Step by Step Baby Shower Diaper Cake Instructions Video

We have FREE baby shower diaper cake instructions with easy to follow step by step directions that will put you on your way towards making a baby shower gift that makes a great centerpiece for the party as well as something very practical for the guest of honor to take home. I decided to try my hand at making one so that I could share my personal diaper cake recipe. You can substitute decorations to personalize your design and baby gifts according to the theme of your baby shower. Wherever I have listed flowers or a recommendations for floral themed items, you can improvise with similarly sized ornaments from Winnie the Pooh figurines to ladybugs for your baby princess' or prince's shower.





The basic steps needed to make your own disposable or cotton baby diaper cakes are surprisingly easy. The fun part is that you can use your baby shower gifts to decorate the layers so that your cake not only serves as a unique and beautiful centerpiece for the top of the gift table, it's a creative way to display the gifts that the hostesses carefully chose to give as gifts.

Baby Diaper Cake Instructions

Go here to see more baby shower diaper cakes to inspire or to pick up supplies for your own creation.

Would you prefer not to struggle along with written instructions? Have you searched through all the diaper cake pictures and galleries filled with pictures of delectable but complicated designs and still can't figure it out on your own? Search no more! This is my favorite instructional video with simple step by step directions that will show you how to make your own diaper cake.

Baby Shower Diaper Cake Instructions

Assembly time: Approximately two (2) hours

List of supplies needed for your project:

• Newborn size disposable baby diapers (organic or discount store brands both work but you might ask if the mom-to-be has a preference)
• Round cardboard disks, plastic cake disks or a large ceramic cake plate
• Rubber bands in various sizes and strengths
• Dinner Plate size paper doilies
• Rose buds made of narrow satin baby ribbon
• 1 inch ribbon and 7/8 inch ribbon
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Silk or real (edible, non-toxic) flower arrangement for the cake top decoration
• A dozen big, plastic decorative baby diaper pins
• Four infant washcloths
• A pair of baby spoons
• A pair of matching baby forks
• 2 sets of baby booties or socks
• 1 set of soft knit baby hand covers

Diaper cake instructions:

How to Roll the Diapers
Start rolling the diapers (disposable or cotton) beginning at the waist, secure with one of the small rubber bands in the center of the roll. If a baby girl is expected, consider using colorful, matching ponytail elastics in place of rubber bands.

When shopping for your diapers for your diaper cake recipe, look for ones with pictures and print that will work with your party’s theme. For instance, if the shower is for a baby girl, you will want to buy diapers with pink print and blue for a baby boy. Roll enough diapers for the first tier so that the first layer will fit on your cake plate and still allow the lace edges of your doily to peek out. Some diaper cake instructions call for a specific number of diapers, but I find that it's impossible to count on these numbers. My findings were that for a standard size cake plate, you can count on 20-25 diapers depending on how tightly you roll them and the brand of disposables that you buy as some are thicker than others. I generally roll a pile and then proceed to step #2 in our diaper cake instructions.

Diaper Cake Instructions for the First Tier

Starting in the middle of your cake plate, start to stand your diapers on end in a tight little circle. Add more diapers around the edges of this group until the first tier of your cake is the best size. Some diaper cake recipes recommend that you put a large rubber band around all of your rolled diapers at this point, but I found that my diapers looked cramped and bunched when I did this. I got a friend to help me use a wide ribbon to secure my first layer and it looked much smoother and round. I just didn’t see any reason for the diapers to be pressed together so tightly.

Diaper Cake Instructions for the Top Tiers
There is no rule of thumb for how much smaller each additional tier should be. Just use your first tier as a guide for your second layer and your second layer as a guide for the third and so on. There’s no way that diaper cake instructions can give you a definite measurement on this. Just eyeball it and proceed accordingly. Before making your arrangement permanent, stack each layer on top of the other and be sure that the sizes are visually pleasing before breaking out the double sided tape.

Stabilizing the First Layer
Secure your doily to the cake plate using your double sided tape. Then make a large X in the center of the face of the doily stopping about 2 inches from the edge. Center your large, first tier of the diaper cake on the doily and press it down. (If I'm not making these diaper cake instructions clear at this point, I apologize!)

Two or Three Tiers
On top of the large, first layer make another X of double sticky tape. Add your middle size paper doily (you may have to trim it to fit with the scissors) then make another sticky tape X on top of this. Add your next layer of diapers that have been gathered in a circle and secured either with decorative baby print ribbon or a rubber band. Repeat for the top layer. Getting the cake together without it being wobbly or leaning was a tricky business for me, but after a few tries I developed a pattern and it got easier. I tried to come up with excuses for my Leaning Tower of Pizza diaper cake designs, but I just kept at it till it just looked beautiful!

Decorating the Baby Shower Diaper Cakes
If you were paying attention to these diaper cake instructions for a cake that will enhance your baby shower's theme and decorations, you noted that I skipped the rubber band that was recommended by some designers for the first layer. I cut my ribbon long enough to encircle the required number of diapers and taped them flat together with double stick tape by overlapping the ends. I wanted to mention the rubber band part in the diaper cake instructions even if I didn’t feel that it was necessary for my cake because if a hostess has to transport her diaper cake, she might need a more sturdy method of construction. I was making my diaper cake on site so I could be more flexible and focus on decorating a unique diaper cake rather than worrying over whether or not it would be too dainty and fall apart before it became the baby shower’s centerpiece.

Embellishing the Cake with Baby Gifts
I found that the glue gun is virtually useless in decorating the diaper cake itself, but what it is good for is to decorate the themed baby gifts that you plan to attach to the cake. You can make something as simple as little bows to decorate the handles of rattles, teething rings or other baby items or you can make tiny nosegays of flowers like I did. I cut small pieces of the doilies to gather around a bouquet of fresh flowers that matched my floral arrangement that I made for the cake topper! If you want an inexpensive cake, use plastic baby items off the rack from the discount store. For a more elegant touch, I included one personalized baby keepsake that has been monogrammed placed in a place of importance on one of the layers. Any decorative gift items that you choose can be attached to the sides of the cake by making tubes of tape according to the size of the item. The gift items can be popped off of the cake without damaging those precious diapers! The diaper cake is currently one of the most popular baby shower ideas with hostesses because of the many ways to decorate it. This modern non-edible cake is displayed in addition to or in place of the traditional baby shower cake that served as dessert as well as a party decoration. It’s frugal to get double duty out anything you buy for your shower, and that’s probably why there are so many hostesses searching for free diaper cake instructions!

Coordinate all aspects of your party from the baby shower invitations, special baby party favors and keepsakes to the decorations on your cake. Also, we have many specialty baby gifts that reflect the most popular baby nursery themes for boys and girls here on Unique Baby Gear Ideas that you should see before you go.