How to join a Sew Along

Quiet book sew alongs are a great way to get motivated and actually start making one.

They are held in facebook groups and possibly other online platforms (if you know of others please comment below), and are a great way for busy/stuck at home people to join in on a craft group. It can be difficult to find a craft group that you can attend in person, especially one tailored to a special interest such as quiet books. With an online group, things like the time of day doesn't matter as you can read, post and comment any time of day or night!

I run the Facebook group Quiet Book Sew Along, and aim to have monthly events from February to November. Ten months worth of quiet book pages are enough to make a full book (plus the front and back covers). You can sew enough pages for a book during the year and have December to sew it all together for a present!

Sew alongs are a great way to get inspiration, free patterns, advice and encouragement. I love seeing the variety that comes out of the same template used by different people.

Step 1: Join a Facebook Group that runs Sew-Alongs:

Aims for monthly events - February till November

Has run events in the past - you could join late if you are shy!

A French group

Step 2: Navigate to the Events tab under the group heading

Step 3: Click on the Event you would like to attend

Step 4: Mark yourself as attending the event (and invite your friends to join in)

Step 5: Get started - Print the pattern, ask questions, post progress photos, encourage others, have fun! The separate Event thread enables all of the posts relating to the Event to be separated from the normal group posts - so only those participating are notified etc (although you do need to set your notifications to all as per usual if you want to be notified anytime someone posts something new).

Would love to see you there!

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Have you joined a sew along? Tell us if it was useful in the comments below.

Easy Peasy To the Moon and Back Quiet Book Page

Do you sometimes wonder why you went to so much effort making a quiet book page when your little one prefers the simplest page in the book? 

I think this page is suited to a child around the age of four, but older children will still have tonnes of fun with it too. They do need to be old enough for you not to worry about them wrapping the cord around their neck and choking on it if you are going to let them play with it unsupervised, however.

How to make my To The Moon and Back quiet book page:

Materials needed:

• velour in gray
• thread to contrast or match for the edges
• background fabric
• 60-100cm cord/ribbon
• rocket button
• hot glue and glue gun

Cut out the template from my To The Moon and Back Quiet Book Page Free Template Pattern.

I used a pen to copy the template onto the back of my velour fabric and sewed zig zag off the edge of the holes after they were cut out, but you could definitely do it before and then cut out the holes too. 

I sewed the cord onto the rocket button and then hot glued the loose sections at the back of the button as well, just to make sure it would stay attached and not get in the way when threading. Sew the moon onto your background fabric using zig zag stitch along the outside edge, tucking the other end of the cord under one section. Leave the craters open to allow the rocket to thread it's way in and out through there as well.

I made this version for a cheeky little girl. Her name is Jannali, which is an Australian Indigenous name meaning "the Place of the Moon". I hope she gets a lot of fun out of it and it keeps her quiet when her Mama needs a break.

I think it made a good front cover.

Join a sew along!

This page is so easy and it comes together very quickly, especially if you use a button for the rocket. We did this page one month in my Facebook Group Quiet Book Sew Along. If you want to join in the fun, join the group, go to the events tab and mark yourself as attending, print the pattern and post your progress photos in event thread. It is a great way to keep yourself motivated, and you can ask all the questions you need and get advice from other quiet book makers.

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What do you think - does it look easy peasy?