Family Home and Life: Toddler Playmat

Here is a quick and easy play mat that folds into an attached pocket with a handle for carrying. It?s sort of a quillow; quilt pillow, but made as a play mat instead.?Open, it is a rectangle about 35 inches by 43 inches finished.

I started with picking out the background fabric, and then found a fabric I liked for the road and purchased a yard of each. Thin batting or any fabric (I used flannel) added in the middle gives it more body and structure, but you don't need it. I purchased 1 1/2 yds for the backing. The strapping for the handle was 2/3 of a yard; but you could use leftover fabric?to make your handle. At home I sketched out a plan for the roadway and the buildings. I chose the easiest and fastest way I could think of to?mark out the roads. I taped two pieces of chalk to a piece of plastic canvas (because it?s the first thing I saw when I was looking for something to use) that would hold them at the same distance apart so I could chalk my lines on to the fabric. It worked great!

I cut the roadway out, adjusted it on my background fabric and basted it on. I turned the edges of the roadway fabric under as I stitched; a zig zag stitch without turning it under would work too. Later I wished I had laid the roadway fabric onto the background fabric, stitched on the chalk lines then cut the excess away. That would have been really fast!

I looked through my fabrics and found pieces for the buildings, cut the shapes and stitched them into place as I went using a tight zig zag stitch. I added a blue satin for a pond, satin stitched lines for driveways, added bushes and trees, and a farmyard of sorts. I cut my backing fabric down to 1 yard, and then stitched backing fabric and middle fabric together going around outside edges. Then from the leftover backing piece I cut a pocket 13 inches by 13 with seam allowance added; ? inch on?each side. You may want to use a double thickness of fabric for the pocket or reinforce it with interfacing for added strength since the handle will be attached to the pocket not the play mat. ?Press the seam allowance down around the pocket, sew one edge over.

Stitch the pocket onto the backing fabric 12 inches in on each side of the 36 inch side (or centered),?with the finished edge open to the outer edge of the play mat; double stitch for added strength.

For the handle, decide how long you want it to be, mine was about 16 inches, and sew it just inside the pocket opening onto the pocket about 2-3 inches in from the edges.

Now you need to fold the mat up to find the correct placement of the loop the handle goes through. (figure B & C) ?With pocket side on the bottom, fold mat into thirds. Fold pocket up, then fold opposite end over three times and stuff into pocket. Smooth out where needed. Where the handle meets the top fold is where you need to sew the loop the handle will go through. Mark placement (figure D), unfold and sew loop flat, about 6-7 inches long, onto the back of the mat.

Place the backing and the finished play surface, right sides together, (figure A above) and stitch around all sides leaving an opening for turning at the pocket area. Turn right side out through opening, press and stitch around outside edge to secure. Close up opening by machine or hand. You can hand stitch in a couple of places through all layers to keep them stable, or even do a little quilting if you like. I was in a hurry :)

The pocket can also be used as a carry bag for the toy cars.

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