DIY height ruler

I’ve been meaning to measure Sidney’s height ever since he first stood up, which was many months ago now, but I never got round to it. I have fond memories of my parents measuring me against the wall when I was little – always hoping to be that little bit taller than I ever was, and desperately trying to catch up with my older sister.

However, this week Sidney turned 18 months old and I decided it was a good enough milestone for his first measurements. There's nothing like a deadline to make me get things done!

I’ve seen lots of DIY height rulers online and figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to make my own. I found a piece of wood in the street a while ago while we were scavenging for various home projects. It was a good height at just over 5 feet tall, had nice curved edges and it wasn’t too clean and new.

First we smoothed it down with sandpaper to get rid of any nasty edges and then it needed staining. I wanted it to be a similar colour to the old wooden rulers we used at school. It seemed a shame to buy a stain for such a small job, and I’d rather use natural ingredients when I make things for Sidney, so I decided to use turmeric.

I put a teaspoon of spice into half a jam jar of water and then added half a teaspoon of coffee to take the edge of the vibrant yellow. I gave the wood three coats and it came up perfectly. Without the coffee it might have turned out too yellow, but with the coffee it was just right.

I left it to dry and then added the markings. I used a small ruler and pencil to mark the centimetres along one edge and the inches along the other side. I made three guide marks – one along the top edge of the wood, one along the side edge, and one further towards the centre of the plank at every 10cm and foot. Then I joined the dots with a Sharpie, making the lines for the feet and 10-cm points a little wider than the rest, and added the numbers freehand.

I’m really pleased with how it worked out. If you wanted to do something similar, but you’re up for more of a challenge, there are instructions online for burning the measurements into the wood, which must look great when you get it right.

By the way, Sidney is a perfect 79cm/2’7”. But not for long, I’m sure.