Free Crochet Toddler Quiet Book Pattern

Along with my AMK Crochet business, I am a nanny for an adorable little toddler, who is turning two! I started working with her a year ago, when I moved to Seattle. I have been trying to decide what to make her, for her birthday, that would be fun and not take up too much space. Her mom already creates cute clothing (you can see it here) and she has been gifted crochet blankets, from family members. With most of my items being newborn photography props, I needed a new idea! Looking through Pinterest and Etsy, for educational toddlers items, I was reminded of quiet books. The basic idea behind a ‘quiet book’ is to have a handmade book (typically felt/flannel) to entertain children in an educational and fun way, that just so happens to keep them quiet (hopefully). The little girl I nanny for is very smart and has a surprisingly long attention span, so this seemed like a great option for her, especially since she has been traveling a lot lately.

I started to plan. What does she like? Well that is simple: bunnies, cats, birds, flowers, being outside, reading, vegetable garden, arts and crafts, well.. the list really goes on for a while and can change at any time. Since she is about to turn two, I really wanted a book that would include things she liked and would still help her with new skills. She is working on putting her shoes/sandals on, so I wanted to include velcro. To continue with getting dressed/fine motor control, I decided buttons and a zipper would be a good addition (if she likes the quiet book and wants more, I will add buckles). Also, I take her to the aquarium quite often, so I thought fish/ocean animals would make a great addition. With a terribly drawn plan, I started with creating the pages.

***This pattern is meant to be easily adjusted for different sizes and to add items based off your toddler’s interests and skills. Please be advised that some toddlers still put everything in their mouth, so buttons and other small items can be a choking hazard. Recommend age for this book would be 3 years old and up. If you are going to sell finished products, please make sure to comply with state and federal requirements, for children’s toys. ***

I wanted the pages to be thick and sturdy enough. Therefore, I used my go to furl H/5.00mm crochet hook (affiliate link) and worsted weight yarn. To make it thick enough, I held two strands of yarn together. For this book, I used a wide variety of colors, some in just a few yards, so please feel free to adjust size and colors to what you already have! Gauge is not very important, just want pages to be thick and sturdy. 

Materials for Cover, Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, and Back
Size H/5.00mm Crochet Hook
Size E/3.5mm Crochet Hook
Red Heart with Love in Iced Aqua (approx 500 yards for all pages)
Red Heart Soft in Guacamole (approx 130 yards for pages)
Tapestry Needle
Tape Measure
Scissors

Bird: Less than 5 yards of each.
Red Heart with Love in Bubblegum
Red Heart Soft in Pink
Vanna’s Choice in Duckie – Also used for Sun
Red Heart Soft in Black

Bunny:
Red Heart Soft in Chocolate (Less than 10 yards)
Red Heart Soft in Black
Red Heart Soft in White

Balloons and Numbers: Less than 5 yards of each.
Red Heart Soft in Really Red (Red Balloon/Number 1)
Red Heart Super Saver in Pumpkin (Orange Balloon/Number 2)
Vanna’s Choice in Duckie (Yellow Balloon/Number 3)
Caron Simply Soft in Kelly Green (Green Balloon/Number 4)
Vanna’s Choice in Colonial Blue (Blue Balloon/Number 5)
Caron Simply Soft in Royal Blue (Indigo Balloon)
Red Heart Soft in Lilac (Violet Balloon/Number 6)
Sewing Needle/Matching Thread

These are not affiliate links or endorsed by shops, this is just what I found through searching on Etsy and liked. Please feel free to find what works best for your book.
9mm Flower Beads (15 total)
¾” Rainbow Buttons (7 total) 

Little Fish:
Red Heart Soft in Really Red
Red Heart Super Saver in Pumpkin
Vanna’s Choice in Duckie
Red Heart Soft in Guacamole
No snag velcro, with matching needle and thread

Sand:
Red Heart Soft in Honey

Seaweed:
Vanna’s Choice in Kelly Green

Whale:
Light Blue Felt
Blue Zipper
Assortment of blue ribbon
Black Pipe Cleaner or felt (eye)

Instructions:
I started with making the pages first. 
Front cover, Page 1, and Page 2:
With ‘H’ hook and worsted weight yarn. For a total of 3 pages.
Row 1: Holding two strands of iced aqua yarn together, Ch 21, turn, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and in the remaining 19 sts. (20)
Row 2-14: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn, 1 sc in each st across. (20) (8 Rows) Change to two strands of guacamole green in last st of row 14.

I change color in the last SC, before you need to start with the new color. You will complete the SC the same as normal. Insert hook in stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over with new color, and draw through both loops on hook. Now you will be starting the next st with the new color.

