How to make a quilted play mat

Sew the perfect quilted play mat for tummy time with Kate Webber’s free tutorial! Gather up all your playful print fabrics and turn them into Kate’s sweet sunshine design then gift it to a deserving new mum. To make your playmat extra colourful why not use some contrast print fabrics to make your playmat double-sided? Double the fun for new babies. To make your playmat extra comfy back it with cuddly plush fabric. You could even make a matching baby comforter or a sweet baby mobile.

Before you start sewing Kate’s quilted playmat head over to our quilting for beginners which is full of top tips and quilting advice. If you’re in the market for a new machine check out our best sewing machine for quilting. Now it’s over to Kate for her tutorial…

You will need

• Fabric A (centre) ⅞yd
• Fabric B (petals) 1yd
• Backing fabric (60in wide plush) 1½ yds
• Batting: 60in square
• Basting spray (optional) or safety pins

Finished Size

44in x 38in

Notes

• Seam allowances are ½in, unless otherwise noted.
• Press fabrics well before cutting.
• RST = right sides together.
• WOF = width of fabric.

Fabrics Used

Fabric A is Forest Friends in Light Grey from the Under the Stars collection by Dashwood Studio.

Fabric B is Twist in Honey, also by Dashwood Studio.

Backing Fabric is Smooth Plush in Graphite.

How to make a quilted play mat

Cutting Out

Step 1

From the centre fabric cut:

 One (1) 31in x 27in. Along the top and bottom, mark 7¾in from each corner. Also mark 13½in from the bottom. Draw a line between these marks to make a hexagon and cut off the corners (Fig 1).

Step 2

From the petal fabric cut:

Six (6) 16in x 10½in.

Step 3

From the backing fabric cut:

•  One (1) 31in x 27in. Mark and trim as in step 1.
• Six (6) 16in x 10½in.

Step 4

From the batting cut:

• One (1) 35in x 31in.
• Six (6) 18in x 12½in.

Quilting the centre

Step 1

Lay the centre hexagon right side up on top of the large batting rectangle. Spray or pin baste in place. Quilt as desired. Trim the excess batting even with the fabric.

Making the Petals

Step 1

Repeat the process outlined in step 5 to layer, baste, quilt and trim the six 16in x 10½in rectangles as desired, taking the petal shape into consideration.

Step 2

To shape the rectangles into petals, mark the centre on the top long edge, and along each side mark 3½in up from the bottom. Connect the marks and cut the corners off (Fig 2).

Step 3

Repeat step 7 to trim the plush rectangles so that the nap runs towards the flat base of the petals.

Step 4

Layer each quilted petal with a plush petal right sides together. Stitch with a ½in seam around four sides, leaving the base unsewn. Trim the seams to ¼in and turn the petals right side out.

Step 5

Topstitch around the entire perimeter of each petal, ¼in from the edge (Fig A).

Assembling the playmat

Step 1

Lay out the quilted hexagon centre right side up. Align the raw edges at the base of each petal with each side of the hexagon, ensuring they are centred along each side (Fig B). Pin or baste in place, then stitch the petals to the hexagon with a ¼in seam allowance.

Step 2

Leaving the petals folded into the centre, place the plush hexagon on top of the play mat, right side down (Fig C). Stitch around all the sides of the hexagon, leaving a turning gap on one side. Trim the corners and turn the play mat right side out.

Step 3

Slipstitch the turning gap closed and topstitch around the edge of the hexagon to finish.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to sew a quilted play mat! For more quilting projects check out our free english paper piecing templates and our foundation paper piecing patterns round up.