Dear community,
in this blog post you can find detailed instructions for sewing Christmas-themed cloth book (quietbook) with free pattern.

This morning it’s time to open the 19th door of the Advent Calendar. The excitement is mounting: only 5 days to go till Christmas Eve.
I remember all my childhood Christmases so well.
I’ve always really loved this time of year. There’s so much to discover. Everywhere is full of lights and decorations.
The Christmas project I’ve come up with is to do with the theme of discovery and imagination.

Quietbook – a Christmas-themed cloth book

Cloth books can be made out of many different materials. And it’s certainly a great way to use up remnants. You can also use many different techniques, so in my book I have sewn, painted, stuck, embroidered,….there’s no limit to the imagination.
If you enter “quiet book” on Pinterest you’ll see all the many options there are. Beautiful!

The list of materials can be as long as you like, but I would start by rummaging in your stockpile. In the end you will only need to buy at most a fabric adhesive and nothing more.

The little Christmas cloth book looks like a little house. Naturally a bit of snow doesn’t go amiss…

I have digitised my template for the house for you:

Christmas Quiet book pattern
The roof consists of two additional layers of fabric that are reinforced and then sewn onto the outside in a wavy pattern using a freehand embroidery foot.

Each page of the book is made separately and then reinforced with the opposite page.

And this is how the individual pages look:

Page 1 : Wrapping presents

Here the child can wrap their own little present and either use a ribbon to tie it or try a different fastening technique.

Page 2: Hope and anticipation

The scene shows a living room with a roaring fire and empty stockings hanging above. The Christmas tree has already been decorated.
The child can work out when Father Christmas will come and how he can get into the room if the fire is alight. And what is the cat planning to do??

Page 3: Decorating the tree

As a child you often want to repeat your favourite moments through play. I well remember using my toys to recreate all sorts of situations.
The theme of “decorating the tree” is particularly important because it’s often a family event, in which everyone gets involved.
In the quiet book I have painted the fir tree using textile paint and sewn on little pieces of Velcro to hold the felt fairy lights.
The fairy lights can be attached in many different ways. The child can try them all out to see what looks best, dreaming of the real Christmas tree all the time.

Sewing the quiet book – Instructions

1. On the back the main fabric is reinforced with volume fleece or some other insert to give the book more “grip”.
2. The individual components are then prepared – in this case the door, the window and the bird – and where necessary fixed onto the main fabric using spray adhesive. They can then be sewn on using the freehand embroidery foot or a normal open embroidery foot.
   When preparing the individual pages be careful to check which ones go together. Logically no double page can have the same theme except the centrefold and the outside covers.
   
3. When the two interconnecting pages are ready they are sewn together, right sides facing each other. The opening is approx. 10 cm and is on the bottom edge. All seam allowances need to be cut across the corners. The opening is then closed from the outside by hand stitching.
4. The book pages are finally sewn together down the middle. This is best done using the walking foot, as the layers are really quite thick.
   I used a piece of SnapPap and a press stud as a fastener.

I think a quiet book or cloth book is a delightful gift for children. And it’s fun to design and make the individual scenes. A cloth book like this is also a really lovely thing to make with older children.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and many happy hours with your family.