                    

Row 15: With green, ch 1, turn, *sc in the next st, spike sc in the next st (one row down, see pictures below)*, repeat from * to * across. (20)

                    

Row 16-26: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in each st across. (20) (11 Rows) Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Measures approx 8” tall and 6.5” across.

Page 3, Page 4, and Back Cover:
With ‘H’ hook and worsted weight yarn. For a total of 3 pages.
Row 1: Holding two strands of iced aqua yarn together, Ch 21, turn, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and in the remaining 19 sts. (20)
Row 2-26: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn, 1 sc in each st across. (20) (25 Rows)  Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Measures approx 8” tall and 6.5” across.

Front Cover Items:
When deciding what to put on the front cover, I started looking around for some ideas on Pinterest and Ravelry. I realized that there are some seriously adorable free patterns already out there, so I decided that I should use some!

First, I found this adorable little bird from, Janet Carrillo of “Damn It Janet, Let’s Crochet!” Check out her blog post here: http://damnitjanetletscrochet.blogspot.com/2012/01/bird-applique.html
Also, for ease of saving the pattern, she has is listed on Ravelry here.
I personally used Red Heart with Love in bubblegum, Red Heart Soft in pink for the wing, Vanna’s Choice in duckie for the beak, and Red Heart Soft in black for a french knot eye. I used ‘E’/3.5mm crochet hook.

Next, was to figure out how else to decorate the ‘sky’ of my page. I found a super cute little rising sun over cloud combination here: https://made-in-craftadise.blogspot.com/2015/05/rising-sun-crochet-pattern.html?spref=pi

As you can tell, I ended up changing my sun, to fit in the corner. However, I just love the pattern of the sun rising over the clouds! If you choose to use this cloud then here are some adorable ideas of animals to put in the ‘grass’.

You should see the adorableness of this applique cat here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cat-applique-2

Also, a seriously cute little fox here: http://krawka.blogspot.ca/2015/08/fox-brooch-free-pattern.html

What I did different for the sun:
With yellow worsted weight yarn and ‘E’ crochet hook
Row 1: Ch 3, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook, sc in the next chain. (2)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn, 2 sc in the next 2 sts. (4)
Row 3: Ch 1, turn, *2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next st*, repeat from * to * one more time. (6)
Row 4: Ch 1, turn, *2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next 2 sts*, repeat from * to * one more time. (8)
Row 5: Ch 1, turn, *2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next 3 sts*, repeat from * to * one more time. (10)
Row 6:  Follow the directions of Made in Craftadise, row 6 (for only 3 sunbeams).

Personalize: I decided to add her name, to the bottom of the front cover, for two reasons.

1. So that she can start recognizing her name and seeing letters.
2.  She will know it is hers and made just for her.

To add her name, I just used a tapestry needle and stitched it on.

Page 1 and 2 Items:
Bunny:
I got the adorable little bunny pattern from Lydia Busek of “Not A Day Without Yarn”, which you can see  here: https://nodaywithoutyarn.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/bunny-applique/.

I love this bunny because it happens to be one of Elliott’s favorite animals and it is in the perfect position to hold all of the balloons!  You can also save this pattern for later, on Ravelry.  For the little bunny, I used my “E” hook and Red Heart soft in chocolate, black, and white.

Balloons:
With worsted weight yarn and “E” crochet hook.
Ch 10, join to first ch with a sl st (creating a ring).
Round 1: Ch 1, sc in the same ch that you joined to, sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, 2 dc in the next 4 chains, hdc in the next ch, sc in the last 2 chains, join to first sc with a sl st. Ch 1, fasten off, leaving a long tail (approx 10”).
Repeat instructions for all balloons, except indigo and violet – instead of fastening off, ch 16, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook, 2 sc in each of the chains back to the balloon. Fasten off and weave in ends. 

Sewing Together:
Using a tapestry needle, sew the bunny on, leaving the ‘hand’ free (will sew down after balloons are added). 

Using needle and thread, sew the buttons onto the page, in desired position. You are only sewing the buttons down, leaving the ‘balloons’ free to fit over the button or be removed from the button. Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue button on the left (page 1) and remaining violet and indigo buttons on the right (page 2). I recommend using the crochet ‘balloon’ as reference, so you can see the position and make sure it fits over the button easily. Once all of the buttons are sewn on, you can tie the strings of the ‘balloons’ together in a knot and then sew the hand of the bunny down, just above the knot.

