Monday, April 7, 2014

Quiet Book Page ~ Bunny & Chick Finger Puppets ~ Free Embroidery Download

    I'm making Quiet Books for a few children.  I decided to make pages that are kept together by a ring so they can be added as I make them.  The Easter page is not the first I made but in starting to share the book, I thought I'd share this one first since Easter is approaching.
    EnJOY! 





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      The pages start with a 12 inch square of fabric which eventually are sewn with another page with a ¼ inch seam leaving a finished 11½ inch square page.
     For this page, to make the pocket I started with two 8 inch squares.
        Decorate the top half of one of the squares as you like.  I appliqued single flowers on one and clusters on another.  It's whatever you like.
      Fold in half and stitch around ends and across one long edge.  Turn inside out, press.
 



Place the folded edge of one along the bottom of the page.  




 

Place the folded edge of the other piece ½ inch from top of page.    



          In the above picture, the right is the pocket.  It was stitched across the bottom, turned up and top stitched around 3 edges and tacked on the corners to withstand a lot of hard pulling. On the left the top flap has been stitched along the raw edge, ready to turn and top stitch.





I used 2 rows of top stitching.




 



I was making sure the raw edge didn't show when I turned up the flap.











 Using my Master Works Embroidery software, I created a Bunny and Chick finger puppet which I'm offering as a free download in this post.  They are PES files.  You can convert them using a free software.  


As you can see, I didn't cut out the holes for the fingers, but instead cut a cross.
    The bunny looks like it was made from terry cloth (towels), when in fact it was an old sweater with just the right texture for this project. I used 2 layers wrong side together, with a thin padding fabric in between to give a little stiffness.  Even with all those layers, I used a light weight stabilizer.  Stitches bunched on the back without the stabilizer.  
     For the chick, I did use some light weight terry cloth I had and used 2 layers of padding in between to give some stiffness.
    I don't know what the fabric is that I use for padding.  I found a bolt of it at a yard sale.

         While they are not being played with, they stay in their little "grassy" pocket.  
        Can you guess what is on the back of this page?
Be sure to check out the Easter Basket Page as well.



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Thanks to the FREE programs:
possibly used for this post
GIMP for cropping & other digital effects
 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo
PicMonkey creating collages used on this page
 






12 comments:

  1. Your Quiet Book is wonderful! I love your finger puppets. I remember paper versions from my childhood. Thank you for sharing your techniques. Creative Book Bliss...

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  2. too cute! what a fun way to keep a grandchild quiet!! Did you share this at our Snickerdoodle Sunday? If not, please stop in next week!

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  3. That is just too cute!! Back has to have their little backsides!! Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

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  4. Very Cute. I made 2 quiet books for my baby daughter 30 years ago and she loved them! I kept them solely for at church, that way she'd have something to do and not get bored and crabby and disrupt the service! They really did keep her quiet and since she only played with them on sundays, she didn't get bored with playing them!

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    1. Cheri, mine are intended to be used by children at Church. I agree, they need to be saved for church time only so they will be "new" to them each Sunday. I never got around to making my girls' one and wished I'd had the time. Practice with those zipper and button pages are fantastic and I intend to make some of those now that I have time.

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  5. Such a sweet idea, I can see this as very useful for grandchildren in the back seat. I love your finger puppets. I am going to make them too but also some 'paper' dolls with some felt clothes.

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    1. Roxie, "Paper" dolls sounds like a great idea. Do you have a pattern to share?

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  6. Darling! And a great tutorial. I'd love to see you join us at the Inspire Us Thursdays! link party at www.theinspiredwren.com.

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  7. Awww that is so cute! I bet the kids would love these. They would totally play together, until the bunny and the chick start fighting... lol. Thanks for sharing with us on Snickerdoodle Sunday!

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  8. Your quiet book is a fabulous idea, Joy!!! As always, an easy to follow tutorial.

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