It’s been a funky few weeks.
By funky, I mean a few things. The first is that I spent a week “off” of being sick. In a funk. The second is that I spent the next two weeks-ish elbow deep in felt and needles and thread and “watch instantly” shows on Netflix.
This second sort of funky resulted in a felt garland for baby’s room and a few good cries on the couch during shows where someone I didn’t want to die does, or two people I want to be together aren’t, or where two people who you KNOW have been meant to be together FINALLY tell each other how they feel and live happily ever after. You know, the sort of thing my heart would usually just ache for, but during my third trimester of pregnancy induces tears which then cause me to laugh out loud at the fact that I’m crying which makes me cry harder. It’s all very complicated. Funky, even.
Oh, and did I mention I finished a quiet book?
Anyone who reads this blog (or even just this post, for that matter) knows I’m a crazy person. One of my crazy habits is that I LOVE hand-sewing with felt. Don’t ask me why–I just find it relaxing and satisfying. I’ve made a few of these before, but it was really fun to make one FOR MY OWN BABY.
(Can you believe that she’ll probably be here in 8 weeks? I can’t either.)
Anyway, I thought I’d give you a quick look through the book. We kept it gender-neutral so that it wasn’t too girly if our next baby is a boy. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures…
Lion (lots of different textures and colors in the mane to touch)
Alligator (mouth zips open and closed)
Frog (tongue can catch flies)
Butterfly (wings can flap)
Fish (can snap on and off the page, or twirl around on a snap to spin in a circle)
Owl (baby owl hiding under a wing)
Monkey (banana peels to open)
Back Cover
Which page is your favorite? I can’t get enough of that owl page. I love it!
How did you do the zig zag bits for the borders of the page? 🙂
Kendall – I used pinking shears. There are all grades of pinking shears, but mine weren’t too expensive. You can usually find them at Michaels, Jo Ann Fabric, and Hobby Lobby. Best of luck!
What’s the approximate size of each page? What are the dimensions of the cover and back of the book? P.S. Looks great!!!!
Amanda – I just used 8×10 or 8×11 sheets that they sell in craft and fabric stores, so that’s the basic size. The cover was the same. Best of luck!
This book is wonderful! Babies will love it. For older children, the letters can be snapped or velcroed on to learn spelling and reading .
This book is beautiful! I love it! I know what you mean about hand sewing felt. I feel the same way. I’ve made my kids lots of little stuffed animals out of felt and for some reason, I don’t get the same sense of peace and accomplishment when I use a machine. Plus, trying to sew the little details on my machine is a headache for me, so I’d rather just sew it by hand. This book is great though. Kudos.
I am presently making a quiet book for one of my grandchildren. Thank you for the inspiration and creative idea!
Ok. That’s awesome and my tiny girl needs one!!!
I can’t believe you did all that by hand! I’m very impressed. It’s a great book:)
do you have pattern for this book?
Jody – sorry, no! I just traced on felt and cut things out freehand.
AWESOME!!!!
Also is there an easier way of sewing on velcro? It’s so hard to thread through and I’ve already bent one of my needles. My baby is not at the stage of using snaps properly so velcro seems to be the best way to connect items at the moment
Melody: I’ve had some difficulty with velcro too… one suggestion is to use an embroidery needle (which is thicker, stronger, etc.). That’s what I did, but if you’d rather not and you do have a machine, you can use a machine to sew it on. Otherwise, they sell stick-on velcro, which might save you the hassle. Best of luck!!!
How about using a glue gun? That’s worked for me.
I used soft velcro for some trousers for a baby. It can be sewn by machine quite easily and isn’t scratchy like the tougher velcro.