How to design the last page for an educational book. Soft educational book: a miracle on every page. Soft books on the theme of home farm and vegetable garden
What do you need
1. Future owner.
2. Attitude (even a tiny and scared one will do)
3. Material.
And more details about each point.
Baby. This could be a very baby, 1-5 months. You can now sew. He won’t play or study yet, but he will be happy to watch and listen to what his mother says.
(or pirate, if added) gaming and educational can be used by children under 6-7 years old. For older children, we add secret pockets and complex lacing fasteners, labyrinths, and various places for dolls to stay. And you can’t drag the child away.
And if you gradually add to the book, for example, buy more parts or find something at home: parts from toys, old supplies from your own or loved ones, then the child will never get tired of such a toy.
The main thing is not to forget that for children under 3 years old (+-) a book with buttons and other elements is not an independent toy. Children bite off buttons (my Simon, when he was 8 months old, bit off all the buttons on his shirts), and suck up ribbons and fabrics (my sister’s daughter). Children are unpredictable creatures!
There’s another point that I often encounter. “My child looked at the book (toy) for 5 minutes and threw it away.”
Children do not know how to play and study if they are not taught. And they will play on their own as long and well as you teach them.
I will also try to write assignments from books.
The next point is Mood. I’ll tell you a secret, I often sit down to work without wild enthusiasm and with zero attitude. And, as you know, if there is no mood, there is no good result.
How to get inspired? Look at other people's work and imagine the happy owner of the toy.
You can firmly believe in everything you have in mind and even more!!
As they say, appetite comes while eating and working.
Clustered together are also a great inspiration for work. Materials. Of course, not everyone has a large supply and choice of fabric, accessories, etc.
This happened to me when I sewed the first book for my child. These were some scraps, very tiny, and some cotton fabrics; then I put together a nice-looking used one. For home use, used fabrics may be quite suitable. Of course, without losing color and shape. And it’s nice if these are fabrics of interesting textures: leather, faux leather, fur, fleece, corduroy, shiny fabrics and curtain remnants.
If you don’t have a sewing machine, this is not a reason to abandon the idea of sewing a baby toy.
It’s been seven years since I bought a sewing machine, I didn’t go near it, I thought it was a stupid one they slipped me in the store. Doesn't sew! Breaks needles! The threads are confused! And how to thread a thread was the same as figuring out the drawings of a rocket. That’s why I sewed by hand for many years. And I sewed the first book mainly by hand. Even now, most of my work has to be done manually.
How we will work
I intended to sew a book with a marine theme, adjusted for different ages, but, as the survey showed, there is also interest in classic stories. Therefore, I will give everything interspersed. Everyone can choose where their soul takes them. All topics will be in my Diary in the section MK soft books.
Since everyone has different tastes and wishes, I will first talk briefly about bindings (about appearance for now) and then I will talk about preparing pages for a specific type of binding.
I will update one post for each stage. For example, I posted Page "Sun" on Monday I wrote the beginning of what we are preparing, on Wednesday at the same Post added a continuation, completion on Friday. That is, everything is in one post. We also bring the finished pages there.
Pace of work tortoiseshell. I sew slowly myself, I spend a long time selecting fabrics, thinking through the colors so that they don’t repeat and how they will be combined in colors, texture, and where the buttons go. Therefore, we will work for a long time and, I hope, productively.
Homework You can find fabrics that you have in the house, you can look at used ones (unnecessary gloves, fleece items, curtains, appliqués from unnecessary children’s things, soft jeans, bags, etc.), accessories: buttons, braids, fasteners, You can also use used ones from things that no one will wear.
Of course, you will have to buy something in addition, but it’s better to look well at home, maybe not at home.
After you search the house, post your results. It’s also better to decide on the direction. For example, one of the girls wanted to combine a nautical theme with the score.
In general, let's start working! Good luck to us D/z (preferably in a photo) to all participants to submit before Tuesday
All parents want their babies to develop correctly and on time. If you are trying to teach your baby at home on your own, then a soft fabric book will become your indispensable assistant in this matter. Of course, you can buy it, but it’s not at all difficult to make it yourself. If you are interested, then stay tuned.
Why are such soft books needed?
Studying literature is very important for a person at any age. Almost every mother dreams of raising a smart, educated and successful child in all areas of life. Therefore, it is very important to accustom your baby to books as early as possible. These amazing fabric books will excite even the smallest toddler (from 6 months).
By studying only with such a book you will be able to teach your little one:
1. Distinguish between colors, because bright and colorful pages will contribute to this. If the “Rainbow” page appears in your book, then he will complete this task twice as fast.
2. Understand the difference between small and large objects, because the book will be full of parts of different sizes.
3. Develop fine motor skills of the fingers thanks to tactile sensations and thus further promote the rapid development of speech.
4. They will help little fingers will handle it faster with different fasteners, locks, laces and rivets.
5. Learn letters, numbers and geometric shapes. The kid will learn to count to ten and solve the simplest logic problems. And thanks to the stitched letters, he can easily form his own name or other word.
6. Will acquire some skills necessary in everyday life: tying shoelaces, braiding hair, etc.
7. Develops visual perception, attention and thinking.
8. You can also introduce your baby to the seasons, insects, animals, sea creatures, visit a farm, study time, and learn many other exciting and interesting things.
Important! The book should be made only to your taste. It can be made from any material, different sizes and designs. Ideas for creating pages depend on your imagination. All financial costs during making it yourself will be much cheaper than buying ready-made material.
What materials are needed to get started?
