Sewing a Playmat

Last summer I took a short trip to Guatemala.  One of the highlights was a shopping trip to the market at Chichicastenango.  I ended up buying an array of woven items.  This36" by 30" cloth was one of my favorite acquisitions:

I decided to make a playmat for the-sweetest-little-girl-I-know. This is how I did it:

I prewashed the fabric.  In retrospect, I should have run a basting stitch along the fringed ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought some polar fleece to use for the bottom layer of the mat. The name given to this shade of blue was "parakeet".  That was the deciding factor in my final selection.  I used run-of-the-mill polyester quilt batting for the middle layer.  

 

 

 

 

 

The fabric should be laid out in this sequence:

The batting should be on the bottom.  The middle layer is the polar fleece.  The top layer is the featured fabric, wrong side up.

 

 

 

 

 

I sewed around the perimeter of the three layers using ten stitches to the inch. Leave an opening six or so inches long to turn the mat right side out. It was important to have the featured fabric on top in order to keep an eye on the selvedge, which was irregular as many handwoven fabrics are.

 

 

 

 

Turn the mat right side out.  Whip stitch the opening closed.  Topstitch around the edges of the mat leaving an inch and a half border. Then I sewed across the mat creating channel.  The quilting is done to prevent the batting from shifting.

There should be quite a few loose threads.  Let's deal with them properly. Pictured above are the loose threads.  On the right, the threads have been tugged so they are both on the back. Knot the threads.

Thread a needle with the hanging threads and run it between the layers of fabric.  Trim the threads and give the fabric a tug so the ends are buried in the layers of the mat.  Repeat about a dozen times and you will be rewarded with a project with no loose ends.  I am always surprised when I watch sewing segments on TV and see the crafter snip the threads and leave ugly little ends exposed all over the place.

 

 

 

Here is the completed project.  My favorite little model was unavailable, so I used this vintage baby doll.  I love her, but the rest of my family describe her as being, well... a little creepy.  But I'm happy with the mat.

 

Comments

[Becky]

Nice job!

[Rachel]

That's super cute, I love the woven pattern! I just clicked over from your felted pumpkin feature on Craft Gossip. I can't wait to try that! I love your technique for making a bunch at once! I'll be linking as well. Enjoy your weekend!

[Vicki]

I LOVED the Knox Fiber Festival but must admit to bringing the disinterested DH AND the twins' double wide!!!! Oh, what I would have given for 15 solo minutes to touch and buy yarn...oh well, that is where little Joe learned the word "goat" so it was all worth it.