Quiet Book Series: Page 6 - Underwater Ocean Scene

Downloadable PDF Pattern:

Quiet Book Series - Underwater Ocean - Template

Instructions:

1. Print the pattern on an 8.5 x 11 inch paper, with narrow margins; you might want to enlarge it up to 10% since the felt sheets are 9x12 inches. Cut out the pattern and pin shapes onto the designated colors of felt or print on freezer paper and iron onto felt. Cut around the edges. Please note that some shapes need more than one piece. Remove pattern and pins.

2. Cut 2 different "blue" felt sheets (I used turquoise and light blue) in half using a wavy line. You will use both halves of each color. Lay out all of your pieces so you know what each one is and where it will be placed on the quiet book page. I chose royal blue felt for the background.

3. Sew down the whale at the top left corner of one sheet of royal blue felt. I chose to sew everything with white thread, but if you want to hide your stitches more, match your thread and bobbin thread color to the color of felt you are sewing on top of.

4. Sew three bubbles in place on the light blue wave and two bubbles in place on the Turquoise wave (or whatever colors of waves you chose). I chose to have one bubble hang half way off the wave. Sew the third bubble in that row on the royal blue felt with the whale on it.

5. You’re now ready to sew on the turquoise and light blue waves, which will form the pockets. Sew only along the left, bottom, and right edges, leaving the tops open. Attach the light blue felt to the background first, as it sits farther back in the scene, followed by the turquoise blue felt.

6. Next, sew on the back layer of the gray cave, making sure it is positioned low enough so the top layer of sand will cover the bottom of the cave—otherwise it may appear to be floating. Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch and securely sew in the light blue ribbon, which will later hold the wool felt shark charm. Then switch back to a straight stitch and sew on the top layer of the gray cave, stitching only along the left and bottom edges. Leave the curved edge unsewn so it remains open like a pocket.

7. Stitch on the butterscotch felt to create the sand, starting with the hill that sits farthest back in the middle ground of the scene and working your way forward to the top layer of sand in the foreground. Be sure to tuck in the gray rocks so they appear naturally nestled into the sand. Then stitch the charcoal rocks on top of the sand—I overlapped some of mine for a more natural look.

8. Stitch the cut-out lavender octopus onto another piece of lavender felt, sandwiching the blue ribbon between the layers so it is securely attached. Trim around the octopus once stitched. This method is much easier than sewing two separate octopus cutouts together. Next, zigzag stitch the other end of the blue ribbon to the right side of the second page with the whale on it. Finally, sew the light blue, blob-shaped piece along the right edge only, creating a door-like flap for the octopus to hide behind.

9. In the same manner, sew the neon lime piece, the fuchsia coral piece, and the apple green grass shaped piece onto a bigger piece and trim.

10. Sew across the bottom of the green grasses and pink coral pieces, allowing them to be flaps.

11. Also sew the three, orange goldfish onto a larger piece of orange and trim. I chose to keep them free but if you are worried about them going missing you can also sew a ribbon into them and attach them in various places on your pages. Tuck the fish into the waves of water pockets.

12. Lastly, tie your felt shark die cut to the blue string in the cave and apply a small amount of glue onto the knot.

13. Trim any stray threads.

14. Sew other quiet book pages onto the backs before attaching metal eyelets. If you would like more information in how to attach eyelets, I covered this in my "School House Rocks!" page tutorial.