- multi-colored felt (it is best to take soft felt for creating three-dimensional objects and hard felt for ordinary parts, size from 1 to 3 mm);
- fabric that will be the basis for the pages and dublerins to give them strength;
- multi-colored sewing threads, filler (sintepon or holofiber) for stuffing parts, pins and needles;
- various ribbons, buttons, beads, rivets, elastic bands, clasps, Velcro.
Important points when creating a soft book for children (step-by-step instructions):
1. First, come up with and draw a layout of your future book. Agree on how many pages it should have, what storylines will be used and how you will attach it. Select patterns (you can find them on the Internet by asking “coloring pages for children” and print them on a printer).
2. Prepare the fabric pages. To do this, take an already prepared cardboard template (square, for example 20*20) and cut out neat blanks from dublerin. Lay a piece of fabric face down (pre-steam it with an iron). Place dublerin squares on it (smooth side down). Preheat the iron to maximum, turn off the steam and smooth the dublerin square onto the fabric for 3-4 minutes (they should stick together well). Then carefully cut out the finished squares and you will have excellent compacted pages.
3. Next, take the felt and, according to the plot, using patterns, cut out and create the necessary elements. Be sure to make movable (with buttons, Velcro, buttons) and immovable parts. It will be very interesting for children to tear them off the page and attach them back. We will describe in detail how to properly manufacture some parts below.
4. We sew the finished pages with the appliqué together, forming a three-dimensional book page. To do this, insert a padding polyester slightly larger (1 cm and 0.5 cm thick) than the pages between the fabrics and sew them together. We cut off the excess padding and trim the edges with tape.
5. And the final stage is choosing a binding option for the book. This can be fabric bound, with eyelets, with a rigid spine or in another way.
Master class - "Fabric binding"
Page ideas for your future soft book
1. For children from 1 year to 3 years:
- "Labyrinth". To create this page, you need to use a mesh with large holes (available at a fabric store), fabric appliques or iron-on stickers (to indicate the beginning and end of the maze) and a flat button that will go through the maze.
- "Spider on a Web". On a fabric base, draw a cobweb with a disappearing marker, then stitch it on a machine with black thread. The spider is made of black felt and is attached to the web with Velcro. We attach rings around the web and stretch the cord.
- "Ladybug" . It consists of two colors and a lock. Her babies are attached to the top with Velcro. They can even hide under their mother's wings.
- "Bunny Traveler" The balls are attached to buttons and can be easily unfastened (you can make any number of them if you wish). The bunny is removable, so a child can play with it like a toy.
- "Animals". Here the child learns the name of each animal and what sounds it makes. Then in a common bowl we have food for everyone and the baby must determine who is eating what by securing it on the appropriate hook.
2. For children 4-5 years old:
- "Watch". Thanks to this page, an adult child can learn time. All numbers are held on with Velcro and are removable, the arrows rotate.
- "Pigtails." The kid trains his fingers by braiding pigtails, and can also fantasize and create different hairstyles for the dog, because the set includes a set of elastic bands. There are also beads here that you can change at your discretion.
A soft book for children with your own hands is an excellent gift for both your own and someone else’s child. The baby will be pleased with the new toy, and the parent will be pleased that his child can acquire new useful skills through the gameplay. We invite you to learn more about what a do-it-yourself soft book is. Book ideas and several master classes are included.
Why do we need soft books?
Soft books contain many details, different in texture, color and size. While playing with such textbooks, the child:
- develops;
- gets acquainted with different shapes and colors;
- develops visual perception, attention and thinking;
- develops tactile skills.
DIY educational soft book: ideas
The number of ideas for soft books depends on your imagination. For inspiration, you can go shopping and look at existing educational toys or look on the Internet.
DIY soft book (ideas):
Description |
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Clasps | Make a picture with several elements that are connected to each other by buttons or buttons. Place on the page several snakes and other fasteners behind which something interesting is hidden. Do the lacing. |
Each page is a new color. That is, different elements are in the same tone and it is advisable to make an inscription with the name of the color. |
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The page contains the outlines of objects and a pocket with them. The child must place the object on the corresponding outline. The figures can be attached to the page using Velcro or buttons. |
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Collecting pictures | On the page there is only a frame of something, but the child needs to assemble the whole part. The principle is the same as when assembling a pyramid or puzzle. |
The scene on the page contains ribbons that need to be braided. |
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Interaction with numbers. |
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An example of such a book: a train with carriages is sewn to the page, and the child needs to place the animals in them. |
Much more interesting are the options that combine several functions. For example, you need to open the doors of the house, which are fastened with several different fasteners. And behind the doors there are outlines of figures, inside of which the color is written. It turns out that the child not only needs to open the doors, but also arrange the figures according to their contour and color.
What does it take to create a soft book?
A soft educational book with your own hands is created using the following materials and tools:
- pages (felt, cotton, silk and so on);
- fabric for parts and objects in the book (it is better to opt for felt - it is soft and pleasant to the touch);
- Velcro, buttons, snakes, lacing, latches, buttons and other possible fasteners and fasteners;
- beads;
- ribbons;
- threads;
- rings for connecting pages;
- filler for the cover and parts of the book (for example, padding polyester, holofiber, and so on);
- chalk or a special fabric marker (needed for creating patterns and marks);
- needles;
- scissors;
- sewing machine.
Making the basis of the book
The basis of the book is its cover, to which the pages will be attached.
Master class on how to make soft books with your own hands (cover photo attached):
- Decide what size you want the book.
- Draw a rectangle on the back of the fabric. Its length should be approximately five to ten centimeters greater than the intended size. This stock is the back of the book. The wider it is, the more pages can be placed in the book.
