers/ shams.  For the front of the sham, cut 1/2-1 inch around your initial pattern.  For the back, do the same thing but make it an additional 8-10 inches longer and then cut it in half.  Hem the flat edges of the two halves (the goal is to have them overlap 4+ inches on the back so you can slide the pillow in and it will remain in place).  Then line up the backs to the front (right sides facing in) and sew all the way around it.

Here's a picture of the back of the sham, so you get an idea of how it should overlap.  My flannel cover overlaps by like twice the amount as this one.

My flannel cover ended up slightly too small, but it will work fine, and the gauze was a pain to cut, pin, and sew since it was so flimsy, but overall, I'm happy with how everything turned out.

Looking forward to seeing how it works with Miss Mabel.