The development of the baby at an early age is very important. To do this, it is not necessary to master complex techniques and devote a lot of time to classes: this will only tire the baby. It is much easier to purchase a newborn mat. In a playful way, the child will develop vision, motor skills, sensing skills, and coordination of movements. And if there is no money to purchase this useful gadget in the store, then you can make it yourself.
The benefits of a development mat
Modern developmental rugs for babies have become known not so long ago. This is a full-fledged game complex that develops the intelligence of a child. If earlier moms used a blanket as a regular bedding, so that the baby was warmer to play and crawl on the floor, today a simple bedding is no longer relevant.
It is better to choose a rug with arcs on which various toys are suspended, this additionally develops coordination and stimulates the baby to focus his vision.
The musical elements and various tweeters are very good, they develop the ear. And to press a button, you need to build a logical chain in your head: button-click-music. Such actions will develop the thinking of the crumbs.
- For the development of sensing, children's rugs should be equipped with various rustling elements, as well as fragments of fabrics with different textures.
- You can often see a special "safe" mirror in such gadgets. Such an element is very useful. With its help, the child knows himself, examines the face. Such a mirror will not break, even if the baby drops it or starts gnawing.
- Well, another indisputable advantage of such a toy is that it can keep the child busy for quite a long time, which allows the mother to do something else.
All the necessary elements are already provided in the purchased models. But such rugs are not cheap. For the simplest option with a minimum of developmental elements, you will have to pay at least 2000-3000 rubles. At the same time, it is not a fact that the kid will be interested in such an acquisition for a long time with a small number of interesting "things".
It will be much more interesting to experiment and make a similar toy for a newborn on your own. If the family has older children, you can involve them in the creation of such a play center. So the younger member of the family will acquire an educational toy, and the older children will have an interesting and creative time.
How to sew a do-it-yourself rug
In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. To make such a gift for a baby, you only need a little patience, imagination and available materials.
Where to begin
First you need to soberly assess your sewing capabilities and perseverance. If this is tight, then you do not need to tackle complex models. For a start, a simple option made from an old blanket, fabric appliqués and buttons is fine. Although such a gadget looks simple, it will be very interesting for a crumb.
Appliques of different shapes and colors from dense fabric are sewn onto the base from an old blanket (you can take felt). It is good to decorate everything with buttons, and to make several elements detachable - this will develop motor skills. The more decor and color, the better!
To make such a rug for a baby, it will take a minimum of time and materials.
If you want to do something more difficult, then you need more thorough preparation. You need to stock up on materials in advance, find suitable ideas on the Internet or come up with them yourself. It is better to draw the future rug on paper in advance in order to clearly represent what should turn out. This step will help you select fabrics and accessories.
Selection of materials
The choice of raw materials depends on the idea. But there is a general set that will definitely come in handy:
- Thread different color for sewing and embroidery.
- Needle.
- Scissors.
- Sewing machine... Of course, you can limit yourself to your hands, but with sewing equipment, the rug will turn out to be neater, and the work will go faster.
- Velcro tape.
- Zip fasteners with short length and bright colors.
- Regular underwear elastic.
- Various types of braid.
- Buttons of different shapes, colors and sizes.
- Scraps of fabric of different textures and patterns.
- Candy wrappers for rustling items.
- Tweeters from old toys to make a musical rug. You can use musical elements with buttons on batteries from books or toys.
- Plastic rings from old pacifiers and nipple holders.
- An old blanket for the base. Instead, a synthetic winterizer or any other insulation that does not lump and dries quickly will do.
- Bright fabric for facing the rug. It is necessary to use hypoallergenic materials (cotton, fleece, flannel, etc.).
This set is quite enough to sew an amazing educational toy. Based on the intention, the list can be supplemented.
The main stages of making a developmental mat
1. It is necessary to think over the design and make patterns
This pattern is suitable for the base of the rug. It already provides for the division into sectors. Each of the sectors will carry its own semantic load. When cutting, you need to leave allowances for seams.
Patterns for decorative elements are also best done on full-size paper in advance. Templates can be taken on the Internet or drawn by yourself.
2. Then you need to cut the fabric for the base and sew. An old blanket or synthetic winterizer is placed inside so that the base is warm and the child can play on the floor.