- Make two of these templates. You can use two different fabrics - one for the outer cover, the other for the inner cover.
- Cut out two templates with a margin of up to a centimeter on each side.
- Mark a ribbon whose width is equal to the width of the end side of the book, and the length is equal to its height. Add from five millimeters to a centimeter to each side. Cut it out.
- Place several rings on the ribbon to secure the pages. Better use three pieces.
- Decorate one of the scraps of fabric on half of the front side - this will be the cover. You can cut out figures from felt and sew or glue them, sew on beads, fasteners, buttons, embroider words or numbers. Use your imagination.
- Sew the ring ribbon to the right side of another piece of fabric vertically in the center. Be sure to space the rings evenly.
- Sew the two sides of the cover together, leaving a small hole in the middle on the right side.
- Turn the cover inside out.
- Push the filler evenly inside the cover. There shouldn’t be too much of it, but you need to stuff it very tightly.
- Sew up the hole
- Sew ribbons for tying.
- The cover is ready!
Sew pages for a book
Pages for a book can be made in two ways:
- whole spread;
- page by page.
If you are making a spread, the size will be the same as for the cover. If you sew each page separately, then simply reduce the size by half.
All the work comes down to the following:
- cut two pieces of fabric of the required size;
- make the necessary details for the page (cut out figures, sew them, and so on);
- Sew the pages with the back side, leaving a small hole;
- turn the fabric inside out;
- fill it with padding polyester, holofiber or something else;
- sew the hole;
- insert special rings into one of the sides of the page (the rings on the cover tape will be inserted into them);
- if there are none, then you can simply make small cuts and trim them so that they do not fray;
- Sew on all the necessary parts.
The page is ready.
Tip: in order to reduce time and simplify the work process, pages can be made from colored felt or other dense fabric that holds its shape and does not wrinkle. Just cut two pieces and sew them together. No need to stuff.
DIY soft book: ideas with numbers
To introduce your child to numbers and teach counting, you can make books with numbers with your own hands. Options for implementing ideas:
- Cut out numbers and some objects from any fabric (for example, felt). Their number must correspond specifically to the figure. You can place everything as follows: on one spread there is a number sewn on, on the other there is a pocket with objects (for example, small carrots). The child must lay out the number of carrots indicated on the page.
- Cut out the numbers from dark cardboard or other thick paper and stitch them to the pages. Make a bag for the book to hold the chalk and rag. Let your child learn how to write numbers. He will simply run the chalk over the pattern and then you can simply erase it off.
- Make an abacus on the pages of the book (we’ll look at the master class below).
Page with numbers
Master class on making a page with numbers:
- On the page, mark the lines for the ribbons with pins.
- Take ribbons or thick yarn folded in half and large beads.
- String beads onto each ribbon. Their number should be from one to ten. Less is possible if the number of ribbons does not fit on the page.
- Embroider the numbers on a page or a separate strip. Ten ribbons - ten numbers.
- Sew ribbons with beads to the page. This can be done in two ways:
- make small slits in the fabric of the page and thread the ends of the ribbon through them, tie knots on the inside or sew on the ends;
- Sew the ribbons directly to the page, and sew ribbons to hide the ends of the yarn.
6. Sew a ribbon with embroidered numbers to one of the “score” sides, if you have made one.
The page with numbers is ready!
Page with fasteners
Pages with fasteners will help develop motor skills and teach a child to use buttons, snakes, hooks, etc., on which in a playful way it is suggested to unfasten a snake or tie shoelaces.
Soft (master class on making a page with fasteners):
- Draw all the details on felt. In the example given, this is a jacket, mittens, a skirt, a torso (you can have a blouse), and a neck.
- Cut the jacket in half vertically.
- Sew a snake into the jacket.
- Fasten the zipper.
- Sew all the details onto the page in the following order: neck, body (blouse), skirt and mittens.
- Sew the jacket on top of everything.
- Make a scarf.
One of the options for the page with fasteners is ready.
Another idea for such a page is shoes with laces. Let your child learn to lace.
Page “Dress the doll”
Dress up the doll is a game that helps the child make the right decisions.
Do-it-yourself soft book - master class on sewing a “Dress a doll” page:
- Cut out the necessary details from felt: doll, hair, clothes and shoes.
- Sew Velcro onto the back of the doll and to the page.
- Also sew Velcro onto each clothing and shoe.
- Cut out a cabinet from felt.
- Sew the cabinet to the page to create a pocket.
- Sew hair onto the doll, make a face (glue fabric, draw with markers or embroider with thread).
- Stick the doll to the page, and place all the clothes in the closet.
The page is ready!
Another option for such a page is “Seasons”. Sew on the tree and pocket. Make leaves (green and yellow) and flowers. Let your child place them on the tree depending on what time of year you say. For example, spring - green leaves, summer - flowers, autumn - yellow leaves, and in winter the tree remains empty.
Advantages of a soft book
Do-it-yourself soft books for babies have a number of advantages over other educational things and simple books:
- There is no printing ink on the pages;
- natural fabrics and materials are used to create it;
- soft book is washable;
- a soft toy and an educational book in one item;
- bright;
- one book can contain many educational items (for example, buttons, fasteners, zippers, lacing, hooks, and so on).
Disadvantages of a soft book
There is only one drawback - the pages contain a lot of small parts that a child can swallow.
Therefore, do not let your child play with a book alone and closely monitor him while learning.
Are you, one of your relatives or friends expecting a new addition to your family? Then this article will probably be of interest to you. In it I will talk about how to sew a soft educational book for a baby with your own hands.
