Thursday, April 5, 2012

Toy Car Mat - Tutorial


Earlier this year I made this toy car mat for a friend's little boy's third birthday. It was a great success and I got lots of lovely feedback so I thought I'd share the tutorial so you can make one too!

They are really great because they roll up quite small and can be taken anywhere, so whenever you need your little one to be entertained, you an pull this mat out and they are kept busy!

You need:

1 piece exterior fabric 50 x 30cm (20" x 12")
1 piece interior fabric 50 x 30cm (20" x 12")
1 piece car pocket fabric 50 x 20cm (20" x 8")
60cm (23") of wide black ribbon for road
50cm (20") ribbon for tie
black and yellow thread for road stitching
basic sewing tools and equipment

(Recently I made a couple of these for some friends of my Mum - I made them at the same time so throughout this tutorial the interior fabric in the photos will change between stars and spots!)


To start, press all your fabrics. Take your car pocket fabric, fold it in half to make dimensions of 50 x 10, and press.

Take your black ribbon for the road, pin it across the interior fabric about 15cm (6") from the top.


Stitch into place down each side with black thread.


Change your thread to yellow, set your straight stitch to the longest setting, and stitch down the middle of the ribbon to make it look 'road' like.


Take the pocket fabric and position along the bottom of your interior fabric, with the folded edge at the top and the raw edges aligning. Measure and pin every 7cm (2.75") to mark the pockets where your cars will 'park'.


Sew pockets at each 7cm (2.75") interval , finishing at the top of the pocket fabric and reversing to secure the end of the stitch.


Take the ribbon you are using as a tie and position it above the road with the fold of the ribbon on the raw edge of the fabric. Place the exterior fabric on top so rights sides are together. Pin ribbon in place.


Pin fabric together.


Mark a 10cm (4") gap to be left open for turning.


Sew around all edges with a 1cm (1/2") seam allowance.


Pull fabric through the gap you left and push corners out.


Fold gap seams under and press all edges. Topstitch all the way around the mat.


To pack away, place cars in the pockets, fold up and then again (so mat is folded into 3) and tie up with the ribbon.


 You are done! Grab your toy cars and the mat is ready to play.


If you make one please share it over at the Sew Delicious flickr pool!

10 comments:

  1. Great tutorial, Ros and small enough to pack into Mum's bag.

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  2. I am loving this, Roslyn. Thanks for sharing. Your tutorials are wonderful, and I will definitely keep this one in mind for present ideas for my nephews and my own bubba boy (when he is a little older). :)

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  3. Oh this is a super cute present idea. Great tutorial too:)

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  4. Thanks for posting this, it looks like the little girl is having a grand old time playing with it. If you ever find giant black rickrack, the road would be even more fun.

    I also like that you've posted the tutorial without the "for boys" title. It's nice to remember that most girls will grow up to be drivers, too.

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  5. Hi Ros, I've featured your Toy Car Mat tutorial today...
    http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/04/threading-your-way-features_21.html

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  6. This is amazing. This is so nice. The kids will have so fun with this.

    Car Trailers For Sale

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  7. Thank you so much for this tutorial.I found it whilst looking for a pattern for a peg bag, but as usual the desire to make my little girl something overtook the practical!I made mine in one morning, and now have a very happy 4 year old!I would send a photo but she won't stop playing with it!Thanks again, Marcia in UK.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Marcia, thanks so much for leaving a comment and letting me know about your project!! I love hearing about it when people use one of my tutorials, it really makes my day. So glad your little girl loves it!

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  8. Nice, Great to know about this trick. You gave a great idea.

    Thank you :)

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