Handmade fabric book ideas: a wonderful gift for babies
Many of you may have made one during pregnancy.
Cloth books are popular as toys for babies and are often given as gifts.
In this article, we introduce handmade ideas for cloth books.
There are many types of cloth books: interactive ones that promote finger development, story-style books, and those that help children learn colors and numbers.
We also share a variety of ideas here, so please use them as a reference and try making one.
It will surely become a memorable gift.
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Handmade Cloth Book Ideas: A Lovely Gift for Babies (1–10)
Cloth Picture Book: Harvesting Vegetables
Here’s an idea for a cloth book made with felt from the 100-yen shop.
It seems it’s not all hand-sewn—they also make use of a sewing machine and a glue gun.
The fun theme of this book is harvesting vegetables! The left page is a vegetable patch, with the soil designed like a pocket.
You can put various vegetables in there, and let the child take them out and place them in the basket on the right page.
Since this is a single two-page spread, it should be easy for beginners to try.
Cloth picture book “Number Play”
This is an idea for a fabric picture book packed with activities that use little hands, and it even lets kids play with numbers.
Each page teaches one number from 1 to 10.
There are lots of fun features children love, like threading laces, taking objects in and out, and ripping off and sticking on soft cotton fasteners.
Although it’s a book, when you unfold it, it becomes one long piece of fabric that can be played with on both sides.
It’s great that kids can compare and notice differences between numbers at the same time.
Since it offers various ways to play depending on age, it’s a fabric picture book that can be used for a long time.
Cloth Picture Book: “Who Is It?”
This is a cloth picture book with window-like flaps on each page.
When you lift a flap, different animals peek out.
Each page features a different animal, along with onomatopoeic sound words as hints.
Imitating the animal sounds will delight children and stimulate their imagination.
Since you can also play peekaboo with it, even babies who can’t turn pages on their own are likely to enjoy it.
Besides animals, it’s also recommended to make versions featuring vehicles or foods to suit a child’s interests.
Handmade fabric book ideas: Wonderful gifts for babies (11–20)
Cloth picture book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
This is an idea to turn the popular children’s picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar into a fabric book.
Since it’s made with the original book as a reference, the level of completion is impressive.
You trace to create the parts and even recreate the lettering, so it’s a demanding project for both beginners and experienced crafters, but the sense of accomplishment when it’s finished is incredible.
Unlike paper picture books, fabric books don’t tear—another great point.
If you want to let your child handle it without worry, why not give it a try? You’ll be able to enjoy it for a long time after you make it.
Cloth picture book “Mogu Mogu”
This is a fabric picture book where you can put various foods into the bear’s mouth.
The mouth has a zipper, so you can open and close it.
The foods attach with hook-and-loop fasteners, so you can stick them on and take them off as well.
Plus, since the materials are all from the 100-yen shop, you can make it without spending much! You can change the bear to a different animal, and the foods could be vegetables, fruits, or snacks.
If you show the bear happily eating, it might even help with food education!
Cloth Picture Book “Shiritori”
Shiritori is a classic kids’ game.
This cloth picture book lets you enjoy playing it.
For example, if you start with “ringo” (apple), sew a picture of an apple and the word on the left page, and a large “go” character on the right page.
Repeat this so that as you turn the pages, it forms a shiritori chain.
Finish with a word that ends in “n” to show how the game can fail, if you like.
Or keep it going and make a second volume.
It’s a cloth picture book that teaches both the names of things and how to play shiritori—two birds with one stone!
Cloth Picture Book: Crayons and Flowers
This is a cloth picture book with flowers on the left page and crayons on the right page.
Both have hook-and-loop fasteners, so children can enjoy attaching and removing the pieces.
The crayons come in various colors, making it a good way to learn color names with this book.
The flower petals are all different colors and have numbers on them, so children can learn the numbers from 1 to 8 while counting the petals.
It’s a very simple idea, and since you can make it by creating same-shaped parts in different colors, even beginners should be able to craft it with confidence.