This on-the-go changing mat is so simple to make it's a perfect project for beginner's. Choose your own colours and patterns of fabric to make it personal to you, or to give as a great practical gift for anyone who has a baby or toddler.
How to sew an on-the-go changing mat
Keep baby clean and fresh with this easy-make changing mat, which uses both ultra-soft toweling and wipe-clean oilcloth to give two changing surfaces that will allow you to deal with whatever life throws at you! The mat can be folded up and secured with snap fasteners, so you can stow it away in your diaper (nappy) bag or attach it to your stroller.
YOU WILL NEED
- 8 x 22½ in. (20 x 57 cm) solid pink cotton fabric
- 16 x 24 in. (40 x 60 cm) oilcloth
- 17½ x 25½ in. (44 x 64 cm) white toweling
- 16 x 24 in. (40 x 60 cm) quilt batting (wadding)
- 4 snap fasteners
- Coordinating thread
- Sewing machine
- Tefl on foot
- Iron
- Dressmaking scissors
- Pins
SIZE
16 x 20 in. (40 x 60 cm)
PATTERN NOTE
Take a 3⁄8-in. (1-cm) seam allowance throughout, unless otherwise stated.
PATTERN PIECES REQUIRED
None
1 Cut the pink cotton into two 4 x 22½ -in. (10 x 57-cm) strips and pin them right sides together. Stitch together along one short edge and both long edges, leaving one short edge unstitched. Snip off the corners, turn right side out, and press. Select a longer stitch (1⁄8 in./3 mm) on your sewing machine and topstitch around the three seamed edges of the pink strip, ¼ in. (5 mm) from the edge.
TIP To make a larger changing mat simply increase the fabric amounts, ensuring that there is an additional ¾ in. (2 cm) of toweling backing all around.
2 Place the oilcloth right side up on top of the batting (wadding). Place the unstitched edge of the pink strip in the center of one of the short edges of the oilcloth, aligning the raw edges, and pin in place. Attach a Teflon foot to your machine and set your stitch length back to normal. Stitch all around, stitching through all layers, to secure the pink strip in place.
3 With wrong sides together, center the oilcloth on top of the toweling, leaving an even ¾-in. (2-cm) border of toweling all around. Fold the toweling over the oilcloth, tuck under the raw edges, and pin in place. Neatly miter the corners and pin to secure. Select a longer stitch (1⁄8 in./3 mm) on your sewing machine. Holding the pink strip away from the stitching lines, topstitch around the mat ¼ in. (5 mm) from the folded edge of the toweling.
4 Lay the pink strip down the center of the mat. Stitch one half of two snap fasteners 2¾ in. (7 cm) down from the edge that’s caught under the toweling backing, positioning one on each side of the pink strip.
TIP If you don’t have a Teflon foot, which is designed to glide over fabrics such as oilcloth, you can prevent your standard foot from getting stuck by placing a piece of baking parchment on top of the oilcloth before you stitch. The foot will glide easily over the baking parchment and you can carefully rip off the paper once the seams have been stitched.
5 With the toweling side uppermost, fold the two long side edges in toward the center. Fold the bottom edge up by one-third, then fold it up again. Bring the pink strip around the folded mat, then attach the other halves of the snap fasteners to the underside of the pink strip to correspond with the snaps attached in step 4.
Finishing Snip away all remaining thread ends and press to neaten.