How to Make a Quiet Book: Button Flowers
About Vanessa:
I am Vanessa, married to Will, and mother to Karis (18 months) and baby no. 2 (April 2012). We currently live in Oxford, England, after living in Cambridge for three years. My husband works as a biblical studies scholar and teaches at the University of Oxford. I recently ‘retired’ and will be staying home full-time with my daughter. I love to sew clothes for my daughter and also enjoy traveling throughout Europe. Originally from Dallas, I was thrilled to be able to participate in this swap while spending 3 weeks home for the holidays. I pretty much rely on Pinterest for inspiration- but some of my favorite blogs are Sewing in No Man’s Land, Grosgrain Fabulous, Making It Lovely, and Little Birdie Secrets. I am not incredibly crafty, but love to work with fabric and a needle!
Supplies:
- 2.5 yards of Pellon Peltex 70 Ultra Firm Stablizer (cut into 8.5x10in pages)
- 5 sheets of green stiffened felt, cut into 3”x10” pieces (each sheet leads to 4 rectangles)
- 80 wool blend felt flower die-cuts in varying colors and shapes (etsy.com 3”, 2”, 1.5” diameters)
- 3 (yes three!) spools of green thread
- Various other threads
- Sewing machine that can do button holes and ‘vine stitches’
- Buttons in three different sizes (80 total)
I mostly relied on Pinterest for examples. There are a lot of different variations of this page- but I decided to use four different flowers growing from the grass (as opposed to pot planted flowers). I thought this would be more natural and whimsical. I also thought it would help use the white space of the pellon better.
- After cutting the pellon into 8.5”x10” pages, I stitched a green rectangle of stiffened felt (3”x10”) on the bottom border only. Doing this first will serve as a guide to using the white space.
- Using the button hole feature on my machine, I sewed button-holes on each of the 80 flowers. Afterwards, carefully cut the slit for each flower and trim threads
- Next, using a pencil, I marked where I wanted each button/flower to be placed. Using my pencil, I traced down from that point to below where the green felt would lie (remember, this is not stitched on the sides or top yet) with light pencil marks.
- Using a wide and thick stitch, I sewed the pencil marked lines for each flower stem.
- Next, I sewed on the buttons to the original pencil marked point. Be sure to double your thread and to use a loose stitch so that the thick felt flower can fit behind the button. Also, it will be easier for children to unbutton the flower if the button is loosely applied.
- Finish sewing the sides and top of the green ‘grass’ felt. Stitch ½ inch from the top of the felt to leave room to trim grass blades.
- Once the grass has been stitched, using scissors, cut blades into the felt.
- Button the flowers on the buttons... and Enjoy!
Up Next: Counting Flowers
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