For Rae and Dana’s Celebrate the Boy Month, I made a soft book for Jacob. He loves so many simple things that I thought I’d just compile them into one toy. Using old jeans, Heat ‘n’ Bond, and a variety of fabric scraps, I appliqued pictures and constructed a little book for him. Which he seems to love.
Wanna see how?
Tutorial after the jump. :)
Download the template in PDF format here.
Print the template, use your own designs, or find other designs that your little guy will love. Gather all your supplies: discarded jeans, scraps of fabric, thin cotton batting (2 rectangles about 12″ x 7″), white or coordinating thread, denim needle, and basic sewing supplies.
First, cut four rectangles (11″ x 6″) from your old jeans.
Now, transfer the designs, BACKWARDS, onto the papery side of the Heat ‘n’ Bond. Carbon paper is probably your best bet.
Cut out the shapes, place (glue side down) onto the backside of desired scrap fabric, and press for about 10 seconds. You’ll want to use a pressing cloth of some kind to protect your iron from the Heat ‘n’ Bond glue.
Now, cut around the shape, peel the backing off of it, and place it on one side of your page spread. Try to center it, taking into account that there will be 1/2″ seam allowances all around the page spread.
Apply each design using this same method. Now you’re ready to stitch around the edges of the pictures. Using the straight stitch (or the zig-zag) on your machine, stitch approximately 1/8″ from the edge of each appliqued piece.
Now, cut a piece of thin quilt batting just a bit larger than your page rectangles. Place the batting behind one page, and then place the other page (right sides together) on top of the first.
Pin around the edges, and then stitch around the edges with a 1/2″ seam allowance. (I use the edge of my presser foot as a guide.) Leave about a 4″ opening for turning along the bottom of the page spread.
Trim the corners, being careful not to snip through your stitches. I also trimmed one layer of the page spread to minimize bulk. Now turn right side out, using your scissors to push out the corners a little. Press flat with an iron.
Now stitch all around about 1/8″ - 1/4″ in. You’ve made half your book!
Onto the other half… The sippy cup design requires careful placement. After you determine where you want it, attach one piece at a time, layering the milk section onto the cup.
Then stitch around each part like you did previously.
You can arrange the blocks in any way you like. :)
And the puppy gets a little face with teensy zig-zag stitches for his eye and nose. I turned the stitch length and height down to almost nothing. You might want to test this out on a scrap of fabric before you dive in.
Now that all your appliques are on and your page spreads are sewn together, it’s time to assemble your book. Lie one page spread on top of the other, and find the center of the book. Now, using a grid ruler and a disappearing ink pen, draw a straight line down the middle. Stitch down that line. You may need a heavy-duty needle for this task, although I managed with my universal needle. Use a longer stitch length (such as 3.5), and be certain to backstitch at the beginning and end.
Congratulations! You’ve made a sweet little book of little things that little boys like. Well, mine does anyway. :)
Happy sewing! And hurray for boys!!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 am
Kristena, that is SO cute! I *heart* the little sippy cup. You are fantastic! I’ve never used Heat’nBond before, can’t wait to give it a try!
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:43 am
This is SO cute- you did a great job!
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:01 am
That is ADORABLE! I definitely want to try that for my little princess–altered of course :-D
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:26 am
this is so cute!! and easy…i will totally give this a go!
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:01 am
[…] Kristena from Thimbly Things participates in the Celebrate the Boy fun with a tutorial and set of templates showing how to make a soft baby book. The base of the book is made from soft denim from an old pair of jeans, and each page features a boy-themed applique. So cute, and SO boy! Get the tutorial and templates. […]
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:01 am
This is so awesome!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:21 am
this is such a great idea. I have been trying to find a different medium that I would not have to purchase in order to make my girls quiet books for church. I think you hit the nail on the head so to speak I love this idea!
join me for check me out saturdays at http://www.iamonly1woman.blogspot.com! Thanks a bunch
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
I love the simplicity of this book, my boy loves cloth books, I love that I can personalize this one. I will be making one indeed! Thank you for sharing!
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:57 am
kristena,
this is adorable. a great addition to the month. thank you for sharing with us!
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
My best friend just had a boy and I can’t wait to make this for him! I have lots of jean material and have been looking for something to do with it; tired of making purses out of old jeans. Best idea!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Cute idea! My son is starting to really get into these books. Thanks for the tutorial.
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing your tutorial!
Laura @ 6lalas.blogspot.com
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:30 pm
This is such a cute idea! I plan to try this sometime soon. Thanks for posting this.
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:46 pm
wayy too cute kristena! Love the jeans part of it too. I’ll have to make one of these for my upcoming niece/nephew for sure.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Wow, I love everything about this book! The denim, the pictures and the ‘J’. Prefect for my little Jude, might have to make one!
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:50 am
Awesome, Kristena! Love the doggie… I’ll have to make my boys some of these!
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:05 am
Awesome tutorial!
Much success , Daniel
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:05 am
[…] seen a lot of variations on the soft baby book, and I’m really liking the latest addition to the pack from Kristena of Thimbly Things. She uses reclaimed denim and scraps of fabric paired with our good friend, Heat ‘n Bond, to […]
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:02 am
Thank you so much! This is TOO cute!
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I love the simplicity of your book. The quiet books I see are usually so much more complicated-looking. Less is definitely more here. I love it.
