The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (2024)

Baby showers can be so much fun, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with ideas for the centerpiece.

Most people just put a few balloons or flowers in the middle of the table and call it a day. But your guests will love something a little more special.

Diaper cakes are the perfect way to show off your creative side and they’re really easy to make.

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to make a diaper cake that will be the star of the baby shower.

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (1)

Are you looking for a way to make a baby shower extra special? A diaper cake is an eye-catching and creative way to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a baby.

Not only are they beautiful decorations, but they also provide a practical use as well. Here’s how you can craft the perfect diaper cake for your next baby shower.

This post may contain affiliate links meaning I get commissions for purchases made in this post. Read my disclosure policy here.

Key Takeaways

  • Diaper cakes are a decorative way of presenting diapers as a gift and usually consist of multiple tiers of rolled or folded diapers, arranged in a circular shape and decorated with ribbons and other accessories.
  • To make the diaper cake, you will need supplies such as diapers (disposable or cloth), ribbons & strings, rubber bands, cardboard circle for base layer etc.
  • The process involves rolling up each diaper from top to bottom before stacking them around the cardboard circle in either circular shape or any creative design. Decorations can be added using ribbons & strings along with small toys/decorations. Hot glue is not recommended on the diaper cake itself so that it doesn’t ruin the diapers!

Table of Contents

  • Key Takeaways
  • What is a Diaper Cake?
  • Diaper Cake Supplies Needed
  • How to Make a Diaper Cake
  • Tips and Tricks
    • Use different size diapers
    • Include a label for the diapers
    • Get creative with the cake topper
  • Diaper Cake Ideas
  • Cake Topper Ideas
  • Alternative Diaper Cake Ideas
  • FAQs
    • How many diapers do you need for a diaper cake?
    • What are the best diapers to use for a diaper cake?
    • What size diapers should I use for the diaper cake?
    • Can I use cloth diapers to make the cake?
    • What is a diaper cake made of?
    • What do I do with extra diapers?
  • Final Thoughts

What is a Diaper Cake?

A diaper cake is a decorative way of presenting diapers as a gift. It usually consists of multiple tiers of rolled or folded diapers, which are arranged in a circular shape and decorated with ribbons and other accessories. The goal is to make the diaper cake look adorable while still being useful!

Diaper cakes don’t have to only be cake shaped though! You can get creative and make things like diaper bikes, wraths, hearts and even teddy bears!

Diaper Cake Supplies Needed

Ready to get started making a diaper cake? Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Diapers (any size will do!) – these can be disposable diapers or cloth diapers!
  • Ribbons and strings
  • Rubber bands
  • Cardboard circle for the base layer
  • Cake stand
  • hot glue
  • Optional diaper cake toppers: stuffed animals, flowers, wash clothes, baby booties, baby lotion, baby bottle, or any other items you’d like to use as a topper.

How to Make a Diaper Cake

The first step in creating a diaper cake is to roll up each diaper. Roll from top to bottom and secure with either a rubber band or some string.

Once all the diapers are rolled, it’s time to start assembling the tiers. Start with a cardboard circle as your base and begin stacking the rolled diapers around it, either in a circular shape or in whatever creative design you’d like!

Once all the tiers are stacked, use glue to secure them together. We recommend making diaper cakes two or three tiers tall.

Once the cake is assembled, you can move on to adding decorations. Use ribbons, strings, and baby washcloths to give the cake some color and texture. Add any small toys or decorations you’d like as well!

We recommend avoiding using hot glue, or at least glue on the diaper cake, just so the diapers don’t get ruined.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to making a diaper cake

Use different size diapers

One of the best ways to make the diaper cake as useful as possible is to include different size diapers. Babies can grow out of small size diapers very quickly (and some, like my own kids, never even fit into newborn diapers!) so you want to have a few different sizes just in case.

Include a label for the diapers

If the diapers don’t have the brand printed on them, consider giving a label inside the cake. During one of my baby showers I received a diaper cake without a name on the diapers and they ended up being our all time favorite diapers to use for my daughter! It took a while to track down exactly what diaper it was because the hostess who made our cake completely forgot where she got them from.

Get creative with the cake topper

You can get really creative with the diaper cake topper! Some of the most popular ones include Welcome baby signs that match the baby shower theme, baby bottles, and stuffed animals.

Diaper Cake Ideas

Need some inspiration? Here are some of our all time favorite diaper cakes sent in by readers!

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (2)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (3)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (4)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (5)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (6)

Related Post: How to Throw a Woodland Animals Themed Baby Shower

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (7)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (8)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (9)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (10)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (11)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (12)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (13)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (14)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (15)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (16)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (17)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (18)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (19)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (20)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (21)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (22)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (23)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (24)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (25)

Related Post: How to Throw a Jungle Themed Baby Shower

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (26)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (27)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (28)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (29)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (30)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (31)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (32)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (33)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (34)

Cake Topper Ideas

Since diaper cakes are usually gifted at baby showers, you can make your cake extra special with a fun topper. Some ideas include:

  • A onesie with the baby’s name
  • Tiny teddy bears or small stuffed animals (bonus points if it matches the baby shower theme!)
  • Baby bottles or rattles
  • Pacifiers and bibs
  • Baby wash and lotion
  • A bow or decorative ribbon

And of course, you can always get creative and come up with your own ideas!

Alternative Diaper Cake Ideas

Want to make a different diaper cake centerpiece? Here are some adorable ideas of alternatives to the traditional diaper cake.

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (35)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (36)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (37)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (38)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (39)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (40)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (41)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (42)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (43)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (44)
The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (45)

FAQs

How many diapers do you need for a diaper cake?

