Monday, August 29, 2011

Make-It-Monday: Take-Along Car/Transportation Play Mat

Looking for something you can toss in the diaper bag and pull out in waiting rooms or restaurants to entertain your toddler?  I saw a neat idea for a Kids Car Game on Pinterest, and put my own little spin on it.  Here is what I came up with (I made 2 different sizes):


All rolled up and ready to go!

Ready to play.  There are 6 pockets on the larger mat and 5 pockets on the smaller mat.  I plan on putting cars in most of the pockets, and maybe some small yield, stop, or other traffic signs in a pocket.

TUTORIAL:
Sorry, there are no pictures, but it is a pretty easy project so hopefully you'll be able to figure it out.  You can use whatever dimensions you'd like, but I'll share with you the dimensions for the larger playmat just to give you an idea.  I will probably make a few more of these and will try to remember to take pictures to update this with.
Material you need:
* 15"x20" piece of material with cars and roads on it (I found this at Walmart).  You could sew on your own roads/landmarks using scraps or felt.
*15" x 20" piece of coordinating fabric
*15" x 20" felt or filler material
*15" x 5" piece of coordinating fabric for the pocket
*4 - 15" x 3" strips of coordinating fabric for the ties (this was probably a little long.... 11"x3" should be fine)

Directions:
*Fold each of the four strips in half lengthwise (right sides together).  Pin or iron and sew a 1/4" seam allowance around one short side and the long side (leaving the one short side open for turning).  Turn and press.  Repeat for all four strips.  You know have your four ties.
*Place cars fabric on top of felt (right side facing up).  Place the pocket material (wrong side down, right side facing up) on top of the cars fabric (lining it up at the bottom).  Pin everything in place.
*Mark vertical lines along the pocket material at even intervals (or as even as you can get it, accounting for seam allowances.  I used 2 3/4", 5 1/4", 7 3/4", 10 1/4", 12 3/4").  Sew along the vertical lines (going  through all three layers).
*Pin the ties where you want them along the top (open side towards the top, and the rest should hang down towards the pocket... it's the opposite of how you think it should go, but remember you are going to flip the material).  Baste the ties in place.
*Place the coordinating piece of fabric on top of the cars fabric (right sides together).
*Sew around outside, leaving room to turn.
*Turn and stitch (whip stitch, blind stitch, or even machine stitch if you wish) opening closed
*Stuff pockets with cars and trucks and enjoy!

1 comment:

Sydney's Mommy said...

these look super cute Jess!