Let me start out this post by addressing you amazing crafters out there– you know who you are. The ones that can sew a wedding dress and twelve Halloween costumes in about 30 minutes. You who can refinish the kitchen table and make an adorable decoration for the nursery all during naptime. You people are awesome. But this post is not for you. I repeat, this post will most likely horrify you with how simple and non-crafty and non-cutesy it is. Just stop reading, you don't want to see this. This post is for the rest of us. You know, us crafty-impaired people. We try, we might even want to be amazing crafters but let's just say we are a work in progress. Dare I admit this? I don't even own a sewing machine. Fewf, glad I got that off my chest.
So, now that we've narrowed us down to the correct audience (members of Crafty-Impaired Anonymous) you may wonder why I even attempted to make a Quiet Book in the first place. Well, isn't great how inherently reverent toddlers are? I mean, they're so quiet and well-behaved in church and other hushed places… Oh wait, no, nope, I was talking about cats. Toddlers are the worst in quiet places. 😉 We were going through the same routine in church with my almost-two-year-old, trying to hush her as she sang and squealed and attempted to crawl under the pews, when I thought, “Hey, she's been obsessed with buckles lately, maybe we should buy her a Quiet Book with buckles!” So I looked on Etsy and was immediately horrified with how much people charge for books made of FELT. Sheesh, you'd think they were made of diamonds or something. (Yes, yes a lot of work goes into them and yes, yes they are adorable but come on! I'm cheap.) Just then a dangerous thought entered my mind, “What if I made one?” “Made one? Are you mad? You can't sew!” “What if I didn't sew it? What if I used my glue gun?” “You're crazy.” “Yes, I probably am, but I bet I could make one for at least half the price of those!” (Sometimes I talk to myself.) So the next day, I loaded my rambunctious and adorable toddler into the car and drove to Walmart where I proceeded to spend about $15 on various buckles, straps, clips, zippers and felt. Yes, you heard right. About $15. Not $50, not $100. $15. And my cheap side rejoiced.
**Also, we have Quiet Book Printables in our shop, for those that want to take a different quiet book route.
I came home and put my babe down for a nap and started my project. Without a sewing machine. I admit, I gave myself a blister with the glue gun. But I did it. And it's held up very nicely. So, without further ado, here is a tutorial for a no-sew, super simple Quiet Book for the crafty-impaired:
Step 1: SHOP
First step is to get your supplies. I bought the following:
- a package of colorful felt pages
- felt letters
- elastic
- Paracord bracelet buckles
- covered hooks and eyes
- Overall buckles and buttons (no sew kind)
- colorful buttons
- 4 sew-on snaps (MAKE SURE THEY ARE EASY TO SNAP AND UNSNAP!!!)
- You will also need a hot glue gun and glue.
Step 2: COVER
Make your cover. Arrange the felt letters on the front page and glue them down. I had some glitter hot glue as well and used it to “draw” a few flowers. Feel free to add cutesy things and cut out shapes with the felt. Go crazy! By all means, use mine as a guide and then make yours cuter!
Step 3: OVERALLS
Cut some of the elastic (however long you want it to be) and loop it threw the overall buckles. Put some hot glue on on end and glue the loop. Repeat with the second.
Step 4: OVERALLS
Glue the other end of the elastic to a new felt page.
Step 5: OVERALLS
Align the buttons so they fit with the buckles. My Overall buttons were no-sew. The instructions indicated that I should use a hammer to secure them so I made sure they were aligned and then hammered the back part to the front. (Follow the directions on the package.)
Step 6: HOOKS AND EYES
Cut 4 more pieces of elastic (however long you want them) and glue the ends of the covered hooks and eyes to the elastic pieces.
Step 7: HOOKS AND EYES
Glue the other ends of the elastic to the felt page so that you can connect the hooks and eyes.
Step 8: PARACORD BUCKLES
Cut the elastic to fit the Paracord bracelet buckles (or you can buy a size that already fits) and cut the desired length.
Step 9: PARACORD BUCKLES
Glue just as you glued the elastic to the Overall buckles (loop and glue.)
Step 10: PARACORD BUCKLES
Glue the other ends of the elastic to the felt page in whatever pattern you desire (as long as they will buckle.)
Step 11: BUTTONS
Cut a page of felt exactly in half “hot dog style,” or for those of you who didn't go to kindergarten, cut it vertically.
Step 12: BUTTONS
This is the only step where I actually used a needle and thread but I think you could still use a glue gun if you are feeling intimidated. Space the buttons evenly on the half page of felt and sew or glue them to the page near the far left margin.
Step 13: BUTTONS
Take the glue gun and place small “x” shapes down the non-buttoned side of the felt and glue it to a whole piece of felt slightly in from the margin. Do the same for the other half of the felt on the opposite side but overlap it so that the buttons are covered.
Step 14: BUTTONS
With the overlapping felt, pinch the fabric directly above the button and cut a small hole. From there you can measure how much more you need to cut to get the button through. The hole does not need to be bigger than the button!
Step 15: BUTTONS
Once all the button holes are cut, separate each button by cutting both sides of the fabric (top and bottom flap.)
Step 16: SNAPS
Cut felt into 8 separate strips of equal length just wider than the snaps themselves.
Step 17: SNAPS
Glue snaps to the ends of the felt. Once dry, snap together.
Step 18: SNAPS
Glue non-snap ends to the felt page giving it a little slack.
Step 19: GLUE PAGES
One page at a time, glue “x” marks down the margin and glue it to another page making sure the edges are perfectly aligned. Keep doing this until the entire book is connected.
And there you have it! A simple, easy and inexpensive Quiet Book that will keep your toddler busy and (hopefully) quiet!
Want another quiet book idea that requires no sewing? Check out this printable below:
