Made It: Take-along car mats

IMG_2051, a photo by db By Design on Flickr.

Here are the take-along/travel car mats.  So far the boys love them! Hunter likes to drive on the roads and Jackson likes to put the car in and out of the pockets. I think as they get a little older they'll like them even more.

How to: 

CUT:

2 pieces of fabric and 1 piece of heavy weight interfacing 18" by 11"

1 piece of fabric 9" by 11", then fold in half hot dog style

one piece velcro 2" long

fabric or ribbon pieces for road:

  2 pieces: 1 1/4" by 14"

  3 pieces: 1 1/4" by 8 1/2"

Arrange the roads onto one of the main pieces of fabric. (On the yellow one I also sewed the roads to the interfacing at the same time.) I used a glue stick to hold the roads in place and then zigzagged all the way around them. The two longer roads will go an inch or sew under the pockets. I also did a straight stitch in yellow down the middle of all the roads to mimic the yellow line on real streets. 

Line up the pocket piece edges with the edges of the fabric that you just sewed your roads onto. Mark a line down the center, and a line on either side of it that is 2.5" away from the center line. Sew the pockets on over the drawn lines. (On the yellow one I free stitched numbers on the pockets BEFORE sewing it to the main fabric.) 

Next place the soft velcro piece next to the outer road (see picture). Again I used a glue stick to hold it in place until I sewed it. Sew it on. :)

Then sandwich everything together (your roads piece, interfacing, and the backing piece, all pieces right side out - how you want it to be finished. Then start to fold it up, turning the pockets in first. When you fold over the last fold, mark where the velcro is and glue the scratchy side of velcro where it meets the soft side so you know where to sew it on. Take that back piece off and sew the velcro on.

Now place the back piece on top of the roads piece, right sides together. If you haven't sewn the interfacing in yet, place it on top of the back piece, so it's on the outside of the sandwich. Now sew around the entire thing, leaving a 2" opening on one side, using a 1/2" seam allowance. Clip the corners and turn right side out.

Poke out the corners and flatten it nicely, sew around the entire mat close to the edges, sewing the opening closed. And you are finished! Enjoy!

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me. If you have a no-reply account, I'll answer your questions in the comments, so be sure to check back.

I'd love to see your pictures if you end up making this!! :) If you're on flickr, you can add your photos to my flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/fromblankpages/

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