It's about exploring and sharing my creative adventures (mostly sewing these days) ~
~those activities that sometimes obsess, usually inspire, occasionally frustrate
~and always provide a delightful maze to wander through.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Baby's Birthday Book

Carrying on from my previous post detailing the fabric printing process of Baby's Book, the latest Labor of Love continues....

In my usual "How I Make Things" fashion, I wandered down an unknown path, with vague images of what the path might hold, and an even vaguer image of where I might end up.   I had a bunch of nursery rhyme and fairy tale images printed up after adding a few words to each page, using a photo editor.  Somehow I ended up not taking any pictures of this stage, so a shot of the iron and a couple of partial pages will have to do:

I thought through several options of finishing the page edges, and decided to use the cute little mousey and clothes-on-the-line fabrics as backing for each page.    I simply sewed each printed page onto a backing page, RS together, leaving an opening to turn them WS together.  After turning them I sewed around the edges with a decorative stitch.


In order to keep the fabric pages from slipping around, I also did a little bit of quilting around the main images (in beige thread, so you may have to biggify to see it):

On the front and back covers, I added some cotton batting in between the pages, giving the covers a bit more oomph:
Inside Back Cover
The words are a few nursery rhymes that I typed up, all run together,
followed by the story of "The Owl and the Pussycat" -
one of my all time faves :)

Back Cover
Once I had the individual pages all done, the biggest problem was how to bind them all together!  I considered holes and ties, but I didn't want to use any metal, and embroidered holes just weren't going to cut it for me.  I ended up sewing a strip of twill tape to the edge of each page:
I thought I could just sew the outer edge of the twill tape together, but wouldn't you know it, even though the layers of tape were easy to sew, the book itself was too thick to fit underneath the screw on the side of the machine!   Any machine I had, vintage or modern.   Hand stitching seemed to be the only option, so I did a blanket stitch, using a strong thread.

The last step was finishing off the ends of the twill tape.  I cut them level with the book pages, except for the front and back pieces of twill.  I folded these over each other, covering the (fray checked) edges of the other twill tape ends, and hand sewed them down.

The finished book:









I'll (hopefully) have some pics of baby enjoying the book asap  :)  It was definitely a success with the adults ;-)

26 comments:

Andrea said...

A most precious labor of love! So sweet.

Melanie said...

What an incredible keepsake. The love that went into it is quite obvious - and even involved chemicals. I have just started experiments with drawing on fabric, using a Sharpie marker, so how happy I was to read about your process. I'm impatient so the instant gratification of a Sharpie suits for now, but if I need to get more in-depth, I shall be indebted to the research you have shared here. Thanks.

Jillybejoyful said...

Thank you :)

Jillybejoyful said...

There's definitely a lot to be said for instant gratification ;)

twotoast said...

What a great gift - and labour of love. I imagine that it will become a very treasured item!

Deb said...

How fun! Great job. :)

Louisa said...

I don't know about Baby but that is the coolest book! If I were the parents I think I'd keep it safe until they were...oh...maybe 25 or so? Then they might appreciate what exactly went into it. Seriously.

Unknown said...

Wondrous!
The baby will cherish this for the rest of his life- as will his whole family!
You are the best birthday fairy godmother in the world!
XOXO

Jillybejoyful said...

Thank you, and I hope so :)

Jillybejoyful said...

Thanks Deb!

Jillybejoyful said...

LOL it's like a new car....waiting for that first scratch, or dribbled spot :D

Jillybejoyful said...

Fairy godmother - I like that and I accept it :) BIG love to you xox

shams said...

Wow, this is SO special, Jillian! I love how it incorporates modern technology with old fashioned images and words. It is utterly utterly charming!

Unknown said...

That is an awesome project, Jillian! I love the colors, and the old fashioned drawings. I've thought of doing the same kind of project, but with appliqued pictures, and using the numbers 1-10. But, I am ashamed to admit, I still don't have Eila's baby quilt made and she's already had her first birthday!

Becky R. said...

I have a couple of items that friends of my mother made for me, and I treasure them so much, much more than anything store bought. I know this will be a real keepsake, and you are so thoughtful and creative to make it! You go, Jilly!

gwensews said...

What a special gift. Babies love soft books. My grandson wagged his around until he was 4 years old!

Jillybejoyful said...

I like that observation! The new and the old.... :)

Jillybejoyful said...

Everyone will get their quilts from you in due time .... when quilt-making feeds your soul again, it will be time {{{Mimi}}}

Jillybejoyful said...

Thank you, me too!

Jillybejoyful said...

Awww that is so precious! I have some items my Dad made - same thing; they will be with me always :)

Jillybejoyful said...

And he's still carrying it in his heart, I'm sure! :)

Mary said...

This is absolutely marvelous! I can see ?Arrow gumming the corners and parents smiling. You have produced something inspired.

Jillybejoyful said...

LOL at the image! And thank you :)

glorm said...

What a sweet, wonderful present. I'm certain it will be treasured for a long time.

Jillybejoyful said...

Thank you - I'm sure it will be :).

Anonymous said...

Very, very nice. Well done! I also loved the post about how to print - very helpful.