2 in 1: Drawstring bag and play mat–An easy tutorial

Our little neighbor turned 4 last week. He is a huge fan of cars. I think he owns several dozen toy cars. Last year I made this quilt (reversible play mat) for him:



I had plenty of the backing left and made a portable playmat for him this year. When visiting his grandparents he loves taking some tons of toy cars with him. I thought that an unfoldable drawstring bag would be a great idea and came up with this:



A giant drawstring bag that doubles up as a playmat when unfolded:



As it was really easy to do, I took some photos along the way so you can make your own – for little neighbors, sons, grandsons, nephews, etc. You get my point (o;

1. You will need two squares of fabrics: with a length equal to the width of fabric (approx. 42”). Draw a circle by pinning a strip of fabric (or a selvage) to the middle of the square and attaching a fabric marker at the other end of that strip.



2. Cut out these giant circles.



3. Sew a 1/2 – 3/8” buttonhole onto the outer fabric. Around 3-4” away from the edge. Open the buttonhole with your seam ripper.



4. Lay out the fabric circles right sides together and sew all around them – leaving a small opening through which you turn it inside out.

5. Sew close to the edge all around the circle and shut the opening at the same time.

6. Make the tunnel for the drawstring and sew twice around the circle. Starting at the right and afterwards at the left side of that buttonhole.



If you look closely you can see my seams in the picture below.



7. Put in your drawsting and sew those ends of the drawstring together so that the drawstring completely sinks into the tunnel. That way the child won’t stumble over it when playing.



And that’s it. You’re done.

I made a matching little drawstring bag for him to take some toy cars to a restaurant – he can’t always drag around dozens, can he?!



Happy Weekend everyone!
Christine