Pocket Week - Pocket Quiet Book - Always Expect Moore

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I’ve been wanting to make a quiet book for LM for a while. But as young as he is, his interests keep changing, and so does his skill level. Pocket Week gave me the opportunity to make a great quiet book that grows with him, and never gets boring, because I can constantly put new things in the pockets to keep him busy!

I made some mini quiet books to tuck in the pockets, but I can just as easily put in small toys or candies, some of the pockets are even large enough for a small notepad and a couple crayons. Because I can put different things in the pockets, it means the book will never get boring, and I can keep the activities age-specific, and location specific (if we’re taking the book to go somewhere)!

I love Quiet books that have some volume to them, or are quilted. I found this pre-quilted fabric in my stash. I think it was in a big box of hand-me-down fabrics from my mom. It had a large spot where the color was bleached out, probably from exposure to the sun. I made sure to cut around this.

I cut 5 pieces each 8″ x 16″. Four will become the pages, and the 5th will be the cover.

I then cut 4 different pocket shapes, I folded the fabric in half and cut through a double layer, with the fold at the top so that I was cutting out 2 of each that are connected at the top by the fold.

I then turned them so that I had the right sides together, and sewed around the edges, leaving a hole for turning. I then clipped the corners.

After turning the pockets right side out, I to stitched two lines across the top, to give them that “finished” look.

I then pinned each in place on 4 of the quilted fabric squares.

I marked 8 inches in along the 16″ side, to mark the middle.

I pinned together two pieces, making sure that the tops of the pockets were facing up. I pinned around one half, using my 8″ mark as a guide. I did the same to the other set of pages, and then sewed where I had pinned.

After sewing the two sets of pages, I put these 2 sets of pages together the same way. Then it was time to pin the cover to the book. Pin the cover to the first and last pages, which should be the only exposed pages left, all the rest should be right sides together, making up the rest of the pages in the book.

Sew around one half, with the pages folded over to the other side. Then, fold the pages over to the other side, and sew around the other half. Make sure that you leave one end open for turning.

Turn the book right side out, using the hole you left (make sure to clip all your corners first. Double-check that all of your pockets are facing up.

When you fold up your book, you’ll notice that the cover page on the front and back are too short. This is caused by the bulk that all the pages in the book create. We are going to fix this, add some decoration, and close the turning hole we left – all at the same time!

Cut two pieces of fabric, each 4″ x 7 3/4″. Fold in half “hot dog style,” and sew down the short sides. Clip corners, and turn right side out.

Tuck in 1/4″ of the raw edges and press. Then pull these end pieces over the ends of the cover pages, and adjust until they make the covers the right length, then pin down. Make sure that you pin on the front and the back, and get the seams as even as possible.