Here is the last set of quiet book pages PLUS a very important question at the bottom of this post! (Here is the Quiet Book Construction post and the Quiet Book – Pages 1-6 post if you’re looking for it.)
*Update: This Quiet Book is now a Sew-Along! Check out more information in the Overview post.
The 7th page is the Tired Teddy Bear page! This is the wonkiest teddy bear I have made yet! He is crooked and I (still) can’t embroider properly, but this page gets the second most use in our house. For some reason it is awesome as a toddler to put teddy to bed and pull him out again (poor teddy!). I used a small piece of sweater knit to make him cozy, and the quilt ends up being 1″ squares, which is tolerable in a page this small. Teddy’s pillow is a scrap piece of fun fur. He really is cozy in there. Except for the jingle bell in his stomach – that’s really gotta feel a bit uncomfortable!
I love rainbows. And every good kid’s book needs to explain colours – so this page is one of my favorites. I basically found scraps of each colour and stitched them together. The lettering is made with a fabric pen. My favorite part are the wiggly-eye buttons I found somewhere. I stitched them on like crazy and thankfully they didn’t get chewed on!
This car page was almost the death of this project. I didn’t have a piece of this fabric large enough, so I stitched some smaller scraps together. Really… and it really looks like a road still… I know, I’m crazy. And I actually switched thread colours as needed – amazing! It took a while and if I remember right the project was at a stand-still for weeks while I didn’t allow myself to sew anything else until it was done. The unfold-able page also has a zippered pocket so the Square, Circle and Triangle cars don’t go missing. Shapes are important for learning, but are very impractical as a model for cars! They are made out of 2 layers of leather scraps I had around, and lots of patience and slow sewing.
The door/house page was the first one I made. I wanted it as scrappy-looking as possible and it is one of my favorites. For some reason, no matter how many of these books I make, The door knob snap always ends up on the wrong part of the inside fabric. I really should have put the elephant in a different spot, and that will always bug me!
Kids like peek-a-boo and this page is included in countless other quiet books I looked at for inspiration. I made the mitten extra large so it would be easy to put on. The photo can actually be changed because I left an extra-long (kid-proof!) flap on the top of the clear pocket. It folds down behind the photo.
The last page has an abacus of sorts. Only with different amounts of beads on each string. I stitched the life out of this page ensuring that it would be safe for my 1-year-old baby. I think I glued the ends of the strings, then stitched on the rick-rack, then double-stitched… you get the picture. I made these numbers in puffy paint. In hind-sight, I am never going to use puffy paint again – it looks kind of tacky. But it works, and it reminds me of the 1980’s/90’s? – when I was “cool” and wore shirts I made myself, with puffy paint!
So, there you have it – the whole book! What do you think? Are you interested in sewing 1 or 5 of them?
I am curious to know if you would like to make one as part of a Quiet Book Sew Along. We could fit in 12 pages + a cover by the end of November (ie: before Christmas!) if we sewed 1 page every 3 weeks. I would post one part of the tutorial each week, allowing for material collection, sewing and finishing. Interested? Leave a comment, and if there is enough interest we’ll do it – so please let me know!
Amazing! A sew along is a great idea and I would totally love to do it. I already have a baby in mind to gift this at Christmas!
Sounds good! 🙂
Such a nice book!!!
It would be so good to have a sew along.
Good job!!!
Hooray! I’m glad you like it. We’ll do an update post this week and get started.
Oh yeah, I’m in!
Perfect! I’m glad and excited to see what you make from it!
Sign me up! I know if I started this, I’d get excited and do four pages in a week and then get burned out – one every three weeks sounds much more doable!!
Amy
YAY! This will be perfect then – I wasn’t sure everyone would like the super-long timeline.
I am totally in! I have a little one coming, and my brother has one on the way, too! We will need these by next year! Thanks.
Hooray, I’m glad you are in Jen. We’ll get started this week with an update and timeline.
That bear page is so cute! My son (2 years old) also loves to put things in a box and then put it out again, and in again, etc…. The quiet book sew-along is a great idea. I think I will join this 😉
Mirjam – that would be amazing! I’m sure you will make something great.
Over 30 years ago I made a busy book for my daughter. Now I am a new Grandma and am planning some expansion pages to make the old book new. It has lasted so well! But I agree with you, it definitely ate up the hours.
Would anyone by chance have the old Vogue pattern for the busy book? I loaned it out and it never found its way home. I will definitely use some of your ideas Thread Riding Hood!
Thanks for posting.
I’m so glad yours will get some good use again Angela! I hope you can find the old Vogue pattern. Have you tried Ebay?
i have 2 granddaughters and want too make one for each. One girl is an infant and the other is almost 2. I have researching quiet books and I like many of your pages. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks! You are very welcome Diane 🙂
I would love the weekly sew along. I especially love the cover. What a clever way to do this.
Thank you Michele! Most of the book is already finished in the “Sew Along” tab at the top of the website. i’m working on getting the last few posts up. I’m glad you like it!
I just finished my first quiet book; it was for a 3 month old & only tactile. The next one will be more interactive. I completely agree that all parts need to be attached; no extra work for the mommy! Your book is the BEST I have ever seen. Love it all! Great way to bind as well. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much Shelly! I’m so glad you like it. Tactile for a 3 month old would be perfect – they’d love it!
i would love a sew-a-long.
Thanks so much Barbara! You will find all of the Sew Along links at the top of the blog under the link “Sew Along” 🙂 I am in the process of finishing the last couple of posts now.
Will the final construction be done soon?? I’d love to finish off my first book
Love the sew along method so easy but did not finish in time for chirstmas
Thanks for asking! I am sorting out my holiday schedule and am really set on finishing it up so will do my best to have it up before the end of November.
Fabuleux ! Merci beaucoup, thanks so much for sharing this beautiful idea.
I am sure these books will go to your grand-children and great-grand-children…
Bises from France
Louise
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know Louise! Wonderful to hear from you! Have a fantastic week 🙂
I haven’t had as much fun sewing since my kids were little! I now have 1 granddaughter (9mos.) and a 2nd one on the way this month. I’m 63 and have been sewing since I was 6yrs. old making my own clothes, home decor, etc., but have never made a book out of fabric. A few weeks ago I decided my 9mos. old granddaughter needed a fabric book, being that she loves to feel different textures. So I did some searching for ideas and came across your site. Thank you!!! I’m taking some of your ideas and using a few of my own to make 2 books for my little girls, although the new one won’t need it for awhile. It’s been a great way to use up sewing stuff I’ve accumulated over the years and end up with this priceless keepsake. 🙂
I’m so glad you are inspired Stephanie! Hooray! That is exactly why I wanted to post this. And I love how you can use things you’ve collected – it makes the end product mean so much more!
I would love to make several of these. I already have a great-granddaughter and I have a great-nephew on the way. Please keep me informed about a tutorial.
Thank you. C Vance
Hi Carol! You can find the entire tutorial from this starting page 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions! /quiet-book-sew-along-overview-free-12-page-book-tutorial/
Can I get a step by step? I want to make one now! Super cute and very creative!!! Nice job
I’m so glad you like it Nicole! You can find an overview of the Quiet Book here => /quiet-book-sew-along-overview-free-12-page-book-tutorial/ All the links to the free tutorials are featured there 🙂