Make your own Nap Mat

School is back in session! And if you haven't run out & spent $60 on a nap mat for your toddler, read this first! Lindsay recently inspired me to save the cash & make my own nap mat for my oldest daughter, Addi. I figured that if she could crank out 3 mats in 3 days, surely I could muster the talent for 1.

Here are Lindsay's. Super cute, right?!!

So here we go...all per Lindsay's instructions...
First, buy your materials. Lindsay, being the genius that she is, figured out that if you buy your materials in these measurements, you won't have to make any cuts. That's GREAT news for me!

I bought:

3/4 yard of material for the front
3/4 yard of a different material for the back
1/3 yard of material for the pillow (my pillow is the same material as the back)
3/4 yard of filling (the cotton batting on the roll)
1 small bag of batting for the pillow
1 yard of strap for the handle and ties
velcro
total cost: $24
Before sewing, I had the back (or outside) material monogrammed so that once the mat was rolled up, the name would be visible. It took some extra time & measurements to figure out exactly where the name should be. My monogram is about 15 inches from the seam.
Start with the pillow. Fold your material in half (inside out). That will create your first seam. Easy enough, right? Then sew the top seam & half of the other side seam (leaving room to later stuff the pillow). Flip your material right-side out. The 4th (bottom) seam will be sewn together in the next step.
Next, line up ALL of your 3/4 yd materials + your newly sewn (& flipped) pillow in this order, from bottom to top:
filling material
back material
pillow (with the 4th seam towards the edge)
front material
*remember to face the print side of your materials towards each other.
*if you had your back material monogrammed, the name should be at the other end.
Sew your seam, leaving enough room unsown that you can later flip it right-side out. Sew both sides seams as well.
Before sewing the bottom seam, make 2 tabs (using velcro & strap). Place them velcro-side up on the back material. Sew your bottom (and final) seam.
Flip everything right-side out. Your tabs and pillow should now be on the outside. Stuff your pillow & then whipstitch both of your openings.

Make 2 more velcro tabs, roll up your mat (to see where to place 'em) & sew them to the outside of your mat.
And your LAST step...create a handle with your remaining strap. It should be right above your monogram. From the front side, my stitches look like this. Far from perfect but it works.
Here are pictures of my mat when rolled out.
The front...
and back...
And here it is rolled up...

A HUGE thanks to Lindsay for sharing her nap mat wisdom with me!! I can now spend that extra cash on something else.. maybe something for me!

I'm linked up to..

Sew Much Ado

It's so Very Cheri

Night Owl Crafting