3. When the base is ready, you can start the main work - the decor. Game elements can be very different.
House with an opening door. A bright applique is hidden behind the door
ladybug with a zipper that trains motor skills
Volumetric sun, which can be supplemented with a "squeaker"
A tent made of smooth texture material (you can use a raincoat fabric) with Velcro and "zipper"
A berry with a string that can be pulled back and forth
Velcro bridge across the river
A cloud with a pocket from which you can pull out the "rain" from the braid
Volumetric clouds with padding polyester inside and tulle folds outside. They can be sewn to the base, or they can be made with Velcro
A flower made of textured fabric with a voluminous center, where you can put a rustling element, a button with a music or a squeaker
There can be a lot of ideas for game elements. To begin with, the entire decor is sewn separately. Then it is neatly sewn to the base. Here are just a few options for ready-made homemade rugs:
Idea with sectors decorated according to the seasons
And this is how you can arrange the edges. With the help of the braid, they can be turned into bumpers. Buttons can be used instead of ribbons
Bright rug "Parsley"
4. If you want to complicate the task and make a rug with arcs, then you can make them using flexible plastic pipes of a small diameter or a cheap plastic hoop.
Plastic pipes suitable for arches. If there is a plastic hoop, then it must be cut in half.
The arcs need to be wrapped with padding polyester. Foil insulation is also suitable. The whole structure is well wrapped with threads for fixing. The manipulation is carried out with both arcs.
From above, the arcs are sheathed with a material that matches the base of the rug
To fix the toys, you need to sew such loops from the braid into the covers of the arches
Another option for attaching toys is Velcro cuffs. Such a structure can easily move in an arc
To fix the arcs to the base, you can use different ways... It is better to choose those in which the arcs will be removable. This makes the rug easier to fold and store.
The first method is plastic carabiners
You will need four carabiners, you can take those left over from old highchairs, strollers, sledges, etc. And also it will not be difficult to buy them in a sewing accessories store.
One piece of carabiner attaches to the inside of the mat at all four corners
The second part is fixed at the ends of the arcs. For fastening, a cover of arcs is used, which for this needs to be made a little longer
To fix the arcs, you just need to fasten all four fasteners, and from above fix the cross with a ribbon or braid, tying it crosswise. The second piece of Velcro is sewn to the ends of the arches
Arcs are inserted into the holes crosswise and fixed from the inside with Velcro. Tie a braid on top for additional fixation. Instead of the braid, you can use the same Velcro tape, which is sewn on the bottom of the upper arc and on top of the bottom
You can choose any method for attaching arcs. Someone uses buttons or just sews arcs to the base.
5. It remains to hang the toys from the arches. You can buy them in the store in advance or sew them yourself. Hanging toys also need to be equipped with interesting details, for example, insert a rattle bell inside.
Such a bunny can be a great hanging toy. No sewing is required for sewing. A couple of scraps for the head and dress, a tape for the ears, a cord for the arms and legs are enough
Using these instructions, you can sew an excellent developmental mat for a newborn, which will turn out to be even better than the purchased one.
Buying a play mat is not difficult. But not all models sold in stores meet the necessary safety conditions. Why take risks while spending your money? It is much better to make this useful gadget with your own hands. And you can be absolutely sure that all materials are of high quality, and that the thing is made soundly and with love.
In addition, the little thing will be original and presented in a single copy - a great option for a gift. As the baby grows, you can watch him and supplement the thing with play elements in accordance with the interests of the baby. Better yet, make several rugs with elements of varying complexity. So the baby will definitely not get bored, and mommy will have a little time for herself or household chores.
So let's get started.
The dimensions of the rug are 1m by 1m.
1. Required materials:
- base fabric with a children's pattern. Calico, 2 m
- plastic hoop, diameter 90cm
- one-color fabric, 4 colors (let's call it the background), 30 cm each. The ideal option is a raincoat fabric on fleece.
- synthetic winterizer 1.5 m
- Velcro tape (Velcro) white and black
- laces, elastic bands, ribbons, fabrics of different textures, etc.
- rustling candy wrappers :))))
2. Cutting out the fabric-base and plain fabrics.
Those. we get:
Two pieces of base fabric: 1m by 1m and 63cm by 63cm
Two pieces of plain fabrics 21.5 cm by 1 m
- two pieces of plain fabrics 21.5 cm by 63 cm
Remains of plain fabrics are used for sewing developmental elements.
