car mat

When I first saw this Riley Blake fabric (My Minds Eye – Wheels in Brown and White), I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I’ve seen other car rolls before, but this fabric just screamed “Wouldn’t a nice young boy (or girl) love to drive their cars on me???”.  So here’s a super simple car roll and mat.  (Note: I did not receive any compensation for using/mentioning Riley Blake fabrics – but I’ve got to say, who wouldn’t want to use it?)

car mat

The roll/mat holds 6 Matchbox sized cars.  The pocket size allows for various shapes of cars (trucks, SUVs, and of course, race cars).  It rolls up to approximately 5″h x 3.5″ in diameter, depending on the size of cars you pack in there.  The open mat measures  28 3/4″ x 17″.  This allows for enough room for two kids (I mean drivers) to play without getting too many traffic jams.

car mat

car mat

What you’ll need:

2 30″ x 18″ pieces of fabric, interfaced
1 10″ x 18″ piece for the pockets
small elastic hair band
button
Water soluble fabric pen

car mat

Oh, yeah, don’t forget the cars!

OK….. let’s make this!

car mat

Fold the pocket piece in half, wrong sides together, so that it’s now 5″ x 18″ and iron flat.

car mat

With right sides together, pin pocket piece to the mat piece (with the roads), raw edges together, on the left side of the mat.

car mat

Baste around the outer edge as close to the edge as possible.  (No more than 1/4″.)  This is your pocket. for the cars.

car mat

Mark the pockets:  Using a water soluble fabric marker, mark 3/4″ in from both edges of the pocket.  You will not sew these lines, they’re just for placement.

Starting at these lines, mark 6 pockets with 2 3/4″ between them.  (You should find you have exactly enough room for 6 pockets and the 3/4″ extra on both ends.)

car mat

Sew the 5 lines that create the pockets. (Don’t sew the lines that are 3/4″ from the edges.)

car mat

Baste an elastic loop roughly 4″ from the top right corner of the mat.  Lay it so that it’s on the mat piece and not sticking up off the fabric.

car mat

Pin the mat to the back piece, right sides together.

car mat

Sew around with a 3/8″ seam, leaving an opening (about 4″ – 5″) at the bottom for turning.

car mat

Trim corners and turn right side out.  Topstitch 3/8″ from the edge all the way around.

Almost done……

car mat

Put your cars in the pockets.

car mat

Roll up the mat.

car mat

Pull the elastic band a bit and mark with your fabric pen where the button should go.

car mat

Sew on the button and you’re done!

Would your little driver like this??

car mat
26 Comments

26 Comments on Car Roll and Mat

  1. That’s the cutest car mat I’ve seen yet! That fabric is so perfect, I need to make one for my boys now :).

    Thanks for linking up to We Did It! Wednesday!

  2. I love any well organized take-along toy. Never know when you’ll need to pass some time with the wee ones. This is fantastic. Fabric is great and the storage for the cars is brilliant. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be linking on Facebook.

  3. Girl check you out! This is so adorable! I love Riley Blake fabric and what a perfect project to use it for! Thanks for the fabulous tutorial and for linking up to Hoo’s got talent!

  4. this is really lovely, i just made one today with the same fabric on the front! i’ll feature it on my blog with a link to your tutorial within the next weeks.
    thanks so much!!

  5. Thank you so much for this wonderful idea. Very cute, very fast, and perfect for the bottom of the diaper bag/purse. Made one for my son and then one for a birthday gift and they are super cute.

  6. Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I have some of that fabric and will be making a few for Christmas. I just had one question – what kind of interfacing did you use? Thanks!

  7. Heather – I think I used a medium-light weight interfacing, but you can use anything you like — just not too heavy or it won’t roll up well.

  8. Wow, so cute. I wonder if there’s similar fabric with train tracks- my 3.5 year old is big into trains and Thomas.

    And I need to learn to use a sewing machine (I knit, crochet, embroider, hand-sew, so why not?!).

  9. Soooo cute and so much easier than sewing on the roads with felt! Does anyone know if Riley Blake still sells this fabric? I can’t find it anywhere!!

      • Honestly, it was so long ago that I don’t remember. I would suggest a woven mid to lightweight interfacing.

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