How to Make an easy DIY Coloring Book for Kids

Did you know you can sew on paper? Creating custom DIY coloring books for party favors or just to have on hand for the kids is easy and fun! All you need is a sewing machine and thread to make the binding. You can also create personalized coloring books the easy way – with a simple stapler.

I’m excited to be sharing a project for the Summery Umbrella once again! I’m Kimberly, from Bugaboo Creates. Over on my blog I share all the creative endeavors I take on – solo as well as with my family. I love to DIY nearly anything and am always up for learning new crafts. I always love to involve my kids, and this DIY coloring book is certainly a great project for doing just that!

Making personalized machine-sewn DIY coloring books for kids is a super fast project to whip up. You can make them on a snowy day for a fun creative project at home. Make them ahead of time and keep them on-hand for those “I’m bored” moments! These DIY coloring books also make great party favors and a simple activity to keep a group busy. Even better, since there’s only one straight line of stitching, your kids can easily help sew these up themselves, making them even more memorable and fun to do! I’ll also show you an even easier way to make these books that doesn’t include sewing at all.

different bindings for DIY coloring book

How to Create Custom DIY Machine-Sewn Coloring Books

What you need:

Computer Paper
Printer
Paper Cutter
Sewing Machine and Thread
A Denim Sewing Machine Needle
Stapler
Washi Tape
Scissors
SVG files of your choice. I used: Rather Be a Unicorn, Don’t Quit Your Daydream, Spread Your Wings, There Are Flowers Everywhere, The World is But a Canvas, Sweet Tweet, Fish on a Bicycle. There are so many others too!

Instructions:

Design a cover for your custom coloring book in your word processor. Make sure that it’s only half a page, as that’s the size coloring book we’re making. Print out your covers and use a paper cutter to cut them to the right size.

Download your svg files and open them in a word processor. Resize them so they each fit half of a page. You can then place two svg files on each page. Print them out. Use the paper cutter to cut them in half.

kids coloring pages for DIY coloring book

How to Sew Your Coloring Book Binding

Once they are cut, you will line them up along the left side of the papers. Then, just stick them in your sewing machine and sew a straight (as straight as you can) line of stitches down the edge.

how to create coloring book binding with sewing machine

A note about sewing: You’ll want to use a denim needle to make sure it’s nice and strong to go through the paper. Make sure the paper is regular paper, not card stock. You should be able to sew up to 20 pages this way.

The particular stitch you choose to use is really up to you. A decorative stitch adds a nice, fun touch. ZigZag is a good stitch to use. Just make sure that your stitches are long, so adjust the stitch length to over 2.0 before you start sewing. If your stitches are too close together, you’ll perforate the paper and it will rip.

Create Your Binding with a Stapler

If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can still make a custom coloring book for your kids! You’ll just do it the old fashioned way. Line up your pages. Staple down the left edge.

how to create coloring book binding with stapler

Lay your washi tape on the front of the coloring book along the staples, making sure that the tape overhangs the edge a bit.

Now, flip your book over and lay your washi tape along the back of the staples, joining the tape together where it hangs over the edge of the book.

Lastly, trim the ends of the tape off. And that’s all you have to do to create a custom coloring book! The tape adds a pretty element and keeps the staples covered so little fingers are protected!