Quiet Book Question & Answer

Holy moly!!  I have been so tickled with your sweet comments about my Quiet Books.  I feel like I am celebrating the books' completion, so thank you so much for helping me celebrate!  One of the reasons I love blogging is the opportunity of sharing and benefiting from your feedback.  I learn so much from you and your comments!

Today, I am going to pause and answer a few questions about the quiet book process.  I made so many oopseys when making this quiet book!  I am no expert by any means!  I re-sewd the Tic Tac Toe page 3 times--yes, 3 times!  But here are answers to 3 of your questions:

Question:  Anonymous said, "I was just wondering how you did your letters for the cover?  Was it hard?"


Answer:  Thank you for asking this question because I actually meant to explain this previously!  Thanks to my cricut, cutting out fabric words for the quiet book pages was quite easy!  In the beginning, I tried to hand write titles on my Quiet Book using fabric markers.  Unfortunately, my handwriting looked a little tacky!  So I decided to cut out letters for the coconuts and titles using fabric instead!  I used my Sure Cuts A Lot software and cricut to cut out the words.  (You can find out more about cutting fabric on the cricut here.)  The process requires ironing on some Wonder Under for stiffness and using the proper cutting settings on the cricut.  After cutting the words out, I just ironed the titles onto felt, and sewed them onto the pages!  My Mom convinced me to sew over the letters to ensure longevity.  My Mother is so wise!  That was one of my last-minute steps before sewing the pages together.  All in all, the fabric words are one of my favorite features of the book, so I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Question:  EHC said, "Here's my question:  Is the 10 x 12.5 page size you mentioned the size of the muslin before sewing, or is it the finished page size?  I'm trying to decide how big to make mine so it doesn't take over the diaper bag!"


Answer:  I considered the SAME thing for sizing--will it fit in the diaper bag?!  BEFORE sewing, each muslin page was 10 x 12.5  I tore my muslin to speed up the process, and it tore straight as an arrow!  I used a 1/4 inch seam allowance when sewing the pages together, so the pages ended up roughly 9.5 x 12 inches.   I found that this was the perfect size for me because I do everything BIG.  I definitely sewed close to each and every page's edge!  But I tried to plan the pages according to where the eyelets would be punched on either side of the page, so the eyelets wouldn't interfere with the page at all.  I do wish I had made my covers slightly larger to encompass all of the pages a bit more.

Question:   Lindsey asked a very important question:  "My question is approximately how many hours did this take?  And how much did it cost?"


Answer:  Whew!  This question really made me stop and think.  As best I can figure, I worked on this book approximately 80 hours.  Since I made 20 pages, you can average that about 4 hours a page, start to complete finish.  Keep in mind how many mistakes I made... how many times I resewed pages or changed my mind... and I still consider myself a beginning sewer.  I feel like I have to "check off" my work with my Mother to ensure that the way I did it makes sense!  Many pages were easier than others.  For example, I whipped up the bus page in less than an hour.  But the more pieces and details a page has, the longer it takes!  You can go much simpler than I did!

I wish I had kept receipts to answer the cost question.  Here are my major expenses:
* Muslin - About $4.  (I bought 3.5 yards when it was on sale at JoAnn's.  I still have plenty left over to make more!)
* Felt - About $18.  (I bought 3/4 yard of most major colors of felt when it was also on sale.  Again, I have plenty left over!)
* 3 packages of large eyelets - About $8.
* 1.5 yards of Pellon for interfacing between pages - About $4.
* 2 packages of sewing velcro - About $5.
* 3-4 packages of colored ric rac - About $6.
* Fabric for covers - About $3.
So at about $48 total, that averages about $2.40 per page.  I consider this an investment!  My Grandma  made the quiet book I used growing up.  Now, my nephew continues to use this same quiet book, and it has lasted extraordinarily well.  I planned for my quiet books lasting that long, and that is why I took some extra time in the details.  Even Mr. Daisy, the money-cruncher, agrees that every single cent toward these quiet books was well spent.

Several of you have expressed a desire to download templates for pages, so I will get started on my drawings, and have some goodies available for you this Friday for Free Download Friday!  Stay tuned for that!