Children are actively developing all their senses, and such a book will be an excellent help for them. In addition, poems (if told in parallel with the demonstration of pictures - applications) develop his speech, fantasy, imagination, memory, expand his vocabulary... The benefits are enormous, and make a book with your own hands not that difficult!
The size of my book is 20 by 20 cm.
I sewed the book for about a month. Of course, if you have more free time, you will sew a book faster.
Cover I sewed the simplest one from calico with a pattern imitating patchwork. There is space on the cover to insert a small photo.
How to sew an educational book
To make the educational book, I used the following materials:
- calico And chintz for pages (chintz strengthened interlining),
- felt And fleece- for details,
- some other fabrics ( velvet, plastic, mesh, knitwear, flannel) - for decoration,
- beads,
- buttons,
- beads,
- inserted between pages foam rubber 1 cm thick.
Methods for assembling pages into a book There are many, I used one that I have not seen anywhere else. Perhaps you will like it too.
I cut out and sewed 2 pages at a time (in pairs). To do this, you need to take rectangles of fabric about 20 by 40 cm (and some of my pages are sewn together, from different fabrics), if necessary, we reinforce them with non-woven fabric and sew on various developing elements (I have some sewn on a machine, some by hand).
Here are 2 blanks for pages:
Then we fold these 2 blanks with their right sides inward and sew on 3 sides(leave the bottom edge unstitched):
We turn it inside out, lay the seam strictly in the middle and insert foam rubber (1 cm thick) into each resulting sheet:
Left sew up the bottom edge(by typewriter or by hand). I did this by hand with a blind stitch.
Cover We do it according to the same principle, but taking into account the spine between the pages. Therefore, the rectangle will need to be taken longer. You can draw lines on the spine, to which you can then stitch the finished sheets in the middle of the spread (see photo). I ended up with 3 double sheets - hence 3 lines.
Attention: in spine No need to insert foam rubber!
This is what it looks like expanded cover of my educational book outside.
Developmental book pages
Well, now I’ll go through the pages. I will show not one page at a time, but the entire spread at once. For each spread I will describe the developmental elements and write a poem to accompany the show.
So the first one educational book spread -day:
Spring sun with rain
Build a rainbow together -
Seven-color semicircle
Of seven wide arcs.
- Bee, bee, where was she?
Where did you get the honey?
In the morning I was in clover,
And then - in chamomile.
Spent a sweet time
Pchhi! - In fragrant porridge.
- Now where are you flying?
Golden bee?
- Oh, I don’t know, baby!
Oh, I don’t know myself.
It's been four days now
Dandelion is waiting for me.
Developmental elements: the sun is on Velcro, it can be hidden behind a cloud, the rain is also hidden in a cloud, beads are sewn into the sun, it is pleasant to hold it in the hand, the bumblebee rattles and rustles due to bags and beads, it can be hidden in a tulip, caterpillar beads can be moved around leaf, a button ladybug hid behind the leaf.
2nd spread: large ladybug and chicken.
Ladybug, fly to the sky,
Bring me some bread.
Black and white
Just not burnt.
Pied Hen, kind plump one,
He walks around the yard and calls the children:
- Ko-ko-ko, guys, where are you chickens?
Yellow lumps, daughters and sons?
Hurry to mom: we’ll eat with you
Seeds and crumbs, get out the spoons.
Developmental elements: a ladybug has wings with a zipper (you get a pocket), legs - with different beads (you can look for pairs), and a chicken has a chick under its wing, and in front of it there are grains-beads that you can touch with your fingers:
3 educational book spread: seven-flowered flower and butterfly:
I was walking through the garden one day
I found a seven-flowered flower there.
Amazing coloring...
He was magical, from a fairy tale...
The butterfly put on a new dress.
She's a fashionista in a bright dress, looking for a walk.
It flies from flower to flower, when it gets tired, it rests.
Developmental elements: a seven-flowered flower with petals made of different materials with different fillings (rustling, rattling), the petals are not sewn on, they can be bent and counted, the butterfly’s wings are not sewn on, they rustle, they have various button beads sewn on them that can be touched, the ribbon is untied
4 spread educational book - house and truck:
I have a puppy.
He is no longer alone.
The puppy has a warm home,
He had dreamed about it for a long time.
In the morning at the window
The cat washes its paws.
The song is purring,
The nose pokes at the paws.
The truck is carrying sand,
People are surprised
“What kind of miracle are miracles?
It contains sand to the skies!”
They brought sand to the workers,
To help them build a house.
Developmental elements: a girl, a kitten and a dog are hidden in the house, you can look for them, there is a pocket in the back of the truck, you can put something there or put someone in it, the wheels of the truck are removable.
5 spread educational book for baby - tree and hedgehog:
Sly weird hedgehog
I sewed a scratchy jacket:
A hundred pins on my chest
A hundred needles are behind.
A hedgehog walks on the grass in the garden,
Stumbles on pins
Apples and any fruit,
What will he find under the tree?
And with a gift to the rich
Returns to the hedgehogs.
Developmental elements: me and the mushrooms are on Velcro, you can collect them, count them and put them on the hedgehog.
6 spread of educational book - boat and frog:
Sailor's hat, rope in hand,
I'm pulling a boat along a fast river.
And the frogs jump on my heels,
And they ask me: “Ride, captain!”
Developmental elements - a boat with a pocket, moves along the wave, a flag rotates in different directions, a frog with movable front legs, a pocket mouth and a tongue at the end.
7 spread of educational book - elephant and night:
Time to sleep. The bull fell asleep
He lay down on his side in the bed.
The sleepy bear went to bed,
Only the elephant doesn't want to sleep.
The elephant shakes its head -
He bows to the elephant.
Developmental elements: an elephant with moving and rustling ears, the area under the trunk is not sewn up (you can feed it).
Educational book cover on the back- with a pocket for all sorts of different things (maybe some goodies):
We'll look into our pocket,
And we'll get some cookies.
This is what a developmental book looks like from the side, it is tied with a ribbon:
A whole thick volume of knowledge for the little discoverer!
IDEAS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL BOOKS
I found several ideas for educational books. I really liked the idea of a travel book with games: checkers and tic-tac-toe... If anyone is interested, below is a link to a selection of these books... Let's get inspired!
Educational books: colors
I’ve already found interesting ideas for educational books and now I’ve come across cute options again. This time there are 2 versions of books for familiarization and color reinforcement.
Educational book "Herringbone"
This book is made to order following the example of the "Herringbone" Book with the addition of a face with a zipper.
A total of 9 developmental pages, format approximately 21*21cm (I can’t say for sure, because I already sent it, but didn’t take the dimensions.)
Fastens with Velcro and eyelets.
The bug is rattling.
We plant carrots, which rustle, and pull the octopus’s legs, which smell pleasantly of juniper.
Two elephants - small and large. The little one can be moved, the big one has an ear and trunk rustling:
The chicken squeaks:
All doors open in different directions:
For easy storage, I made this bag:
Educational book for Pavlik
Velcro book, format 19*19 cm.
The sail and flag bend and rustle. I made this page using the patchwork technique.
You can pull the octopus's legs and you can gnaw them too:
A bug is hiding in a flower:
Tactile page in honor of the New Year. The mother should move the child’s fingers along the buttons, bows and snowballs to develop tactile sensations. Snowball is a stitched padding polyester.
The chicken in the egg squeaks:
Balloons with rattle and beads, with Velcro:
Well, Mishka waves goodbye to us:
Educational book "Bus"
The book has 6 functional pages. Made in the shape of a bus. It is attached with a lace on one side and a red button (headlight) on the other side.
Front page. Three windows. Two with laces, one with a button. The wheels are buttons.
I plan to embroider on the bottom boy's name who this book will be intended for.
Truck . A truck is driving over the bridge. Bridge with fastener.
The body is made of padding polyester, sewn in the form of a side pocket that closes with a button:
And inside there are seven multi-colored fleece tires. You can give your child tasks to put tires of certain colors on the wheels.
Tumbleweed.)) Here the task is: come home, i.e., roll the bead from the car to the house. Fleece sun. The tree is voluminous, with beads sewn on it. It feels interesting to the touch.
House. A task for real men: grow flowers and build a house! The house is completely Velcro. To grow flowers, you need to string ribbons or stems on them.
Airplane . A page for fun. You pull in any direction, the plane flies.))
Faux fur clouds. Like real ones:
Back side: three windows, opening in different directions, one with Velcro, two with buttons.
I can’t think of anyone to put behind the windows. It seems to me that just opening the windows and no one there will be boring.
Like in a meadow, in a meadow...
Oh, spring has finally come! That means summer is coming! How I love to walk and relax in the meadow... Mmmmurr... Butterflies spin in a waltz, snails meditatively explore the lush greenery of young grass, the most unprecedented wonderful flowers bloom, ladybugs open their bright red wings and fly towards the golden sun... Grace!
The sisters, having heard enough of my stories about relaxing in the meadow, decided to make an educational book for Miroslavushka (Natalia’s miracle daughter). The book, in my opinion, turned out great! Plump, soft, there are so many interesting things in it... Miroslava also really, really likes the book. At one year and 2 months old, she reads it almost every day, studies it, and develops.
Appearance of the book. Size 15x15 cm, 3 full spreads, front and back covers, button closure. There is also a convenient carrying handle. The entire book is trimmed with amazing jacquard braid with flowers.
The book is made of satin, glued with non-woven fabric and covered with padding polyester. Most of the elements are three-dimensional (everything that is round - the head, the body, the core of a flower, etc.) Miroslava is our future drummer, she loves to knock on everything, and she has a lot of strength, so the pages are sewn together forever - she would fray the rings and lacing . The elements are made as simple as possible so that nothing stands out from the book - Mira tries everything to the best of her ability, so as not to swallow it. No small details - these are ideas for the future.
All 4 spreads.
First spread: Sunny and Ladybug. The sun is voluminous and cheerful. The rays are made from 2 assembled nylon ribbons of different shades + individual rays from bindweed.
Ladybug - unzip, and there - striped pajamas (braid with flowers), liner - turquoise linen. The head is voluminous.
Second spread: Butterfly and Flower. The butterfly rustles, the wings are Velcro from diapers. The butterfly seems to be flying to a Flower, which has multi-colored flax petals with different fillings. At first there was an idea to add different cereals, but we changed our minds because... They were afraid that some kind of bugs and worms might start in it. We wash the book... Therefore, we have fillings: 1. Synthetic winterizer, 2. Dublerin, 3. large buttons with a stem, 4. small buttons, 5. Coins, 6. rustling cellophane. The core of the flower is voluminous.
Third spread: Snail and Ant-Grass. The snail is somewhat surreal because of the colors. Turquoise fleece body and fuchsia silk shell. A flat bead (pebble stone) is sewn into the shell, which must be moved. While this is difficult, Mirochka simply slams her palm on the sink. The ant grass is made of laces and ribbon. There are knitted flowers sewn inside (which were given to us by Pusha's friend). Ant is Catherine's creative idea.
