Over the last couple of months I’ve been working on the nursery decor for my baby (4 weeks to go!), and I finally got my DIY modern mobile done and hung. I’d never made a mobile before, so it was a little bit trickier than I expected, but I really like how it turned out. Plus it was a whole lot more affordable than the expensive ones that inspired it. I think it would look cool even in rooms for adults, so read on for my tips and tricks for how to make your own modern mobile.

I had a lot of trouble deciding on what type of mobile to make. There’s a whole world of cute mobiles out there, and I was drawn to several different styles. But this modern version eventually won out, both for its simplicity, and the fact that it is developmentally-appropriate for a newborn. And I figure I can always make another one of a different style later on.

DIY Modern Mobile

Materials

5/16″ wood dowel

Unfinished wood beads

Unfinished wood circles of various sizes

Super glue

Clear filament/fishing line

Paint

Thread

Tools

Small handsaw

Scissors

Paint brush

Sandpaper

Steps

First, decide how many tiers you want, and cut pieces of dowel for them. My top piece is 9 inches long, and the other two are 5 inches long each.

Originally I was thinking I would do more tiers, but I realized that three was a more manageable number when I started trying to balance them.

Now make a “rough draft” of your mobile to figure out the shapes and balance. For this step I just used some sewing thread for attaching the pieces.

This is definitely the trickiest, most time-consuming step! I discovered that it’s easiest to start with balancing each of the lower tiers separately, then move on to the whole mobile.

To make half- and three-quarter circles, I just sawed some of my circles, then smoothed the edges with a tiny bit of sanding.

Once you have a balanced structure that you’re happy with, take a photo of it so you don’t have to memorize what it looks like. Here’s my quick phone photo of my mobile-in-progress:

Then take it apart, paint the pieces, and let dry. Reassemble with fishing line/clear filament instead of the sewing thread (or stick with the sewing thread if you prefer).

Use dabs of super glue to make sure your knots stay tied, and to secure the line in place on the dowels.

Babies can only make out high-contrast colors and simple shapes at first, so that’s what I went with for my DIY modern mobile. But I think versions with natural, unpainted wood, or different colors could be really fun in other rooms.

Here it is in the finished nursery:

You can see more photos of the mobile (and the finished nursery!) here.