This cutting is the most convenient in terms of assembling the rug, so in this master class we will consider it. I make allowances with a good margin - as much as one and a half cm, just in case.
3. Sew developing elements on the background.
There are several rules here (we focus on the age of 3-5 months):
- large
- contrasting
- understandably
- reliable and safe
- ban on small details
You should not puff and overload the rug with forks, a child at this age will not appreciate it. It is also better to store all sorts of locks, zippers, and so on at a later age.
We take into account that children love to fiddle with strings, pull rustling leaves-ears-wings, open-close, find something that is not immediately visible, touch different textures. Do not forget that what we are depicting will need to be named to the child, to tell something.
Here, for example: House. There are flowers on the window, clothes are drying on a string nearby (we call it with an older child).
We open the rustling door (fastening - Velcro) ... And in the house, it turns out, lives a girl! I like to make eyes from black Velcro, the soft half. I just cut and sew tightly by hand. I sewed the second half of Velcro onto my palms - with hooks, so you can play your favorite children's game "peek-a-boo" with your palms. The girl's handles are one lace: you pull one hand, the other becomes shorter. The hair is a tightly sewn yarn.
And a girl can also giggle at a frog that catches butterflies with a butterfly net))))).
Etc. Other examples of developing elements can be found in my posts about rugs: http://happynata.blogspot.ru/2014/03 and http://happynata.blogspot.ru/2014/02
4. Assemble the front part of the rug from the pieces.
First, we sew short pieces to the central part. It is imperative to maintain an allowance of exactly 1.5 cm! Now we sew on long pieces. With an allowance, the same is true.
All developmental elements should be directed towards the center, so that the child can, turning and turning, choose for himself what he is interested in or crawl from one element to another. The central part, in fact, is what is needed for this, in order to lie and crawl comfortably, so we do not attach anything here!
Approximately what should happen at the end of this stage:
5. Making arcs.
Saw off two arcs with a length of 125 cm and 132 cm from the hoop.
We cut off the synthetic winterizer - two cuts of 1.5 m in length and approximately along the circumference of the arc (with a margin) in width, i.e. about 10-15 cm. Accuracy is not important here.
Now we need to wrap the arcs with this padding polyester. We wrap and strengthen well with threads:
Here's what you should end up with:
Now we sew the arcs with fabric.
Hoops are thin and thick, so I can't give the exact dimensions of the parts. We wrap the resulting arc with a measuring tape (not tight) and add allowances. This will be the width of the cut of the fabric, we take the length of 1.5 m - we will cut off the excess on the spot. We cut off, of course, two of these))).
We fold the fabric with the right side inward, sew, along the way, sewing on loops and ties, if necessary. Below I will write how to sew a tricky thing, thanks to which these ties are not needed. We turn it out, insert the arcs there. And put it aside for now.
6. Sew the rug, quilt with padding polyester.
Do not turn it right out yet. Cut off the synthetic winterizer 1m by 1m, put it on top. We grab it in the corners and in the middle of the sides to the rug. Now he will not move anywhere and get lost.
We turn it out. We sew up.
We stitch along the lines of joining fabrics and elsewhere, if we are not too lazy))). The main thing is to pre-sweep, because when sewing, the synthetic winterizer will completely take the fabric to the side.
7. Fastening the arches to the rug.
Of all the options that I considered, I liked this one. The arcs are passed through the holes and fastened from the inside with a wide Velcro. Firstly, it is fast (and when a child cries, it counts for minutes), and secondly, it is reliable - tested by several months of daily use.
So. we make four cuts (through and through) in four corners - not far from the joints of the background and the central part. And we sew as best we can))). I used a bias tape.
Sew on with back side Velcro - near the incision, closer to the outer corner.
Sew the second half of the velcro to the arcs, after cutting off the excess and bending. The Velcro should be on the front surface, i.e. the center seam of the arc will be at the back. In general, try seven times before starting sewing.
Insert arcs crosswise. Sew on the lower arc (the one that is shorter) in the middle with the fasteners for the arcs. I like to use a thick line and Velcro. Here's what happens:
Parents set themselves the goal of comprehensively developing their baby, starting from his birth. A crawling mat can help. The device can be purchased at the children's store. But it is much more interesting to make it yourself.
Loving parents, trying to develop their child from birth, use modern techniques and all kinds of expensive toys.
