Quiet Book Series: Page 4 - Birthday Party

Celebrate with us!

Hello! This is Hannah from Homemade Heartfelt. The Felt Store turns 10 this month and we are celebrating the milestone with this interactive birthday party themed quiet book page. Get ready for all the birthday vibes! Little hands will have a blast exploring this quiet book page, snapping the gift on and off, matching balloons to their colorful spots, and stringing up the banner again and again for endless fun. The birthday table is all decked out and ready to party—now it’s time to dive into another fun tutorial!

This blog post will also include a section at the very end to show you how to connect two quiet book pages together, back-to-back. This way you can continue to build your very own My Quiet Book, also known as a busy book.

Design your own Birthday Party Quiet Book Page

Size: Approx. 9 x 12 inches

Difficulty Level: Advanced

Supplies to gather:

• Assorted Acrylic Craft Felt Sheets - 9" x12" from thefeltstore.com

If you would like to use the exact colors used in this tutorial, they are: light blue, fuchsia, mint, neon lime, dark pink, white, beige

• 2 scraps of patterned felt (or other scrap materials you like) in coordinating colors (I chose stripes and polka dots)
• 1 scrap of metallic felt (I chose pink) or another fun material that you prefer
• A piece of 1/4” ribbon (I chose green, fuchsia, and blue)
• A piece of 1/8” ribbon (I chose light blue)
• Sewing machine & sewing machine thread in white
• Various birthday buttons such as gifts, cakes, toys, or party hats
• 2 small buttons
• X-acto knife (not pictured)
• The Felt Store’s Wool Ironing Mat (not pictured)
• Iron (not pictured)
• Old rag or towel for ironing (not pictured)
• The "Birthday Party" pattern PDF printed out to your desired size (downloadable template below)
• Needle and white embroidery floss
• Fabric scissors
• Scalloped-edged scissors (optional-not pictured)
• Hammer
• 2 eyelets and eyelet tool
• Front and back snap pieces (4) and snap tool (not pictured)
• Hook and loop Velcro (in coordinating colors to your felt)
• Straight pins
• Heat n Bond Ultra Hold Iron-On Adhesive (not pictured)
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue (optional-not pictured)

Downloadable Template here:

Downloadable Birthday Party Pattern Template PDF

Instructions:

1. Print the pattern on 8.5 x 11-inch paper with narrow margins; you may want to enlarge it by up to 10% since the felt sheets are 9 x 12 inches. Cut out the pattern and pin the shapes onto the designated colors of felt, then cut around the edges. Note that some shapes require multiple pieces. Remove the pattern and pins, then lay out your pieces to ensure you know what each one is and where it will go on the quiet book page. I like to arrange mine on a white 9 x 12-inch piece of acrylic craft felt, but you can use any base color you prefer.

2. Plug in your iron and let it heat up while you cut a small section of iron-on adhesive, like Heat n Bond. Place your felt pieces upside-down on a spare towel or old rag, lay the section of adhesive on top, and press with the iron for several seconds. Quickly peel the adhesive off the towel. I prefer this method over cutting the adhesive to size beforehand, even though it can be a bit messy. Protecting your work area with a towel ensures the adhesive only sticks to that surface. Once the adhesive is fully bonded to the felt, trim your pieces to size and peel off the paper backing. 

3. Sew the soft loop side of the Velcro onto the corresponding pieces of felt, positioning it near the edge. Make sure to use the loop side to avoid melting the hook side during the next step. Use the cut balloon pieces as a guide for accurate placement. This step creates the back side of the balloons.

a. Cut a 6–8 inch length of coordinating ribbon and place it between the balloon front (with adhesive) and the back (with Velcro). Protect your felt with a towel and iron the layers together until they adhere. Repeat this step for the pink and blue balloons.

b. Sew around the edges of each balloon to secure the felt and ribbon. Then, trim around the balloons to separate them from the larger backing piece of felt. Each balloon should now have Velcro on its back.