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:08 pm
I have a TON of old jeans one of my larger guy friends gave me that I was thinking about making a picnic quilt out of but this is even cuter!
February 23rd, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Great tutorial, Kristena. Wonderful little book for your little guy (who is getting quite big, actually!)
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
[…] seen a lot of variations on the soft baby book, and I’m really liking the latest addition to the pack from Kristena of Thimbly Things. She uses reclaimed denim and scraps of fabric paired with our good friend, Heat ‘n Bond, to […]
February 24th, 2010 at 8:49 am
[…] I did congrate on your baby boy! loving this baby book! will have to make one soon…. http://www.thimblythings.com/2010/02/22/celebrate-the-boy-tutorial-soft-baby-book/ @augustgrrl haha, I know that feeling all to well. I did consider tights for Baby Boy at one […]
February 24th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I cannot wait to make one of these for the new little bean…so adorable! Thanks for the tute! I added this to our “link luv roundup” today! http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/2010/02/link-luv-roundup_24.html Come by for a peek!
February 24th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
That is too cute! I am definitely going to have to make one of those for my goddaughter.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:43 am
Gosh, I so love the pictures that you’ve created - they’re wonderful (most especially the dog, but they’re all lovely). x
February 25th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Your appliqués are so perfect. Nice work!
February 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am
So cute! I made one for my daughter almost a year ago and I couldn’t believe how much I learned between the first stitch and the last. :>) (I was a very novice stitcher… I consider myself moved up to a beginner now!) I linked to this on my weekly roundup, the post is under my name.
March 2nd, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Love this book! Such an inspiration that I made my own for my little girl: http://themarvelles.blogspot.com/2010/03/making.html
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Oh my goodness, I HAVE to make this! So cute, and it could really be used for a boy or girl! Thanks so much for posting!
March 5th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
good webpage! Sophie
March 12th, 2010 at 7:08 am
[…] Soft Book would make another great baby gift. You could personalize it with the baby’s initials and […]
March 16th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Thanks for this!! I have three friends, due with boys, in the next two months and will be making each of them one of these!
March 21st, 2010 at 10:01 am
[…] : März 21st, 2010Category : Baby Accessoir, Spielzeug / KuscheltiereAuthor : AnnaNo comments Babybuch aus Stoff sebst […]
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:16 am
[…] As part of a Celebrate the Boy month-long special devised by a couple of mommy bloggers, Kristena of Thimbly Things made this sweet, no-words soft book for her little one. Besides using scrap fabrics, something that any crafty mommy has on hand, the base of the book is made from an old pair of jeans – resulting in a low-cost, big pay-off present for her special guy. Get the full tutorial here. […]
June 18th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Really great post to pay attention to in my view. A small question, why don抰 you submit that post to social media? That may bring lots of traffic to this article.
June 22nd, 2010 at 11:47 pm
So cute! I added this to my “must make” list when you first posted it and finally got around to it. I had so much fun making my own soft baby book! Thank you for sharing and inspiring!
July 19th, 2010 at 9:31 am
[…] baby — Thea @ 16:31 Als je kan naaien, lijkt het me niet zo heel ingewikkeld om zo’n babyboekje in elkaar te zetten. Tussen de lagen stop je dan wat knisperspul. En de inhoud kan je natuurlijk […]
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:02 am
[…] Soft baby book by Kristena Derrick. Um, this is immaculate. If I ever make this, it will most likely be far in the future, for someone else’s baby – you know, when my life is totally under control and I have a ton of time on my hands. […]
March 1st, 2011 at 9:54 am
[…] rudenī sērfojot pa vispasaules blogiem, uzgāju jauku auduma grāmatiņu, kura likās viegli un ātri pagatavojama tieši manam mazajam lasītājam (lasīt – […]
March 18th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
[…] have several projects lined up but my first one was a soft baby book for Kai. I found the idea here and here but changed and added some of my own pictures. I used a pair of Nate’s old khaki […]
March 27th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Lovely tutorial - inspired me to make a soft-book for my niece!! - take a look at my pictures!: http://luvly-madewithlove.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:44 am
Super sweet and you make it look so simple I want to give it a try! :)
June 9th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Love this! I’m in the middle of making one right now. I was able to use some old jeans and scrap fabrics I already had.
June 11th, 2011 at 10:43 am
I love how simple and cute this is!
I am featuring it on my blog today!
seemesew.blogspot.com
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:29 am
[…] Using an old pair of jeans, this tutorial shows you how to make a charming book using appliqué. [thimblythings] […]
September 18th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Kristena,
This is what I want you to make! My friend is having a boy in early December and his name is Knox. How much would you charge for a book like this? You wouldn’t have to finish before he is born because I know this may be short notice. Whatbdo you think?
Jamison
October 16th, 2011 at 5:57 am
Cupcake Applique
[…]‘Celebrate The Boy!’ Tutorial: Soft Baby Book | thimbly things[…]
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:27 pm
A lof of china alphabet photo
[…]‘Celebrate The Boy!’ Tutorial: Soft Baby Book | thimbly things[…]
January 9th, 2012 at 9:12 am
מתנות לתינוק
[…]‘Celebrate The Boy!’ Tutorial: Soft Baby Book | thimbly things[…]
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