The Sew and Tell Project

I got the really exciting news about a month ago that I’d been accepted as a Rebecca Page Brand Ambassador. This means that I am compensated with fun, free patterns, and then I get to sew them up and share them with you. Fun, right? I knew that Rebecca Page (formerly Mummykins and Me) was known for well-drafted clothing patterns, but with the name change, she’s moving into different areas. Pattern sizes now range from dolls to newborn to child to tween to teen to adult to plus sized (18″ doll to 5xl). Plus, maybe even more exciting, more crafty-style patterns will begin to find their way into the lineup (such as this Elf and Fairy Crown and Wand). The newest pattern, and what this post is about, is the Dolls House Quiet Book.

I have sewn tons of garments. Pants, shirts, dresses, hats, swimsuits, mermaid tails….lots of variety. But I have never attempted a quiet book! When I saw the pattern sneaks of this darling doll house, I was hooked and I knew I had to sew one up for my baby boy. See how cute he is? <3

The preview images I saw were decidedly girly, and I decided right away that Baby Mac needed a Cabin in the Woods because I knew that this pattern had so many options for so much fun! I also decided to upcycle some of my husband’s old clothing as part of this book. The pattern and tutorial include pieces and instructions to make a front door, a bedroom, a living room, a swimming hole, a tent, and/or a campfire. All of them are just darling and include all kinds of fun details. I’ll warn you; while this pattern is certainly not difficult, it is very time consuming. It’s also a great scrap buster! If you cut on the bias, as suggested, you won’t have to worry as much about fraying fabrics. However, I didn’t have large enough pieces of some of the fabrics I wanted to use, so I did a lot of tight zig zag stitching on my pieces.

This cover uses a pair of old corduroy pants for the house, and the roof is made from an old button down shirt. The button that makes up the door knob is from the shirt! While these patterns come with the book, I added a bit of flare here; the bushes were free-handed, and our cabin in the woods NEEDED a Michigan State University spirit flag. 😉 I also added some of the button flowers detailed in the tutorial (they are detachable and reversible, so little hands can practice buttoning), and my hedge opens to show a little surprise.

My next page is a tent. The pattern calls for a button closure at the bottom, but I decided to add a zipper for my guy to play with. I also split the background so I could use starry flannel for the sky. When you unzip the tent…

Kitty is sleeping in his sleeping bag! The pattern includes 3 dolls–kitty, bear, and mouse. I made my kitty with soft grey fleece and upcycled button eyes.

In the next page, baby can play with the fishies jumping between waves, or Kitty can take a swim in the pond. I added a sun just for an extra pop of color.

The back page of the Dolls House Quiet Book was left up to the imagination; you could make a garden of button flowers of different colors and textures. I decided to make a path into the woods. The treetops and path are freehanded, and the tree trunks are based on the piece included to make the camp fire.

I was a little unsure if my guy would like this; he’s at that age where toys are interesting for about 10 minutes before he tosses them aside to climb onto my desk and try to press all of the buttons on my sewing machines while simultaneously throwing all of my wonder clips on the floor and trying to eat my pins. 😉 But…he likes it a lot! One of his favorite activities right now is putting something in something else, and then taking it out again, so he LOVES putting Kitty in his sleeping bag and pond.

Be sure to visit the Rebecca Page PDF Pattern Group on Facebook to see all of the other darling Quiet Books, and be sure to join in the Dolls House Quiet Book Sewalong! The pattern is available at its introductory price of $5 through the end of the sewalong, August 13, 2017. After, it will be priced at $6.50.