DIY Wooden Baby Pillow Rocker Bassinet Lounger

Preparing for our baby has been fun! I put a few ideas together and came up with a wooden rocker frame that has a large-contoured pillow for baby to relax in during the day in our living room.

I realize this project isn't for everyone as it involves both sewing AND woodworking but I thought it would be nice to share how I did it anyways!

DISCLAIMER: You are responsible for the safety of your baby while in rocker. There are no safety harnesses. Recommended to stop using once baby can sit-up or roll over.

There are 3 parts to this post:
Part 1 - Building the Wood Rocker Frame
Part 2 - Attach Adjuster Strap (for recline positions)

Part 3 - Sewing the Contoured Pillow

BABY PILLOW ROCKER INSTRUCTIONS

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-Part 1-
FOR WOOD ROCKER FRAME:

Approximate Dimensions: 25"-deep by 17"-wide by 12"-tall

Materials Needed:

4x1x8' Furring Strip***
3x1x8' Furring Strip***
2x1x8' Furring Strip***
32 1-1/4" Kreg Pocket Hole Screws
16 Pine Pocket Hole Plugs (Optional)

Wood Finishing Products of your Choice

Template for Rockers + Placement Guides (Click Here to Download)

***PLEASE NOTE: If you aren't familiar with buying lumber, the said dimensions of a board are actually different than the real measurements. If you buy a common 2x4, the actual dimensions are 1-1/2" x 3-1/2". It's weird, I know! When I say 1x4 furring strip, the actual measurement is 3/4" x 3-1/2". A 1x2 furring strip is actually 3/4" x 1-1/2". The said length is always the actual measurement, so when you see 1x4x8', the board at the store will measure 3/4" x 3-1/2" x 8'(feet)

Tools Needed:

Kreg Pocket Hole Jig (or joining method of your choice)

Kreg Clamps

Drill & Pocket Hole Drill Bit

Miter Saw

Jigsaw or Band Saw

Orbital Sander

Measuring Tape

Pencil

Safety Glasses

Cut List:

REMEMBER: The said dimensions of a board are always smaller, but the said length is exact. So 1X4 @ 25" is actually your 3/4" x 3-1/2" board and you cut it to 25".

2 - 1x4 @ 25" (for rockers)

2 - 1x4 @ 11" (side stretchers)

4 - 1x3 @ 8" (side arms)

4 - 1x2 @ 15" (center crossbars)

General Instructions:

I advise you to read through entire plan before beginning. Take precautions to build safely. Always use straight boards. Work on a flat-level surface. Ask for help if you need it and have FUN!

Print out template for rockers and piece all 6 pages together. Make sure print scaling is at 100% or set to "no page scaling". Cut out.

Cut board pieces out using the "cut list" above. For the rockers, use template pattern to cut out shape using jigsaw or band saw. I used clamps to clamp both rockers together and sand curved edge nice and smooth (you want both pieces to match so it rocks smooth); test out how they rock on a flat surface and sand more if needed.

I clamped the 4 side arms together and rounded off the corners on one of the small ends (the other end stays flat for attaching to rockers).

Use your Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes. See diagram below for pocket hole placement.

Sand all surfaces and corners smooth. Layout your boards to make sure everything looks right before assembly. The side stretchers sit 1-1/4" above the rockers.

Use your Kreg clamps to clamp boards to a strong-flat surface. Screw side stretchers to side arms with your 1-1/4" screws.

Make sure your side piece is centered over rockers and screw into place.

Use wood glue and pocket hole plugs to cover holes.

This is what your pieces look like so far.

Use your orbital sander to sand plugs flush with boards.

Cut out around red dotted lines of your printed template for crossbar placement. Place template over your sidepieces (whatever side you want on the inside) and mark around each rectangle for crossbars and over cross-hairs for screw placement. TIP: You want your sides to be a mirror-image of each other so flip your template over for the second side.

Use a Kreg clamp to clamp center crossbars over your marks on your first side. Screw all 4 crossbars to one side then onto the second side piece.

Finish your wood how you wish. I used General Finishes stain and Ceramithane protective coat.

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-Part 2-

FOR RECLINING ADJUSTER STRAP:

-pictured above-

Materials Needed:

2 Washers - 1"-diameter with 1/8"-hole

2 Pan Head Screws - Size 8 x 1/2"

1"-wide Nylon Webbing - 2 13"-pieces

2 1"-wide D-Rings

Tools Needed:

Drill and Drill Bits

Stove or Lighter (for Finishing Webbing Ends)

Large Nail (for Making Screw Hole in Webbing) - Optional

Lightly burn ends of webbing with fire to keep from unraveling.

On first strap, place both d-rings over one end and overlap webbing 1-1/2"; stitch a rectangle around overlap to secure in place. On second strap, fold one end over with a 3/4" overlap; stitch end down.

On both straps, fold over remaining end down 1" and poke a large-hot nail through the center of the overlap to create a hole for screw (simultaneously melts opening to avoid unraveling).

Pre-drill hole in wood frame over "screw placement" mark you made during the building process. Place screws through washers and "pre-drill" through webbing hole.

Screw straps in place and secure straps together withe free end through d-rings.

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-Part 3-

FOR CONTOURED PILLOW:
-pictured above-

Materials Needed:

2/3 Yard (54"-wide) Minky Fabric

Large Bag of Stuffing (or 2 Regular-Sized Pillows)

Matching Thread
10 Small Pony Beads (for securing puckers)
Heavy-Duty Matching Thread (for securing puckers)

Tools Needed:

Sewing Machine

Long Hand Sewing Needle

Washable Fabric Marker

Lay your minky fabric out flat; fold in-half (hamburger style) so selvage ends are together; cut down the center. You should now have 2 rectangles that measure 24" x 29". To create the curved corners, use a large dish plate or other large circular object; match up with raw edges of fabric and trace curve. Cut curve. TIP: to save time, keep your fabric together from cutting center so you can cut corners of both layers at the same time.

To mark fabric for puckers, follow diagram above to mark over red cross-hairs with your washable fabric marker on the right-side of fabric.

With right sides together (and marks matching), pin fabric pieces together and sew around entire pillow casing with a 1/2" seam, leaving a 4"-wide opening on one of the long-straight sides.

Turn pillow casing right-side out and stuff with stuffing (either packaged or from other pillows) until it is full and firm enough to cradle baby well.

Sew opening closed by hand with a blind stitch.

Create puckers by looping your heavy-duty thread from each front mark to corresponding mark on the back-side using an extra long sewing needle. Add a pony bead on each side to keep thread from pulling through fabric. Looping around each bead about 4 times and pull tight each time to create a nice-deep pucker.