Play Mat Bag

I saw this picture on Pinterest a long time ago, but I didn't have internet access when I went to go make one, so it turned out a bit differently. I had also seen this lego playmat at A Girl and a Glue Gun, so my idea came from that one too. There is a better way to do this, but I didn't do it that way this time, and who knows if I will make another one any time soon, so after I tell you how I did it I will tell you how you should do it (because I'm bossy!).

Materials:
Fabric for the "mom side"
Fabric for the "kid side"
5 Yards Bias Tape (Homemade or bought)
5 Yards Ribbon or Clothesline

My son's little so I knew I would be the one carrying around his toys for him. Don't worry, when he's bigger he is doing all the work! But I wanted to make this bag cute-ish for me too. I seem to have an obsession with making myself bags, even if it is under the pretense of making it for my kid. So that's why there's mom side and kid side fabric.

I did as Kim did for her Lego Play Mat and used a string and pen to make a perfect circle. (I pinned the string down to the corner of the fabric.) I cut out one piece each of my "mom side" and "kid side" fabric, the same sized circle.

Then I made a ton of homemade bias tape. (Hi, I'm Monica, I don't know if you know this but I'm cheap thrifty, and I am also too lazy to drive to the store) It took FOREVER mostly because someone wanted to be held the entire time and didn't realize I was making *him* something. So anyway, I made about 15 feet worth of bias tape (the right way too, I usually cheat and don't cut it on the bias) and pinned it around the edges.

I sewed on the bias tape, threaded the clothesline through it and then decided to add handles. So I made the handles with leftover bias tape and sewed them on.

I realized though using it (and through looking at the pinspiration closer) that it was hard to cinch it together and then to un-cinch it when the baby was ready to play. So I switched to ribbon and cut a few more holes in the bias tape so that the ribbon could be pulled out in a few more places. (Thanks for the idea, Kalli!)

Also, when using it at first I loosely tied the ribbon so that the bag wouldn't undone, but I added cord stops. (And do you know how long it took me to google that word. I knew what they were but I had no idea what they were called until now!)

So when you make your own, here's a better way to do it.

1. Cut your circles the way Kim shows us here.

2. Sew handles onto the "mom side".

3. Make your bias tape. Or buy it. Sew four buttonholes into your bias tape.

4. Sew bias tape on.

5. String your ribbon or thin rope through the buttonholes, add cord stops and tie the ends.

I actually have to go buy two more cord stops before mine is completely finished but we used it for a few vacation days already with out them and I will be using it with just a couple for our next few outings. He never stays on the playmat for long but it is nice to have one small patch of the ground that is free from tiny things he can find. Thanks for suffering through reading about my mistakes have a great day!