The number of diapers you need for a diaper cake will depend on the size and shape of the cake you’re making. Generally, it takes about 60-80 newborn sized diapers to make an average sized 3 tier cake.

However, if you’re using or making more tiers, you may need more or if you’re using larger sized diapers you may need less.

What are the best diapers to use for a diaper cake?

There really is no best diaper to use for a diaper cake. It can all be up to your preference on which ones to choose! However, if mom to be has a baby registry and has asked for diapers, we recommend using the brand that she asks for.

What size diapers should I use for the diaper cake?

I always recommend doing a variety of sizes for diaper cakes. This way, parents to be will have plenty of diapers to choose from as baby grows.

If you only do want to do one size diaper, I recommend going with a size 1 or a size 2. Not all babies will fit into newborn diapers, and might even grow out of that size before all the diapers can be used.

Can I use cloth diapers to make the cake?

Yes! Cloth diapers can be used in place of disposable diapers.

What is a diaper cake made of?

Diaper cakes are mostly made up of rolled up diapers, but they can also include other things that can be used for the baby and/or the parents to be.

We’ve even heard of cute ideas where someone will make a diaper cake with diapers on the outside, then put a bottle of wine in the middle for mom to enjoy after she has the baby!

What do I do with extra diapers?

If you have extra diapers after building diaper cakes, you can always give them to the mom to be after the baby shower. You could even save the box the diapers came in so the parents can bring home the cake easier (plus know what brand diapers you used!)

Final Thoughts

Diaper cakes make adorable and practical gifts for expecting parents. With a little creativity and some basic supplies, you can put together your own diaper cake in no time! Be sure to be creative with decorations and toppers- the possibilities are endless!

Good luck and have fun making your diaper cake!

The Ultimate Guide to Diaper Cakes (2024)

FAQs

How many pampers does it take to make a diaper cake? ›

Most diaper cakes use about 50 to 75 newborn or size 1 diapers. Here's what you'll need: A cake topper (a stuffed animal, ribbon, board book, etc.)

What is the best size diaper to use for a diaper cake? ›

Pampers are a little puffier and look messy on a cake. Still works though- scroll down to see previous diaper cakes. I bought one small pack each of newborn, size one, and size two. It's nice to give the mom a variety and it also looks really nice on the cake to have the tiers be different heights.

How many layers are in a diaper cake? ›

Once all four layers are stacked this is how the Diaper Cake will look. Remember, you don't need to go this big with yours. I made a two tiered cake for a co-worker so that we could put it on her desk.

What holds a diaper cake together? ›

Place the rolled diapers around the cake and secure each layer with one big rubber band or ribbon.

How to make a quick and easy diaper cake? ›

Place a heavy bottle of baby lotion or shampoo in the center of your cake base. You can also use an empty paper towel or wrapping paper tube. Begin making a layer of rolled up diapers all the way around the bottle. Secure all of the individual diapers together with one large rubber band all the way around the outside.

Are diaper cakes practical? ›

3) It's Practical- Babies Need Diapers!

Diaper cakes provide the perfect solution. They equip parents with the diapers they need, but in a beautiful and unique presentation.

How to make a no roll diaper cake? ›

No Roll Diaper Cake Tutorial
  1. Gather three round pots, pans, or containers of various sizes.
  2. Start with the largest layer. ...
  3. Use a string, rubber band, or anything you have, to temporarily secure the diapers within the pan. ...
  4. Repeat the process with the remaining two layers.
  5. Stack the three layers.
Feb 1, 2012

How do you secure diaper cake layers? ›

Keep wrapping until the first tier of your diaper cake is as wide as you want it to be. Once you're done, secure the diapers in place with an extra-large rubber band or a ribbon. The ribbon can be fastened with hot glue (just take care not to get any on the diapers), or with a knot or bow.

How to stabilize a diaper cake? ›

Set the bottom layer on the largest cardboard circle. Insert the wooden dowel into the center of the bottom layer of diapers. Honestly, you don't need the wooden dowel, but it does help stabilize the diaper cake. I would hate for the diaper cake to fall apart in the car on the way to the baby shower!

Can you use size 2 diapers for a diaper cake? ›

Choose size 2 diapers for your cake, since many babies never wear the newborn size, and they grow out of the size 1s astoundingly quickly. Make your cake colorful by picking washcloths and blankets in different shades and patterns. Use a special toy or stuffed animal as a cake topper.

How many diapers does it take to make a 3 layer diaper cake? ›

The numbers represent how many diapers you need for each layer, so if you were making a 2 tiered cake you would need a total of 26 diapers. Three tiered cake would be 64 diapers total. The four tiered cake I am making will need a total of 127 diapers.

How many diapers do I need for a 5 tier diaper cake? ›

This 5 tier Do-It-Yourself Diaper Cake is constructed with 120-130 disposable diapers, and secured with plain white ribbon (we tell you why on our Hints and Tips sheet.)

How many Pampers diapers do I need? ›

Note:
DIAPER SIZEWEIGHTHOW MANY
Size 18–14 lbs.13 packs (about 40/pack) or 3–4 boxes (based on 164 per box)
Size 212–18 lbs.About 15 packs (about 37/pack) or 4 boxes (based on 142 per box)
Size 316–28 lbs.27 packs (about 36/pack) or 7 boxes (based on 136 per box)
Size 422–37 lbs.17 packs (about 23/pack)
4 more rows
May 15, 2020

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Melvina Ondricka

Last Updated:

Views: 5998

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (48 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Melvina Ondricka

Birthday: 2000-12-23

Address: Suite 382 139 Shaniqua Locks, Paulaborough, UT 90498

Phone: +636383657021

Job: Dynamic Government Specialist

Hobby: Kite flying, Watching movies, Knitting, Model building, Reading, Wood carving, Paintball

Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.