The rug is a cloth made of yarn or dense fabric. It can take many forms. The main idea when creating a do-it-yourself development rug is to make it bright and colorful in order to interest the baby. It should consist of different textures with variegated applications, supplemented with buttons, rattles, musical details.
Thanks to the moving elements, the child will develop fine motor skills.
Functions of rugs:
- Development of fantasy, imagination.
- Training of concentration, memory and fine motor skills.
- Development of logical thinking.
- Basic study of the alphabet, numbers, objects, geometric shapes.
- Recognition of colors, shades.
You can buy such a rug in a store, but many women prefer to make it with their own hands, because this is not at all difficult to do.
Basic requirements for developing rugs
When making a children's rug with your own hands, it is important to adhere to certain requirements.
A developing rug is a textile or knitted cloth, decorated with bright applications, with movable elements placed on it for playing.
- The quality of materials and components involved in the assembly must be of the highest quality. They should not cause allergies in the child.
- All seams and connecting elements must be tightly stitched and fastened together. This is especially true for small fittings that a child can put in his mouth or nose.
- The touch mat should only contain non-defective parts.
Chips, cracks, opening seams must not be allowed.
- When making a canvas, it is necessary to take into account the versatility. In a few months, the child's interests will change. You will need to replace some of the parts or supplement the existing ones. Can be made by hand kids rug for crawling, equipping it with reclining bumpers, allowing you to expand the playing area over time.
- The toy should have mobility and compactness, so that, if desired, it could be easily transported and folded.
This rug gives children the opportunity to develop from the first days of life, and is designed to be used up to 3 years of age.
- When choosing or creating a sensor mat for children, it is important to consider age features... It is not recommended to equip a carpet for a baby with many toys and musical elements, since at this age the baby does not yet perceive complex structures and mechanisms.
- All plastic parts should be easily detachable for easy washing.
- When making a do-it-yourself development rug for children, it is advisable to use various colors and textures, a lot of interactive, noisy elements.
They will help to attract the attention of the child, to interest him.
Materials for making
To make a rug in a nursery with your own hands, you will need the following materials.
Materials and tools for the rug.
- It is best to use foam rubber or synthetic winterizer as a base.
- Considering that the child will spend a lot of time on the rug, finishing materials should be natural. They do not cause allergic reactions or irritation. Note! The fabric should not build up static electricity.
- The color palette of the toy should be varied. However, it should be borne in mind that too bright, contrasting combinations will have a negative effect on the psyche of the child, tiring and annoying him.
- For decoration, you can use large buttons of different colors, elastic bands, thick threads and ribbons, ropes and Velcro.
- To make a do-it-yourself play mat, you will need to purchase high-quality plastic and mechanical parts.
For a child, a developmental mat will become the largest and most useful toy that never gets bored.
Ideas for decoration
Before starting work, you need to decide on the shape and decorative elements. For convenience, it is advisable to draw a sketch of the canvas on paper. Having looked in advance at the design ideas for developing rugs for children from 0 to 3 years old with your own hands, it will be much easier to come up with an interesting and engaging design. For quite early age touch, didactic canvases, or made of soft pom-poms are suitable.
For older children, an excellent option will be those where you can develop not only fine motor skills, but also logic - puzzle mats, puzzles, mosaics.
Separately, it is worth highlighting rugs for girls - most often they are round or oval, with several zones reflecting the interests of the daughter. It can be supplemented with flaps and pockets. Shades of pink prevail. For boys, the automotive theme is most often used. The older the child is, the more detailed the drawing should be. Popular colors are blue, light blue, green. It is recommended for active fidget children to build a rug with soft sides. As a barrier, you can use not only filler, but also an additional layer of pompons.
When the child grows up and begins to sit independently, he will be able to play with him and develop without assistance.
To make developing rugs for children with your own hands, you will need fabric patterns. With their help, various figures are sewn for decoration, applications. It can be animals, trees, plants, windows, cars, clouds, fairy and cartoon characters.
Bright applications and a large number of various elements will occupy the child's attention for a long time.
We create a developing rug for children with our own hands
The process of creating a children's development rug with your own hands is not complicated. And the main thing is that the product will be individual, taking into account all the needs of the baby.
Playing with such a toy, the child will feel your warmth, love and care.
You should start working with the development of a sketch. You can draw a diagram on a Whatman paper. Next, you need to follow the instructions, which describe in detail how to make developmental rugs for a child with your own hands.
