Stuffed animal storage has been an issue in Roo’s room for years. After trying to keep them all in one plastic bucket, then two…Then I tried hammocks, but we all had trouble keeping the animals in the hammock after taking one or two down. I came across a stuffed animal storage zoo and loved the idea that Roo could see and grab any stuffie she wanted fairly easy. But to buy one was expensive and not quite the dimensions I wanted.
So I made my own! Here’s my tutorial for a DIY stuffed animal storage zoo.
Supplies needed for DIY stuffed animal storage zoo*amazon affiliate links*
7 1×1 36 inches tall square wooden dowel
around 80 feet of braided nylon rope
How to put together your DIY stuffed animal storage zoo
Cut 3 of the 7 wooden dowels into 12 inch pieces. You should have 9 12 inch pieces, you only need 8 for the stuffed animal storage zoo.
Use your drill and paddle bit to make three holes in the side of each 12 inch piece equally spaced. (include the 9th just in case you mess up!)
Create a square from 4 of the 12 inch pieces and use 4 screws to attach the ends.
Repeat to make a second square.
Leave the other four dowels 36 inches and attach them to the inside of each corner of the squares to form a rectangle cube.
Now there are a few different ways to do the next part. You could thread the nylon cord through one hole, knot it, and then through the opposite one, cut and knot it. Repeat on all 24 holes leaving the top and bottom open.
Here’s a video on the way I did it with as little cutting as possible, and wrapping the top and bottom so the stuffed animal storage zoo could be moved without the stuffies falling out the bottom.
Basically start with a hole on the furthest left of the frame and thread the nylon cord through bottom to top.
Bring it across the top to the opposite hole in the same square and thread top to bottom.
Pull tight before taking the nylon cord to the other end of the frame and repeat.
Once you are back to the hole you started with, wrap the nylon cord on the left of the existing before threading through the middle hole.
Repeat all the way around.
Tie off and cut the cord.
Start again on the opposite side the same way, but when you get to the sides, weave in an out of the existing cords.
Finished!
Enjoy your DIY stuffed animal storage zoo!