How to Make a Safari-Themed Nursery Mobile

Last week, I made my nephew a safari-themed mobile. My brother had looked at a few on Etsy that he liked, but they were quite costly. He asked if I would be able to make one. It was super easy and it turned out pretty cute. The entire mobile costs less than $5 to make! Each animal costs less than $1 to make!

The past five days, I have showed you how to make a felt elephant, lion, giraffe, monkey, and snake to hang from the mobile. Be sure to click on the links for the tutorials of each animal if you missed them. Today, I will show you how to make the actual mobile.

Needed Materials:
String, Ribbon, or Yarn
Dark Green Felt
Light Green Felt
Embroidery Hoop
Washi Tape or Ribbon
Small Washer


Step 1. The embroidery hoop comes with two hoops. Take the inside loop out and use that. I used a 12 inch hoop. If you want yours to be bigger or smaller, just adjust accordingly.

Step 2. Take your washi tape or ribbon and put it on your the inside of the embroidery hoop. I used washi tape because it was quick and easy. You also could glue a ribbon around it or even wrap yarn around the hoop. Being that it is on the inside, you really do not have to decorate it, but I think it looks nicer.

Step 3. Attach the main hanging string. Cut 3 lengths of yarn or string at about 8 inches (or the length that you desire). Tie these three strings to the washer and then to the hoop. Try to evenly space them around the hoop. I then put a small piece of washi tape over it to hold it in place. Cut a long length of yarn and tie it to the washer. The length of this piece depends on what you are hanging it from and at what height. 

Step 4. Make the felt leaves. I did not make a template to make these. I just cut them at random.

Step 5. Cut a length of yarn about 2 feet long. Starting from the bottom of the felt animal, pull the yarn though the animal. Depending on the weight of the felt animals, you may need to play with the placement. If your animal is too heavy on one side, it can cause the animal to lean to the side. If the animal is top heavy, it can fall forward or backward, so you may have to experiment. 

Step 6. Put a knot at the very end of the yarn. Pull the yarn through the animal until you get to the knot. The knot at the bottom of the animal will hold it. You may want to put a small dab of glue on the knot just to ensure it stays.

Step 7. Thread the yarn through the leaves. Again, you will want to place a knot at the bottom of each to hold them up. Put as many or as few leaves as you want. Do this process for all the animals.

Step 8. Tie the animals to the hoop at your ideal length. You may need to move the animals around or change the lengths of the yarn because you need to create a balance. Ideally, you should place similar weight items across from each other.

Step 9. Once you are sure of your placement of the animals. Put a small piece of tape or glue on the place where you tied it to the hoop. This will ensure that they don't slide around the hoop and become unbalanced.

Step 10. Place the washi tape or ribbon on the outside of the embroidery hoop.

Step 11. If you want an animal in the middle of the mobile, tie that animal to the washer.

Step 12. Hang the mobile and enjoy!

If you don't want to use a hoop, you can usually find an old mobile at the local thrift stores. You can follow the same process of hanging the animals, just hang them to the mobile holder instead of the hoop. Here is a picture of the felt animals that I made hanging from an old mobile hanger.

Another option is to take a couple dowels, glue them together to form a "t" and hang the animals from the dowels. This method does require more work to get the animals to balance. I did not try this method, but it would work if you have dowels on hand.

This would make a great personalized gift for any baby shower. Simply change the animals to fit any nursery theme. It is quick, easy, and inexpensive to make!