Preparation of fittings
The first step is to purchase all the necessary accessories - buttons, ribbons, fasteners, beads, Velcro, threads, fasteners. From the tools you will need scissors, a needle, a stationery knife, invisible ones. At the same stage, it is advisable to draw diagrams of future applications and cut them out.
Below, everything will be described in detail on the topic of how to sew a do-it-yourself development rug.
Preparation of the base
The stage involves the creation of a diagram of the finished canvas. You also need to pick up materials. It is recommended to give preference to natural, non-slip compounds with antistatic properties. These include coarse calico, bike, felt, cotton. If you intend to create knitted items, you must choose cotton yarn.
Soft materials cause pleasant tactile sensations, do not provoke allergic reactions.
Important! You need to take care of the quality inner filler. The baby mat is designed for crawling and is most often placed on the floor. It must be well insulated. It is recommended to use synthetic winterizer or foam rubber.
Before you sew the details of the developmental rug for the baby with your own hands, you need to decide on the front and seamy side... After that, you can start patterning the upper and lower parts of the filler. Be sure to leave indents for seams on all sides. Then you need to overcast the edges, not skipping the protruding threads.
Creation of a playing field, production of game elements
At this stage, you will need to sew on all the previously prepared applications, drawings. Then fittings, mechanical and musical elements, rattles should be firmly attached. Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the quality of fasteners of small parts, such as buttons, beads. The child should not be able to pull them off. It is recommended not to use glue, replacing it with thick threads.
Adhesive bases are acceptable for fastening fabric elements, appliqués.
Securing items to the rug
Large fittings can be made both firmly attached to the base and movable. Safe soft parts can be fitted using buttons and velcro.
This will make it easier to remove them before cleaning and washing.
After completing the preparatory work, you can proceed to combine all the parts. To do this, you need to tightly sew all the components from the seamy side and turn them out onto the front.
The advantage of a do-it-yourself rug for children is its uniqueness. By creating it, it is possible to take into account all the features and interests of the baby. Below are some ideas that will help parents decide on the plot of the playing field for children from 0 to 3 years old.
You yourself choose the materials for its manufacture and you will know exactly what it is made of.
- A bee hiding in a bright flower.
- Christmas tree with buttons for fastening toys.
- Lock for cartoon characters equipped with opening doors and windows.
- Ships, boats, cars attached with tape in a movable way. Thus, the baby will be able to independently move objects.
- Multi-colored trees, clouds, plants.
- For older children, you can choose more complex applications - traffic, stories from fairy tales.
- It is recommended to equip the rugs with pockets in which the child can put his favorite toys.
Arched rug by yourself
A good idea for creating a do-it-yourself rug for children is to equip it with special arcs. Toys, musical mechanisms, rattles can be attached to them.
Thanks to such elements, you can focus the child's attention.
The process of creating a canvas for a nursery consists of the steps listed below. To sew elements of a developing rug for children from 0 to 3 years old, you need to adhere to the following sequence.
Mat base
To make a do-it-yourself sensor mat for children, equipped with arcs, you will need several meters of natural fabric and a material that serves as a sealant - synthetic winterizer or foam rubber. If there is no desire to create patterns for applications from fabric, you can purchase one that has already been decorated with children's patterns.
For the seamy side, a monochromatic coarse calico is suitable.
To create a rug for children with your own hands, 1 sq. m. you will need:
- Main fabric with a printed pattern - 2 m;
- Plastic hoop with a diameter of 90 cm;
- Background fabric without patterns - 4 colors, 30 sq. cm.;
- Foam rubber - 1.5 sq. m .;
- Ribbons, Velcro, colored ropes, pom-poms;
- Sticky tape, preferably in different colors;
After choosing fabrics for the base, you need to start sewing:
- The bottom is cut first. A pre-prepared paper scheme is applied to the selected base, carefully outlined with soap or a pencil. Be sure to leave seam gaps. After marking, you can cut the fabric.
- Next, you should cut out even squares from the background fabric, which are alternately stitched together. You should get a contrasting pattern. It is important to make all seams tightly and efficiently, leaving them from the inside of the product.
- Educational toys are sewn to the upper part.
- After that, the front side can be sewn to the sealant - foam rubber or synthetic winterizer.
It is better to use fabrics of different tones to create a product - cold and warm shades.