             

Flowers/Numbers– Using tapestry needle stitch on number 1-6. Using needle and thread (I double my thread, so that it’s thicker), secure end of thread (at the back of page). On the front of page, add the number of flower beads and then secure on other side, at the back of the page. I go between the rows of the page, listed below.

Row 15-16 – Number 1/ 1 Red Flower
Row 17-18 – Number 2/ 2 Orange Flowers
Row 19-20 – Number 3/ 3 Yellow Flowers
Row 21-22 – Number 4/ 4 Green Flowers
Row 23-24 – Number 5/ 5 Blue Flowers
Row 25-26 – Number 6/ 6 Purple Flowers

Page 3 and 4 Items:
Whale: Click the picture of the whale below, which will open into a larger image. Then, you can save and print, as a full-page. Using felt, cut out your whale. Sew the zipper on to the back of the whale, for a ‘mouth’. Due to the zipper that I had, I needed to sew both sides of the zipper closed. Consequently, I had to cut out a space for the zipper.  Although I did not add till later, I recommend sewing the pipe cleaner eye (cut small piece and folded in half) and ribbon onto the whale now (much more difficult to secure later, like I did!). Once the zipper, pipe cleaner, and ribbon are secure, sew the whale on to the page (page 4). Make sure to leave enough open space around the zipper, so there is room for all of the fish to fit.

                       

To make the cute little fish, for the whale to eat, I used Katie Cristy’s small guppy pattern, on her blog “Yarnington”, which can be seen here: http://yarnington.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-pattern-applique-fish.html. 

Follow pattern for small guppy, with E/3.5mm hook and using you choice of colors. I used Red Heart Soft in really red, Red Heart Super Saver in pumpkin, Vanna’s Choice in duckie, and Red Heart Soft in guacamole. 

You can also save this pattern for later, on Ravelry. 

So that the fish can stay on the page, I used velcro. I bought double-sided, no snag, velcro. Cut 8 pieces of velcro (four for page, four for fish), in 1” pieces. Using needle and thread, securely sew the velcro to the page and the back of the little fish, in desired position.

Sand:
With ‘H’ hook and Red Heart Soft in Honey – Make 2, one for each page.
Row 1: Ch 21, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and in each across. (20)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn sc in the first st, *sc in the next st, hdc in the next st, dc in the next 2 sts, hdc in the next st, sc in the next st*, repeat from * to * two more times, sc in the last st. (20) Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing to the page.

Sew onto the very bottom of the page, leaving the top of the sand open. I leave the top open, so that fish can be placed/hidden in the sand.

Seaweed:
With ‘E’ hook and Vanna’s Choice in Kelly Green.
Row 1: Ch 25, sc in 2nd chain from the hook, *sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the next ch*, repeat from * to * 3 more times. (24) (Now should look like first picture below)
Row 2: Ch 19, sc in 2nd chain from the hook, *sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the next ch*, repeat from * to * 2 more times. (18) (Now should look like second picture below)
Row 3: Ch 25, sc in 2nd chain from the hook, *sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the next ch*, repeat from * to * 3 more times. (24) 
Row 4: Ch 31, sc in 2nd chain from the hook, *sc in the next ch, hdc in the next ch, dc in the next 2 chs, hdc in the next ch, sc in the next ch*, repeat from * to * 4 more times. (30)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew to the page, under the sand, in desired position. I continued to sew the seaweed onto the page, leaving only the top unsecured, so that the fish could ‘hide’. 

           

Finishing the Book:
Make sure to weave in or secure all the ends at the back of each page. Line the pages up (cover with page 1, page 2 with page 3, page 4 with back cover), join with a sl st in the bottom corner. Working through both pages, ch 1, sc in the end of each row, around the entire page, doing 3 sc in each corner. Join to first sc, with a sl st, fasten off and weave in ends.

Cut 3 strands of yarn, to be used as binder rings. Pull the strands through the book and tie into bows. Picture to the left, front of the book. Picture to the right, back of the book.

                

**Double check all pieces! All of the items can be choking hazards, so make sure that they are secure. Continue to monitor children, while they are playing with the book. Once again, this quiet book is recommended for children ages 3 and up.

I really hope you like this pattern! I would love to see how you customize it, for your little toddler! Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas for new pages!

Please do not copy, resell, rewrite or redistribute this pattern or any of the pictures as your own. I would love for you to share this page and link to this page. This pattern and all photos from AMK Crochet are copyrighted and cannot be used without written consent. You are responsible for your finished items, please monitor children while playing with items. You may sell finished items made with this pattern, but must include a link back to my blog, www.AMKCrochet.com. Please check with all state and federal regulations, on children’s toys, before selling. 

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