Cover: front page - three-dimensional letters made of fleece, felt flowers set on buttons. There is also a button and a clasp. The last page (back cover) is Natalia's own design (to some extent inspired by the idea of a snail). A very thick ruffle in three columns, with large buttons inside. They need to be dragged up and down. I’ll say right away - it’s difficult, because... tangled in the folds of the ruffle. But what’s even more interesting is that we plan to use the book for more than one year. A very pleasant sensation for all kinesthetic learners - clapping your palm on such an airy ruffle is very pleasant.
How trees run
If you don't know that trees can run, read the classic. Some trees walk, others crawl, and ours speak eternal wisdom...
We'll show you the results! Many, LOTS of photographs of the Magic Tree for Miroslava.
As a lover of engineering and technical ideas, Natalia's Tree has turned into... an educational book that can easily be transformed into an educational wall panel or an educational mini-mat. Buttons are the key to success! By the way, Miroslava really likes to unfasten the buttons, although it is not always possible to fasten them. But that's it for now.
The book is sewn in the same style as the previous one - also a fabulous braid along the contour, the base is made of calico, the inside is synthetic padding, the outside has a carrying handle and a button clasp. The book was called “Seasons,” so you can use it to study the changes in nature over the seasons, colors, shapes, the world around you, and, of course, develop fine motor skills, broaden your horizons and learn the exact sciences. The reader's age is from 6 months to the next incarnation...
There is a transparent pocket on the back cover. For forgetful adults - a printed calendar for the current year. A beautiful picture can easily fit in your pocket - you can clearly show the beauty of any time of year.
The book has two large turquoise pockets with buttons. It is on these lilac loops that the panel is hung on a wall or cabinet. The pockets contain “calculators” - little books with Velcro in which cards with numbers and days of the week are stored.
In the Book “Seasons” - 3 main spreads are made so that when transformed into a panel, all the trees are on the same side (otherwise it would be strange, right?). Therefore, the first spread is Spring + Pocket, the second spread is Summer + Autumn, the third spread is Pocket + Winter.
Now about each individually.
SPRING. Delicate green-turquoise tones, light flowers - life wakes up after hibernation. On the crown there are 4 circles made of Velcro, on which you can “plant” arriving birds (cards with birds, like all the others, are on Velcro; a set of such educational cognitive kit is currently being prepared). The right side of the trunk is not sewn - cards on laces with the names of the spring months are hidden there. I'll tell you about the ribbons in the description of the details.
SUMMER. Well, there’s a riot of colors here - it’s summer, after all. The same Velcro, textured crown with puffs, month cards are hidden in the trunk on the left side (not to repeat myself...). One of the ribbons is made in the form of a loop - Miroslava already loved putting it on her finger, pulling it back and forth...
AUTUMN. Gold, of course. Velcro on the crown - in the form of leaves. The fallen leaves are made of felt, very textured, sewn in several places, so you can bend them back and look at them from the back. Under the leaves there is a Velcro pocket in which cards with the names of the autumn months are hidden. Golden threads descend from the crown, like golden streams of autumn mushroom rain. Ribbons can be braided into autumn braids...
WINTER. Snow-white silver with light lilac and turquoise - very delicate, light colors. The snowdrifts are made of wedding brocade, on the button - naturally, cards with the names of the winter months are hidden behind them. There are Velcro strips on the crown for winter birds. Snowflakes are plastic, iridescent, at different angles the color changes from white to lilac and golden depending on the lighting.
Turquoise POCKETS. What's hiding inside? I need to somehow unfasten the lilac eyelet clasp...
And there is a small book on a button. Hat elastic loop. This is the same “calculator” with number cards.
In the second pocket (find the differences) there are also books. Using books, you can also learn the names of living creatures...
“Calculators” - the inner side is completely made of soft Velcro (diaper), any cards can be easily attached and detached to it. At the moment we have one real calculator with numbers, a second with days of the week, a third with mathematical signs of actions and for additional cards. Such calculator books will be for all sets of educational cards (birds, flowers, colors, geometric shapes, etc.). It’s very convenient - everything is together, it doesn’t get lost anywhere. Miroslava liked the “calculators” the most. For two days we walked and “teared” numbers from our socks, clothes, bedspreads on the sofa and carpets...
Now the details. The grosgrain ribbons are sewn so as to form hmm... “channels” or something... Later we will insert sticks, laces, etc. into them. For now we only insert the fingers)))
On all four trunks, brown soutache is sewn in the form of loops under the main Velcro. It’s very fun to tug on them, again - to put your fingers in, then to study the lacing... And also - a whole cocktail of sensations at once: from softly rough from Velcro, to soft and cool from silk soutache, next to it is a warm corduroy trunk, pleasant cotton of the crown.
Felt leaves are very colorful and pleasant to the touch. Multi-layering creates volume and the illusion of flowers in the color of the leaves.
Snowflakes are cute, white on the snowdrifts, lilac in the background... They change color so cool depending on the environment... Little snow chameleons...
Also, did you notice those 3 buttons around each crown? Can you guess what they are there for? Right! Additional educational crowns with games will be attached to the buttons. So our Magic Trees live and grow with us!
Thank you for reading to the end!)))
A soft educational book will help your child improve and learn new things. Mom will sew it from scraps, braid, and beads left over from needlework.
Developmental book design ideas
- Try to keep the pages of different colors so that the child can distinguish between them from infancy. It would be good if there were inscriptions with the name of the color. Then he will remember how these words are written.
- So that your child can develop fine motor skills and thinking, come up with tasks for him. So, the pages may have elements that are attached to the base using Velcro or buttons. For example, vegetables that need to be “planted” in the garden, apples and mushrooms, will be attached by the child to the hedgehog. Having removed the element with buttons, the child will see something interesting behind it. By unzipping the zipper, the baby will reveal the ladybug's wings.
