Home >> Toys >> Childrens Toys

How to Make a Child's Play Mat

Give your child a good reason to turn off the television and dive into his imagination with a play mat that features its own town, complete with roads and buildings. Make the play mat yourself to save a lot of money with a few cuts of fabric, some fabric paint and a little bit of your imagination. The play mat is easily transported for outdoor play, to a loved one's house to keep your child entertained or even to his friend's house for a play date.

Things You'll Need

1.5 yards of plain white cotton fabric
Fabric markers
Fabric paint
Paintbrushes
1.5 yards of heavier cotton fabric
Straight pins
Sewing machine
Iron

Instructions

- 1
  Draw a town with buildings, roads, playgrounds and lakes on one side of the white fabric with fabric markers. Let the child do the drawing if you are not making this play mat as a gift to get her involved. Fill in the outline of the town with fabric paint. Let the fabric dry completely, which usually takes as least two hours.
- 2
  Place the white fabric and the heavier cotton fabric together with the drawing and the print side of the fabric facing each other. Pin the fabric pieces together with straight pins along all four edges.
- 3
  Sew along all four edges of the fabric with a 1/2-inch inseam, leaving a 6-inch opening in the middle of one of the edges. Remove the pins as you sew before they go under the needle to prevent breaking a needle.
- 4
  Turn the play mat right side out and press all the seams flat. Flip in 1/2 an inch of the raw edges along the 6-inch opening and press them. Stitch around all four edges of the play mat 1/4 inch in from the edge to sew the 6-inch opening closed and hold the seams flat.

Childrens Toys