4. Thread your sewing machine and bobbin with white thread, and stitch the light blue crisscross ribbon shape onto the mint green present using light blue felt. Don’t worry if the piece stretches slightly while sewing—you can trim it down to size later.

a. Using the front and back pieces of the snap, attach the "male" parts of the snap to the gift box using the snap tool and a hammer. Remember to sandwich the light blue bow felt piece onto the gift as well.

b. Apply the "female" parts of the snap to the quiet book page using the snap tool and hammer. You may need to position the snap near the edge of the page, as the snap tool might not reach the middle.

c. To secure the snaps further, iron an additional layer of iron-on adhesive to the back of the quiet book page over the snap. Alternatively, you could use another stiffening agent like Witch-a-Stitch. This precaution helps prevent the felt from stretching over time when children pull on the snaps, ensuring your quiet book remains durable for years of play.

5. Arrange your balloons near the top-right corner of the page. Place or pin the matching hook side of the Velcro onto the page where you want them, keeping in mind the border stitch around the edge of the page that you’ll sew later. Once you have them positioned as desired, sew them onto the quiet book page.

a. Velcro the balloons into place. Lay the ribbons flat and arrange the tablecloth on top to check if trimming is needed. The ribbons should extend inside the stitching of the tablecloth—ensure they pass the top of the cloth but do not go beyond the bottom.

b. Lay out the table legs to determine their placement, then pin them in place. Sew the legs onto the page using a zig-zag stitch, followed by securely sewing the tablecloth on, tucking the balloon ribbons behind it.

c. Hot glue or hand stitch the bows onto the fronts of each balloon.

6. Use scalloped or decorative fabric scissors to cut the icing for the cake. Pin or hold the icing in place on top of the felt cake (whatever color/material you chose), then sew it down with a straight stitch. Next, sew the entire cake onto the page, positioning it so it rests on the top of the table to the left of the balloons.

7. Hand stitch the birthday buttons wherever you like, but avoid placing them too close to the edge. Be sure to sew them on securely, making at least three passes with strong embroidery floss that has multiple strands for added strength.

a. Sew the two plain buttons onto the corners of the tablecloth in preparation for the banner. Make sure the buttons are large enough to hold the loops on either end of the miniature banner.

8. Carefully stitch the multi-colored triangular pieces of felt onto the 1/8” ribbon as neatly as possible. If hot gluing is a better option for you, I completely understand! Given how tiny the pieces are at this stage, it could be a good choice. 

At this point, everything is attached to your birthday party quiet book page and you’re probably craving birthday cake! And my question for you is chocolate or vanilla?

Also, check back soon for my next tutorial, where I’ll teach you how to make a quiet book cover! If you have any questions or problems during your sewing, please leave a comment or reach out to me and I would be happy to help you through it.

Important Note: Sewing on additional buttons is a personal decision, as this can pose a choking risk to children who may still put things in their mouths. Please use discretion. Children should always be under adult supervision while playing with any toy containing small pieces.

If you make this page, please post it on social media and tag both @the_felt_store and @homemadeheartfelt – we’d love to see your work!

Happy Crafting!

 If you need help attaching this page to another one, continue the tutorial here:

How to Attach Quiet Book Pages Together:

1. Choose two quiet book pages that you’d like to sew back-to-back. I usually like to pair one with designs near the edge with one that is clear near the edges, so I only have to focus on one side while sewing. For this project, I chose to put the birthday page and the butterfly page back to back.

4. Follow the instructions on the eyelet package; essentially, you’ll be making a sandwich: eyelet, felt, eyelet. Use two connecting eyelets along with the eyelet tool and base, then hammer to secure the grommet.

5. Once you've created additional pages, you can tie them together with ribbon through the grommets or connect them using a metal binder ring. Stay tuned to this blog for a tutorial on how to insert all your quiet book pages into a handmade cover!