Quilted Baby Touch and Feel Book

October 19, 2012

tags: baby, birthday, book, Christmas, cloth, craft, DIY, fabric, free-motion quilting, gift, handmade, how to, quilting, texture, Tutorial

Baby Roo’s Touch and Feel Book

Baby Roo is obsessed with “touch and feel” books. The only problem is that most modern touch and feel books are boring. The one from my childhood that had sandpaper, a rubber band, feathers, sticky tape, etc. Lots of different textures compared to the new books.

Mirror and Jingle Bells pages

So, like any good enterprising Grandma, I made her one. And, happily, she loves it! It started with a trip to Hobby Lobby. Every aisle was searched for something that could be sewn on and would be interesting for her. The mirror on the page pictured above was recycled from her baby play mat.

Pipe cleaner doll sewn onto blank page

I used everything from pipe cleaners to jingle bells to wood.

Furry page

And as was to be expected, a page with fake fur was her favorite!

The book was made with a variety of quilt blocks that were modified to utilize the textured additions. It would be a great way to use up orphan quilt blocks or to blocks to practice free-motion quilting on. After the pages were made, I quilted them densely to make them a little stiffer so they would be easier to turn. Also, the quilted backs of the pages are fun to feel, too.

Here is how to make a quilted baby touch and feel book.

Turn block right side out through the opening you left and stitch the opening closed. Quilt and embellish block as desired.

Baby Roo’s Touch and Feel Book

Insert at least 3 eyelets into flange of each page and then put pages together with ring binders. You are now done and can add or take out pages as desired.

Here are some of the pages that I made for Baby Roo’s book.