Quilted Soft Book for Kids

A soft, touchable book from C&T Publishing is a great way to introduce young children to the joys of reading. Words are cleverly inked on flaps, which display additional hidden words underneath, encouraging the child to interact with the book.

Materials:

• Fabric scraps to coordinate with your theme
• Coordinating Thread
• Fun trim, embroidery floss or other embellishments
• Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book 7”x 8” 2-pack
• fast2fuse® Double-sided interfacing, standard weight
• Cotton batting
• Sewing machine
• Rotary cutter
• Straight edge
• Self healing mat
• Sakura archival pen (I used black 01)

Instructions:

1. Open each book and remove the stitches that bind the book together.
    
2. Lay one book inside of the other to make one larger book.
   
   

   

3. To determine the block size for each page measure the canvas page from top to bottom and inside edge to outer fold, from these measurements add ¾”. It is up to you how big or small you want your center block and sashing to be.

4. For the cover measurements flip the book over and measure from top to bottom and folded edge to folded edge. Add ½” to the vertical measurement and 1” to the horizontal, this will accommodate the pull when you fold the book in half.

5. Construct the quilt blocks for each page and front/back cover.
    

   
    

6. To create the word plates for each page, cut 2 pieces of fabric sized to fit within the bottom sash of each pages. Using the Sakura archival pen, write your words on each piece of fabric.

7. Cut a piece of fast2fuse® slightly smaller than your word plates. Place the Fast 2 fuse® in between the two word plates making sure one word is upside down. Fuse each side according to the Fast 2 fuse® instructions.

8. Stitch the word plate to the center of the bottom sash of each quilt block using two slightly loose tacking stitches, this will allow you to flip the plate.

Assembly:

1. With wrong sides together using a scant ¼” seam sew the first page quilt block to the front cover leaving the ‘binding’ edge open. Repeat this with the last page. Sew the remaining corresponding pages (page 2 to 3, 4 to 5, etc.).
    
2. Cut a piece of cotton batting to fit in each page including the front and back cover. Cut slightly smaller than the canvas so there will be no pucker once assembled. Slip the batting in between the canvas of each page and the front and back cover.
    
3. Now slip each page of the canvas book into the pages you have constructed, do not do first page, last page or the cover yet. Smooth everything out and make any fit adjustments now. Line up the opening side edges.
    
4. Stitch each page set to the canvas ¼” from the raw edge. You will hide this stitch later.
    
5. Close all inside pages together and bind them together with heavy thread or embroidery thread just to the right of the stitching you just did.
    
6. Slip the cover with the first and last pages onto the canvas. Blind stitch the raw edge of the first page to the second and the last page to the previous page.
    
7. Blind stitch the front and back cover together at the left top and bottom edge near the binding. If needed slide in a small piece of extra “cover” fabric to hide any rough edges.
    
8. Now you are ready to embellish the cover and quilt pages. Enjoy!

Options:

1. Use Printable fabric to create your word plates.
    
2. You can adapt the same design to create a picture book of your child’s friends and family, with photo transfers in the center of each block and the person’s name on the flip-up tag.