Hello! Personally, I’ve been in a bit of a creative rut recently. I want to sew but, don’t know what to sew, feel overwhelmed with the options and then binge watch something on Netflix instead. Anyone else? Just me? In an effort to combat this, I forced myself to spend some time sewing this weekend.
Not unlike many creatives, I have a stockpile of unfinished projects. My sister is due with her first baby in a matter of weeks so I decided to look into my box of unfinished baby clothes and toys. First, I completed a tiny Waterfall Raglan that I started for my now 4 year old niece when she was just a few months old. Then, I pulled out and finished up a Mini Fringe Dress that was started for the same niece when she was two. Finally, I pulled out the pieces of a soft book that I’d cut out back when I sewed one for my 1 year old son (he’s almost 8 so I’ve held onto these for a while).
SOFT BOOK TUTORIAL
This particular soft book was made with coordinating pieces from an older line of fabrics by Sarah Watts. While stitching it up, I thought it would make a great scrap busting tutorial so I decided to document the process and write the instructions here for you.
Fabric and Supplies
As mentioned above, the fabrics used in my soft book came from a coordinating line but I think this would be a fun opportunity to use up any scraps in your stash. I love the idea of a book with different textures using corduroy, denim, linen, minky, etc. You can also add embroidery, or make a book with different animal print fabrics. Truly, the possibilities are endless.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 8 fabric scraps at least 5″ x 11″ (you could try more or less, this was just the maximum thickness my machine can handle.
- 4 pieces of lightweight quilt batting or fusible fleece at least 5″x11″
- Coordinating thread
- thread snips
- optional point turner
- Preferred cutting tools: cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter or shears
Cutting
Cut one 5″ x 11″ rectangle from each of your eight fabric scraps and four 5″ x 11″ rectangles from your fusible fleece or batting.
Sewing the Pages
Begin by planning out your fabric placement. To do this, make four pairs from the eight fabrics. Then, place the pairs wrong sides together and stack the pairs like an open book.
Once you’ve decided on placement, let’s make the pages. Grab one pair of your fabric rectangles and place them right sides together. On the back of one of the fabrics, place a rectangle of batting (if using fusible fleece, you can fuse it to the back of one fabric at this point. Pin all three layers together.
Stitch all around the outside of your rectangle using a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a 2-3″ opening at the center bottom. Backstitch at the beginning and end. To reduce bulk, trim corners and the batting or fusible fleece along the seam lines.
Turn right sides out. Press well and pin bottom opening closed.
Now, we’ll close off the bottom opening by topstitching all around your sewn page at 1/8″.
Repeat these steps for the other three pairs until you have four pages.
Assembling the book
On your middle page (the one that will stack on top) find the center and use a pencil or other marking tool to draw a stitching line.
Beginning with your outside cover on the bottom, stack your four pages. Pin along the stitch line you drew on your middle page.
Using a fresh, sharp needle (I used a microtex needle) stitch down the center line. Tip: I found my machine handled the bulk better if I started stitching from the center to the edge so I ended up with two stitch lines that meet in the middle.
That’s it! Your book is finished. Gift it to a special baby in your life or just keep it for yourself and admire the pretty fabrics!
If you create one of your own, I’d love to see it! You can use the hashtag #ScrappySoftBook when sharing on social media and tag me on Instagram at @nf_merritts . Thank you for reading!