Ribbon Playmat

Quite often we are asked for advice on what to sew for little boys. This Ribbon Playmat is quick and fun to make and guarantees hours of creative play. It also packs up nicely for on-the-go entertainment. Make a note of this one for the next time you are wondering what to make your favorite 5yr old for his (or her!) birthday.

It’s Ribbon Week II. See all the Ribbon Week posts here. This post is generously sponsored by Hart Fabric.


Read on for step-by-step instructions for making your own Ribbon Playmat…

Cut 9 – 8.5×8.5″ squares and arrange them  3 x 3.


Sew each strip of three together end-to-end with right sides facing.

it will look like this.

Iron your seams flat. Some suggest ironing them open but I prefer to iron towards the darker color.

Now sew the three strips together. Normally it would be very important to line up the seams but since they will be covered in the next step, it’s not critical.

Iron your “quilt top” flat.

For the backing I used a piece of decor weight striped fabric cut a few inches larger all around. It made a sturdy mat that didn’t require batting or interfacing, however, You can use either if you wish.

Lay the ribbon down along all 4 intersecting points.

I liked the way it looked to “weave” the ribbon layering. I used some striped ribbon from my stash but this narrower striped ribbon from Hart would work well. Maybe in a double row!


Pin the ribbon and all layers in place well. Sew along both sides of each piece of ribbon. Invisible thread worked really well for this project. If you have a walking foot, it wouldn’t hurt to use it for this.


Trim your piece down to a perfect square.


Sew bias tape all the way around the outside of the mat. Here is a refresher on sewing bias tape.


Your mat is finished. Let’s add a strap closure.


Fold up your mat by folding in in thirds vertically .


And then in thirds horizontally.


Then roll it up loosely and wrap a piece of ribbon around. Cut your length of ribbon. I kept my pretty tight but if you want to store more cars and blocks inside, you can do a looser strap with a longer, adjustable strip of Velcro closure.


Fold over the end and sew the hooks (scratchy side) to the wrong side of the strap.


Fold over the other end and sew the loops (soft side) to the right side of the strap.


the strap will look like this…


wrap the strap around and pin in place on the opposite site of the velcro.


Sew the strap in place with back stitches at the beginning and end to secure.


When open, the back of your mat will look like this…


Closed it will look like this…


And now you are ready to play!


When it’s time to clean up, you can even tuck a few cars or blocks inside for safe keeping.

* Matchbox style cars are designed for children 3+

SPONSORED BY:

www.hartsfabric.com

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5 Comments

Emiko F

Great idea for a little boy! Maybe I can add a some blue ric rac a couple of squares as little river.

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Nancy Saccoccio

So many great possibilities! With all the fantastic fabrics- The zoo, playground, jungle, city, town, beach, mountains, etc. Why not have a fabric swap!!!

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