- On some pages it is necessary to sew pockets so that the child can put objects of a suitable shape and size there. On others, sew a sneaker made of leather or fabric so that the child learns how to tie lacing, thereby gaining the necessary skill.
- So that he can braid his hair, sew several ribbons nearby. Show your baby how to do it.
- To help your child learn to count, number the pages by sewing a specific number onto each page in order.
- Each page of the book is dedicated to something. For example, one is garden-themed, another is animal-themed, the third is rainbow-themed, and the fourth is marine-themed.
How to make a cover for a soft educational book?
Its dimensions depend on what you want the soft educational book to be. Take fleece or felt with your own hands. These fabrics are soft and hold their shape. You can use both canvases at once, one for the top part of the binding, the other for the inside.
The rectangle should be of such a size that you can still add a 1 cm seam allowance and a 5 cm allowance on the central fold. If you will have appliques on the cover, then sew them on the front side first. Then fold the two sheets of the page so that the wrong side is at the top, stitch along the edge, leaving 15 cm free on the small side. Through this hole, you turn the workpiece right side out, insert into it a rectangle of padding polyester smaller than the cover.
Another option is to make separate pages, make holes in them with a special tool, attach rings here so that the pages can be laced together, connecting them.
You can combine them with a flap, one edge of which you sew to the first page of the binding, the second to the last. This flap needs to be basted to each page so that from the binding side they look like an accordion.
DIY soft book - master class
Now you know how to make a binding for it. Here's how to design one of the pages. Ask your child to place fruits and berries in the vase; they will be attached using buttons and Velcro.
You will need to make the page:
- rectangle of fabric;
- pieces of canvas;
- large buttons;
- needle and thread;
- buttons;
- Velcro;
- thin padding polyester.
Master Class:
- From thick fabric, cut out all the parts that you will sew onto the page. It's better if they are paired.
- Sew both layers of round berries using a zigzag stitch, also use a sewing machine to make a loop in the center and cut it. Sew a strawberry. Attach a green tail to it.
- Cherries can be crocheted in the round. On the reverse side, sew buttons to them, paired elements of this fittings, as well as buttons to the page of the book.
- Take a piece of fabric measuring 20 by 20 cm, and apply the same on it. These parts are placed right sides together and stitched along the edge, leaving a gap through which the resulting bag is turned right side out. You need to iron its seams, then insert a sheet of padding polyester inside, which is 1 cm smaller than the page on all sides. Sew up the gap on the arms.
If you want him to know the seasons well, then for such a soft book for babies, make 4 pages. To create them, you will need:
- base fabric;
- bright threads;
- scissors;
- tape measure;
- pins;
- needle;
- braid;
- threads;
- beads.
To create books, you can use the most unexpected materials, for example, fabric napkins, household rags. If they have a pattern, turn them over to the wrong side.
Cut out Christmas trees from a green napkin. Since they have this color all year round to show the winter landscape, cut out snowflakes and decorate the trees with colorful balls from napkins of a different color.
If a child spends the summer at the dacha, there is probably a fish pond there. Transfer this theme to a textile book by cutting out algae, fish, and aquatic vegetation from napkins or felt.
In spring, the ground is covered with bright green grass and flowers bloom. Tell all this to your child by making the appropriate application on the page.
In autumn, clouds appear more often, but the sun still shines. You can also sew a braid here to make it rain.
If you are satisfied with all the elements, then you can sew them directly onto the pages of the book. Sew large parts on a sewing machine, and sew small ones on your hands.
Where there is an autumn landscape, sew a thin braid on top, and firmly tie beads to these ribbons from below.
Since soft books for children contain quite a lot of small elements, attach them firmly, but do not move away from the child while playing with such an object.
If you want a car to drive across the cover of the book, then make small vertical slits in the center and insert a ribbon here. Sew the car to the base. Secure the edges of the tape on one side and the other of the cover.
This is what a soft educational book looks like from the inside.
It will be enough to tie it with a ribbon and you can close the book.
It will be interesting for kids to insert various objects, so sew pockets on the book in the shape of a steam locomotive. Make various animals out of felt. Let the child put these passengers into open carriages. Sew buttons in the shape of wheels and you can send the train on the road.
To help your child develop fine motor skills, sew threads in the form of a cobweb onto a book page and sew plastic rings here. Let your child thread the ribbon through them, creating a web.
Cut out a sneaker from fabric or leather, sew rings vertically in the center so that the child can thread a lace through them and learn to tie shoes. These skills will be very useful to him, as well as zipping.
For this book page you need to take:
- textile;
- lightning;
- wool threads.
For kids, we can recommend one more page, which will have a soft educational book. Children will be able to dress dolls with their own hands, thereby learning this simple activity.
To do this, a doll made of a thick base is sewn onto the book, and Velcro must be attached to it. Cut out the clothing items for this toy. Place a cabinet in the form of a pocket nearby. Put the doll's clothes there, on the back of which you will sew Velcro in advance. Let the child put on the doll in the correct order.
Children can be advised to make one more page of the book. Sew a thin elastic band here, pull it over beads, balls, buttons, securing them firmly. The child will probably like the proposed toy.
Playing with the first book in his life, the baby will learn to assemble a pyramid according to height and color. To do this, take:
- textile;
- filler;
- Velcro;
- needle and thread.
He will probably enjoy putting the bear to bed and covering it with a blanket. With such a toy, the child himself will soon fall asleep with company.
