How to Create a Personal Gift for a Baby

When your friend or loved one has a baby, present the newborn with a personal gift that she can play with, snuggle, learn from and cherish for years to come. Create a simple fabric soft book featuring photos, textures and an assortment of adorable touches.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Fabric
• Ruler and pen
• Scissors
• Fabric appliques
• Buttons
• Photo transfer material
• Sewing machine
• Flat stuffing
• Needle and thread

1. Choose a sturdy fabric to create the background pages like canvas or denim. Determine if you'd like to coordinate the fabric colors to match the baby's nursery, use diverse shades to expose the baby to different colors or use all black and white to stimulate an infant. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to wash and dry the swatches before you begin.
2. Determine how big you want the book's pages to be, then trim 2 rectangles of fabric to that exact height and double the width. Trim 2 more rectangles that are the same height, but about 2-inches longer (so the pages will be even when the bulky book is closed). Repeat until you have the desired number of pages.
3. Decide what "activity" you'd like to include on each page. Consider sewing textures on one page (like swatches of silk, burlap, faux fur and flannel), animal appliqués on another or dimensional items like buttons if you can sew them on securely to ensure the baby doesn't remove them.
4. Use photo transfer sheets to add images of the baby's family members to a few pages for a personal touch. Follow the directions on the specific transfer material you buy. Some will allow you to print the picture directly on the sheet, then simply iron onto the fabric (See Resources).
5. Find two of the fabric panels that are the same length, place them front to front and sew three of their sides together. Turn the pages right side out and then add a thin, flat layer of stuffing inside before sewing the fourth edge shut. Repeat the process with the other pages.
6. Stack the sewn pages in order (with the widest page on the bottom) and hand stitch a line straight down the middle to bind the fabric book. Place the gift under a heavy object for a few days before giving it to the baby to teach the bulky fabric pieces to stay shut.