Baby's First Colorful Quiet Book Sewing Tutorial

Keep in mind that you can try to replicate this tutorial for your own DIY quiet book as closely as possible, but this project is also an excellent reason to go through your supplies and bust your stash!

Don't forget to check the clearance bins and sales at craft stores to find your rainbow ribbons and fabrics or other baby-safe embellishments. There isn't a certain way it needs to look, so have fun with it!

Safety note: While you're sewing everything to the book and it will be secure, please remember that you don't want anything that could be eaten or removed by the baby. No jewels, buttons, or glitter should be used for an infant's quiet book.

  - Wool felt in various colors (if concerned about wool allergies, use polyester felt)
  - Ribbons and notions in rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)
  - Sewing machine
  - Thread - this tutorial uses ‘invisible’ thread (see tip in Step 1 below)
  - Pins and other basic sewing notions
 

1. Cut 8 squares of wool felt. Mine measured 6” x 6”. Pin all your red notions to one square, all your orange notions to the next, all your yellow to the third, etc... I varied the direction and layout for interest.
   
   Tip: I left the ribbons overlapping the pages to trim later. I also sewed my notions to the felt with invisible thread. It is a clear, nylon thread and it will blend in with each notion or color you sew. It’s MUCH easier than changing the thread every time!

2. The final wool felt square will be your front cover. I sewed a rainbow design using wool felt colors. To do the same, pin the colored felt to the front cover and sew in an arc. Trim each side of the stitching after sewing, and then repeat for all 7 colors of the rainbow.

3. Start to sew the pages together. Pin the red page to the indigo page, the orange page to the blue, the yellow to the green, and the front cover to the violet with the right sides facing. Sew together down the right-hand side.

4. Once sewn, trim the notions that extend beyond the seam. You will want the pages to lay as flat as possible.

5. Sew together each set of 2 pages to the next. Pin the front cover and the violet page to the red and indigo page. Pin the orange and blue pages to the yellow and green pages and sew them all with wrong sides together all the way around the outside.
   
   You can either tuck your trim and notions to the inside or trim them off after stitching, depending on whether they are likely to fray or not.

6. If you did not tuck the ends of the notions to the inside, trim around the edges of the pages to neaten.

7. Simply layer the pages with the front cover on the outside and the yellow and green pages on the inside. Double-check the order of your rainbow and then sew down the center seam to join the pages together and finish the book.

8. I am a rainbow purist (!) and prefer to acknowledge indigo and violet as individuals, and therefore my indigo page is on the back cover of the book.
   
   If you prefer to use only 6 colors and bulk both colors under the term 'purple' you could leave the back page free with space to hand embroider a little message to your tiny book lover.