DIY Toddler/Preschool Nap Mat

Little A started Preschool-3 this year, and so far, he's loved it. He has an amazing teacher, and learns more each day. At the beginning of the year, we were told that Little A would need a nap mat for quiet time. I don't know about you, but for us, it was nearly impossible to find a nap mat. I looked multiple places, Craigslist, Walmart, Target, and I couldn't find any! Being my overly crafty self, I decided that I could make it for him!

With coupons in hand, I headed to the local Hobby Lobby. This store is very dangerous when you're a crafter, just a warning! It took me an hour or so to finally decide on the fabric that I wanted to use. It was time to head back home to start on the project.

It took a few days to actually start because I couldn't quite figure out how I wanted to go about his nap mat. He's only in preschool, and I wanted his nap mat to last until at least kindergarten, which meant it had to be more neutral. I had chosen black and white fabric, which is pretty neutral to me!

I started with the pillow. I chose a cloud for the pillow design. It was cute and neutral. I didn't really have a template, so I just winged it.

Don't worry, that stuffing poking out was just where I stuffed the pillow! I finished it off with a blind stitch. Next up was the attached blanket. I had chosen a soft fabric for the inside of the blanket that way Little A would be comfortable. I had black fabric from a while back that I decided to pull out for the outer part of the blanket. The blanket was fairly easy to make. I just sewed it inside out on three of the four sides. I turned it right side out and put it to the side.

Lastly was the main part, the part where Little A would lay on. Now, at Hobby Lobby, I had picked up some batting just in case the thick foam that I had on hand wasn't going to work. Thank goodness I bought is because that's exactly what happened! The foam was too thick that it wouldn't roll up. So, I lined up the pieces of fabric, batting, blanket and pillow where I wanted them.

When I passed this fabric at Hobby Lobby, I knew that I wanted to use it. I loved the polka dot fabric. So, it became the base of the nap mat. I sewed it all together, flipped it inside out and it was done!

It really only took about a day from start to finish. I used two yards of polka dot fabric, one yard of soft fabric, a pillowcase for the pillow and one yard of leftover black fabric. My son loves his "napnap" and I'm glad that he has something to lay on!

Have you been able to find a nap mat?

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