Find Out What Is The First Step And How To Start DIY Quiet Book

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Inside: Find out how to actually start making DIY quiet book with these simple steps that will take you forward.

Making a homemade quiet book may seem scary and overwhelming. When you are thinking about start doing it, it may be hard to decide what should you do the first or where to start.

This is one of the most common things I hear all the time, over and over:

“I would like to make a quiet book, but just don’t know how to start.”

Doing bit by bit will make it easy for you. And you don’t need many resources. Making a quiet book is a fairly inexpensive project if you compare it with buying a finished quiet book. The biggest investment you need to put in is your time.

As for the skills, you only need three of them:

basic sewing skills and sewing machine
creativity
patience

If you get stuck with something that has to be sewn or done in a way you don’t know-how, there are alternatives. Because there is no ‘one and only way’ to do it. Magic while sewing a busy book comes with creativity that you put into it.

Every single step can be done in a different way or in an easy way. You can use felt glue, glue gun, heating bond, fusible web, really, any shortcut will serve you well. Even then, if you are still not confident you may complete that particular step, you can skip it and do something else.
Beauty is that every quiet book page, even that is made from the same pattern, looks different at the end. It is all about your own interpretation and creativity.

When I make my quiet books it feels like a play to me. It brings those playful feelings from childhood. I can create, combine pieces and use my imagination. If I don’t like it, I can start over. Build layer on top of layer, combine activities, combine colors, combine textures…

5 Simple steps that will help you start making DIY quiet book bit by bit

Have a general idea of what kind of book you wanna make – theme and colors. Start by thinking of what activities your child likes and what are age-appropriate learning activities. Have a planning worksheet next to you and fill it as you go.

2. Decide the size of pages – most common are 8×8 or 9×9 inches pages but it is up to you if you wanna do bigger or smaller.

3. Decide how will you bind quiet book – this is important to know because of where and how much space you need for binding on each page. I suggest you don’t go into details here. Just decide if you wanna sew all pages together ( for that you need about 0.5 – 1 inches allowance on a side) or if you are gonna use ring binder and make holes.

4. Browse materials you already have on hand: you need fabric or felt for page backgrounds, felt or fabric scraps for activities, buttons, ribbons, elastic, velcro, zippers… This List Of Quiet Book Materials will help with ideas that you may use.

5. The final step is to start making the first quiet book page with a simple activity. You can choose a free simple pattern to start with (you may follow my Quiet Books board on Pinterest for inspiration and ideas).

Let your first page be really simple. Get a simple pattern to start with and using the materials you already have at home. If you sign up at the bottom of this page you will get access to my free printable library where you may find free sewing patterns too.

If you are still not confident you may do it, here is many sewing patterns that come with detailed instructions and photo tutorial. They will guide you step by step through the process.

Here is the catch.

After you complete the first quiet book page you will have a better idea of what is in front of you. Holding the actual fabric page in your hands will give you a sense of what you are dealing with and help you make a concept of a whole quiet book.

Also, if your child is still a baby, up to 18 months you may wanna think about making a small sensory book. It is just like a quiet book but designed for babies to explore colors and textures, rather than complicated fine motor activities.

Nevertheless, the small victory of completing one page will boost your enthusiasm and soon you will become hungry for more. Don’t limit yourself. Go one page by one and don’t stress about binding yet. Because, when the time comes you will be ready for binding too.

Now, you finally know How to start making DIY quiet book. If you find this post useful please take a moment and share it with others.