So that he knows that evening is coming and it’s time to go to bed, make a figure of the month on the next page. When the baby wakes up, he will look with pleasure at the sun, which will smile kindly at him.
DIY educational book for baby boys
Young gentlemen have loved cars since childhood, so use them to create a soft educational toy.
Take:
- colored fabric;
- buttons;
- small household sponges;
- markers.
We sew only on the right pages, the left ones will become a garage. Attach Velcro here, as well as on the back of the cars, so that the child can park his vehicle at night.
If children are small, it is better not to attach buttons to the lips, but to draw wheels. Or you need to constantly monitor children during such a game so that they do not harm themselves with small objects torn off.
For another baby boy book, use fabric in bright colors. Your child will love playing the fireman you create from fabric.
Let his car have a rising boom, this can be done by securing two elements with two buttons. Make a gate with a Velcro lock so that, if necessary, a child can open it and get into the building that is on fire. The braid will turn into a firefighter; the boy will enjoy playing with such objects and feeling like a fireman.
Soft books on the theme of home farm and vegetable garden
You can also make soft books on this topic. This is a wonderful experience for kids; they will learn the names of animals and know how to care for them. You will tell us what vegetables can be grown, how to collect and store them.
Let's start with the home farm.
The chicken and duck are cut out of felt, and other items in the book are made from the same material. Let the door in the house open; to do this, sew a button on it, and next to it an elastic loop. The window will also swing open; secure it with two ribbons.
A fence is made from rectangular strips of fabric; turn the green fabric into grass and into the crown of a tree. Edge the pages with folded strips of fabric. After which the soft book is ready, you can buy it, of course, but it is very expensive, and your own can be created from leftover material.
After all, to create vegetables for the garden you need very small scraps. Cut out triangles from orange ones, sew them in the form of cones, fill them with filler through the top hole, and sew green fleece tops here. Now the carrots are ready. To “plant” it in the garden bed, place the braid horizontally and sew it so that the root vegetables fit between the seams. Attach a large pocket nearby, this is where the child will put the harvest.
Place a bunny nearby, let the baby know that this animal really loves carrots. Also in such a book you can sew a flower in the form of a pocket into which a bee will fly and collect nectar.
The butterfly flutters over the flowers, so it would also be very appropriate here. You can sew a zipper between her back wings; when you close it, she will turn into a semicircular bug. By unfastening the snake, you will transform it back into a butterfly.
If you want your child to know that caterpillars appear first, and after pupation they turn into butterflies, then make the body of this insect separately in the form of a sausage. The child will insert it into the ribbon between the wings, thereby turning the caterpillar into a butterfly.
The bee is made of yellow fleece, black strips of braid are sewn across the body, and a ribbon needs to be attached to it.
The child will learn about the vegetable garden, pets, if the next book is made from fabric.
Sew characters from felt and attach Velcro to them on the back side. Then your beloved child will place them in the right order, gradually learning how to do this. At the same time, you will get acquainted with the fairy tale Repka.
Make secret corners in the book so that the baby gradually finds them. Let the hedgehog live in a mushroom house, only by opening the door will you be able to discover this animal, to the great joy of the child.
Children learn that chickens are children of hens by opening the hen's wing.
Tell the children how apples grow in the country. Make such an appliqué out of fabric in the book and place the fruit here using Velcro. Let the baby tear them off, place them on the hedgehog’s needles, and secure them in the same way.
The apples on the tree can be arranged in another way by sewing buttons on it and loops on them. The fruits themselves are made of red or yellow felt or other similar material.
Educational toy for girls
It's done in the same way, but it's a little different. The baby will probably enjoy dressing the doll, this was mentioned above. She will also be interested in hanging laundry on a line and taking it off.
To make such a book, you will need:
- felt;
- fleece;
- thin elastic band;
- clothespins;
- hairpins
Cut out various items of clothing from fleece and felt. Let the child hang them on a rope using real clothespins and bobby pins.
The next textile book is made in pink tones that girls like.
To make one, take:
- textile;
- beads;
- button;
- wax pencils;
- threads;
- beads.
You can sew a ladybug inside by making a slit in the center so that the baby insects can enter here. For a girl to learn how to braid, on the next page there will be an applique of a young lady with long hair made from yarn.
So that the girl learns neatness from infancy, attach an organizer for pencils and a handkerchief on the next spread. Velcro flowers next to the vase hint to her that she needs to place them in this container. The linen closet stores the dolls' clothes, which the child will be happy to put on them. But you read about this earlier; the young housewife will also like this kind of entertainment.
Perhaps she would like to become a doctor if she opens the next page of the soft book. The pockets here contain various animals made of felt; on the other side there is a cabinet, upon opening which the child will find items of simple help and learn to provide it.
Learning to count using a soft educational book
Just like that, in passing, the child will remember how the initial numbers are written, if you don’t forget to number the pages. To help him learn to count, make the following soft educational book. To create it you will need:
- base fabric;
- laces;
- large beads;
- marker.
As you move them along, count with your child. To help your child learn to draw numbers, make appliqués from fabric. Sew a pocket where the chalk will be stored. Then the child will be able to take it out and circle the numbers, thereby learning to draw them.
In the same way, you can introduce children to some letters, then make syllables and short words from them.
This is how, in a relaxed atmosphere, while playing, a child can develop and improve, learn new things. It is very important for parents to show him how to handle certain objects so that a soft educational book really becomes one.
To make it easier for adults to make it, we suggest watching a fascinating story.
You will learn how to make a page for boys so that they know what kind of transport exists in the following video.
The girl will be happy to play with a book made in the shape of a house, put the doll to bed, wash it in the bath, and wash things in the machine.
