Tutorial | Soft Baby Booklet | by StraightGrain

Today we have such an amazing, and creative tutorial to bring you from An of StraightGrain Blog.  She's taken the cheater print from Emily Isabella's Everyday Party collection, and cut it up into a booklet.  Doesn't it work out just perfectly?

I really love cheater quilt fabrics - they are so great to create a super fast faux patchwork quilt, for instance. But there is more you can make with them. How about a really sweet baby booklet?

This tutorial will show you how to make a basic booklet - the ideal last-minute baby shower gift. But if you have a bit more time on your hands, you can make the booklet more interesting by adding some of the 8 ideas explained in the second part. This booklet was made from Everyday Quilt, a cheater patchwork fabric from Emily Isabella's beautiful Everyday Party line.

1. Basic baby booklet
Supplies
- a piece of cheater quilt fabric which contains at least 8 different tiles (8 tiles are needed for a 4 page booklet)
-batting: I used fleece, but you can use any type you like.
- thread, scissors, pins, a sewing machine.

Instructions

1. For a booklet with four pages, cut out four pairs of tiles. Also cut two pieces of batting, each with the same dimensions as one pair of tiles.

Want more pages? Simply add more pairs.

2. Put one piece of batting in front of you, and put one pair of tiles on top of it with the right side up. On top of that, put another pair of tiles with the right side down.

Important: make sure that the top pair of tiles is not the pair which will be the cover or middle page of the booklet (in step 6, you will understand why)

3. Pin these three layers together, and stitch all the way around the edges. Repeat these steps for the other page(s). Reduce the seam allowance to about 1/8".

You can determine yourself which seam allowance you use; just make sure you use the same seam allowance for each page.

4. Carefully cut a vertical turning hole right in the middle of the top layer. Make sure you do not cut through the other layers.

The size of the turning hole depends on the size of your pages. In any case, do not make the turning hole bigger than strictly necessary to turn the piece right side out.

5. Turn the piece right side out, and press so the edges are neat and crisp. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the other page(s).

6. Put the different pages on top of each other, putting the sides with the turning holes together. Make sure the turning holes are not gaping. Stitch the pages together as shown in the picture below.

That's all there's to it! Eight ideas for activities

The steps above teach you how the make a very quick, basic booklet. If you have more time on your hands, you can make the booklet more interesting for baby by adding some of the 8 activities below.

A. Crackle page

In step 2, add a piece of plastic on top of the layers.

B. Quilted surface:

Before step 2, quilt one of the pairs of tiles onto the batting. 

C. Squeaker:

After step 5, insert a squeaker into the turning hole, and move it to one of the sides so it does not get caught in the stitches you will be running in step 6.

D. Theething ring:

Put a ribbon through a teething ring, and before step 2, stitch it to the right side of one the two pairs of tiles. In step 4, you will have to cut your turning hole big enough to fit the ring (so make sure not to use a ring which is out of proportion).

E. Interesting texture:

After step 1, stitch a piece of fabric with an interesting texture (e.g. hairy fleece, faux-sheepskin, minky) on top of one of the layers. I used a button hole stitch all the way around the piece.

F. Lift-the-flap:

Before step 2, stitch a piece of fabric (I used lace) to the top edge of the right side of one the two pairs of tiles.

G. Tags

Before step 2, stitch a few double folded pieces of ribbon to the right side of one the two pairs of tiles.

H. Plushie 

A final idea is to include a little plushie in the booklet. First, make the plushie by cutting two pieces of fabric of the same size. On the piece which will make up the back of  the plushie, stitch some velcro or press a kam snap (on the right side). Also stitch one end of a piece of ribbon to the right side of one of them. Next, stitch the two pieces with right sides together, leaving a small turning hole. Turn right side out, fill with a bit of toy stuffing, and close the turning hole with a few hand stitches.

Next, before step 2, stitch the end of the ribbon to the right side of one the two pairs of tiles, and stitch another piece of velcro or a kam snap to the right side of one of the two tiles.



So here's my 6-month old daughter Ava, testing out her new booklets. Do you like the blanket she's lying on? It was made in Bear Family, another fabric from Emily Isabella's beautiful Everyday Party line. A booklet and an assorted blanket - how is that for a unique baby shower gift?

Give-away

Would you like to experience yourself how easy it is to make this baby booklet? You can win the supplies over on my blog this week! Find out the details here.

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Thank you An, for this sweet sweet tutorial!   Everyday Party is shipping to a store near you very soon!

In the meantime, make sure to pin this tutorial for future sewing!