Quick Clean-up Mat

Cleaning up toys can be such a hassle sometimes, so I set out to create a mat that could turn in to a bag or easily pick up items. I had seen similar concepts on the internet, but I wanted to make something that would be made out of material that I could easily acquire and something I could sew (relatively) fast.

• 12 free hours of your time (may differ based on skill level)
• 18 in Ruler
• Scissors (Pinking shears and Fabric cutting scissors)
• 92 5x5 in squares
• Sewing machine
• Old bed sheet
• Circle circumference calculator (your brain is good too)
• Paracord String (available at any craft store or home depot)
• Pins
• Iron
• Safety pins

1: Depending on your availability, cut or buy 92 5x5 in squares of cloth (I cut them because I have a ton of fabric I wanted to unload)

2: Iron squares. Skipping this step is fine if you are short on time.

3: Exclude the 4 corners on the ends because you will turn this into a circle. My finished design was 9x9 squares and then there were rows of 1x7 on each edge. (see picture)

4: Putting rights sides facing down along an entire row an pin them. Sew one long stitch down til you reach the end. DO NOT SEW BACKWARDS! After cutting it, it should look like a banner.

5: Repeat step 4 for all the rows, still stitching one long stitch. 2 sides of the square should not be stitched.

6: Once you have finished stitching long ways, cut the seams between each square.

7: Iron the seams facing open.

8: Pin and sew the rows of squares together.

9: Iron seams facing out.

10: Using an old sheet, cut a square a bit larger than your patchwork.

11.Using a 18in ruler, chalk and a pencil make makeshift compass. Put the pencil in the middle of your cloth and line the ruler up to it. Then keeping the ruler by the pencil go all the way around marking each spot with chalk. Draw the lines together to make a circle. Place onto of your patchwork and use it as a guide to cut a similar circle.

12: Find the circumference by multiplying r*2*π or use a online circumference calculator. Convert your answer to feet by dividing by 12. Mine was about 9 1/2 feet.

13: Cut 2 4in x(in my case 4 1/4 ft, just half circumference that you got in previous step) and cut 2 4x6 rectangles.

14: Fold and Sew end seams on all four rectangles previously cut.

15: Take 1 of the longest strips and iron it in half. Stitch together. Leave about 2 inches of unsewed area on the edges. Repeat with 2nd strip.

16: Attach your Paracord string to a safety pin. Using the safety pin, bunch up your fabric and pull through until you reach the end.

17: Use a cold iron to push the paracord to the edge of the fabric pin every 6 in or so.

18: Align your circles with right sides facing together. Insert the strips on both sides with the seam your did in step 15 facing out. Where the strip ends, place the smaller strip of fabric inside the area you didn't sew and between the two circles. (See photo) Pin everything together.

19: Stitch everything together! Leave a 3 inch opening. Since it was such a big thing, I stitched about 1/4 of the way, reinforced my stitch and checked to make sure everything looked good by flipping it right sides out.

20: Flip out. Fix any mistakes that you can see.

21: Iron the edges and fold open seams down.

22: Increase your stitch length then sew all the way around. Be sure to back stitch.

23: Tie paracord ends together and test your project!

And finally, some the pictures I took when my doggo decided that this was going to be her new bed: