Ellie has a cousin, Luke, who was born three and a half months after her. I decided to make them both color books! This was the third year in a row that I have made these books. Two years ago, I made Luke’s brother Alex a book. Last year, I made Kaitlyn and Grace books but modified the design slightly. This year, I completely redid the design and am really proud of what I created!
I decided to use solids as well as prints and used the foundation-piecing method (with muslin) to create the pages themselves. At the “turning corner” of each page, I used some geometry (namely using the radii of circles) to sew in a quarter circle of the color of the page. I also interfaced the solid so that it feels a bit more substantial when turning the page.
From front to back:
That’s blue and orange for Nik (UVA)
and purple and yellow [gold] for me (Houghton).
I also used the solids for the front and back covers. For the front cover, I sewed together some of the quarter circles that I’d cut out of the main pages to form a full circle. I also embroidered titles and “author” notes:
And here they are in action!
I loved designing and making these!









Laura, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these color books! So fun and pretty. 🙂
These are beautiful, Laura!
So how’s about you do a tutorial for these? I would like to try my hand at making them your way. Possible?
Thanks Mom and Karyn! Zona – I am happy to do a tutorial! I was planning on taking pictures to do a tutorial and then that just didn’t happen. So give me a couple months and I’ll probably be making another one and will do a tutorial!
Pingback: Looking Back Before Looking Forward « Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Now, Looking Forward « Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Reflections on Sewing in 2011 and Predictions for 2012 « Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: February Sewing: Another Drawstring Bag for Ellie (this one for on-the-go) « Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Handmade Christmas 2012: Doll Carrier for Ellie | Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Color Book Sew-Along/Tutorial | Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Color Book Tutorial/Sew-Along, Part 6: Embroidering the Author and Title Pieces | Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: May Sewing: The Giveway Prizes – “Put a Bird on It” and “The World’s Most Sophisticated Crayon Roll” | Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: May Sewing: The Give Away Prizes – “Put a Bird on It” and “The World’s Most Sophisticated Crayon Roll” | Salmon and Souvlaki
Pingback: Handmade Christmas 2014: Mark’s Color Book | Salmon and Souvlaki