Roll Up Baby Playmat

Tummy time starts within the first few months of your child's life. You place your child on his or her tummy on the floor so they can strengthen their muscles and eventually learn to roll over. Create a simple play mat to put down on the floor to protect your baby from dirt and germs during tummy time. As your child gets older the play mat will give them a clean place to sit and play with toys. Best of all, the play mat rolls up so it is easily stashed in the diaper bag for play time on the go.

What you need

Quilter’s cotton fabric
Ruler
Scissors
Ribbon
Straight pins
Sewing machine
Iron

Instructions

1. Measure and cut 25 6 1/2-inch squares of fabric and a 30-inch square of fabric.

 2. Divide the 6 1/2-inch squares of fabric into five piles of five squares each. Sew each pile of squares into a strip by sewing the squares together side-by-side with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

 3. Sew the strips of squares together with a 1/4-inch seam allowance along the long edges to form a large square. The large square will be a 5-by-5 grid of all the smaller squares.

 4. Measure and cut two foot-long pieces of 1-inch-wide ribbon.

 5. Place the 30-inch square of fabric and the pieces together square of fabric together with the right sides facing each other. Line up the ends of the two pieces of ribbon you cut. Place the two pieces of ribbon between the two squares 6 inches in from one corner so the ends of the ribbon are flush with the edge of the fabric. Pin the two pieces of fabric together along the edges and the ribbons in place between them.

 6. Sew along all four edges of the two squares with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Leave a 6-inch opening in the middle of one of the edges. Turn the play mat right side out through the 6-inch opening.

 7. Fold the raw edges of the fabric in a 1/2-inch along the 6-inch opening. Iron these folds and the rest of the four edges of the play mat.

 8. Top stitch along all four sides of the play mat with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Use a decorative stitch for the top stitch to give the play mat an added decorative touch.

 9. Lay the play mat out flat with the ribbon strips coming out of the top edge. Fold the play mat in half left to right. Fold it in half again in the same direction. Roll the play mat up from the bottom to the top. Wrap the ribbon strips around the rolled up play mat and tie them in a bow to make the play mat easy to pack in the diaper bag.