Arcs
The selected hoop is divided into two equal parts using a clerical knife.
- The hoop is divided into parts - 125 cm and 132 cm.
- To give softness to the resulting arcs, it is recommended to tightly wrap them with padding polyester, fixing it with threads.
- After that, the arcs must be decorated with colored fabric.
Pieces of synthetic winterizer must be attached to each half of the hoop, tightly pressing and wrapping them with threads at intervals of 2 - 3 cm.
The connection of arcs and the base of the rug
The best option is to thread the arcs through the holes, secure with a wide Velcro on the inside.
In order for the arcs not to pop out, you need to tightly wrap the pockets with arcs with the help of the material.
- Cut-throughs should be made close to the junction of the background and center.
- Then it is recommended to sweep them.
- Velcro is sewn on the bottom (closer to the outer corners).
- The second half of the velcro is attached to the arches on the front surface.
- The arcs are folded crosswise, a dense tape is attached to the bottom to fix the structure.
- The touch pad is ready.
Developing activities with a rug
The functions of a hand-made touch pad are very varied.
It remains only to hang toys on arcs with the help of satin ribbons or cotton braid.
- Infants can be placed on their stomach. In this position, they will be able to look at colorful pictures, trying to reach them with their hands. It develops concentration and tactile sensations.
- After the child learns to sit, you can place the canvas on the floor and join it, showing in a playful way what you can do with different toys.
- Older children can independently fasten buttons and zippers, move elements. These actions develop fine motor skills of the hands.
- As you grow older, a self-made developmental mat for newborns can be equipped with letters and numbers.
- It is important to pronounce all actions and names of objects during the game. So the child will train attention and memory.
A do-it-yourself carpet for the nursery will delight the child for several years. And it will help parents to free up some time by keeping the baby busy. Made with love, it will bring joy and fun to the baby, leaving only fond memories.
Despite the great variety of educational rugs for children in stores, very often we cannot opt for a specific model. And this is not surprising, all babies are special. But it is difficult to determine exactly what their peculiarity is in the first weeks of life. Therefore, usually the choice either falls on all rugs at once, or none suits our needs.
If you still cannot decide on the choice of a rug, then know what you can create with your own hands! Enough desire and knowledge of the basic principles of their design. What we will talk about next.
Basic requirements for do-it-yourself rugs
Even if you already know exactly what type of rug you need, take your time to grab the needle and fabric. It is very important not to forget that developing rugs become the main toy of your baby for a long time, faithful companion and assistants in the development of the world. Therefore, for a start, it is worth studying the basic requirements for such rugs, and only after that you start sewing them.
Attention to detail
The best child psychologists are working on the development of modern rugs and high-tech equipment is used, but handmade rugs have their own number of advantages:
- you choose the materials for the rug yourself and are sure of their safety,
- you decide how many games and play elements will be on the mat,
- you yourself form the size of the playing field of the future rug, and it may differ greatly from the standard ones offered by world manufacturers,
- your rug will be created exclusively for your baby, it will provide for and take into account his characteristics and preferences, his love for certain games, as well as colors.
That is why, until now, most mothers prefer to sew educational rugs for children with their own hands.
But before you start sewing such a rug, you need to remember a few important requirements to work, so that later you will not be disappointed with the result.
1) If you are going to develop the baby's fine motor skills, then the objects that will perform this function, choose different ones.
The child will quickly get tired of monotony, and he will lose interest in the game.
2) If you want your rug to last a long time, leave some space to add new games.
In the first days of life, the baby will be more and more interested in playing with large details, images and beads, but the older he gets, the smaller and more detailed the subsequent sectors will be.
3) For the base of the rug, choose bright colors, but not flashy or glossy, so that the baby's eyes do not get tired and the passion for the game does not disappear.
4) Think over the arrangement of sectors and game elements on the canvas so that they not only include the maximum benefit as an educational game, but also harmoniously fit into the overall idea.
The field should be logically built, otherwise the child will not see the final goal and soon his interest in the game will disappear.
Do not forget that the main purpose of the rug is to develop your baby in a playful way. And therefore, it is very important that he be interested, fun and informative.
To create a do-it-yourself development rug for children, you will need a lot of different materials. But this does not mean that he should be full of beads, strings and chaotically glued Velcro, which will only interfere and confuse the baby.
First, you need to think over the main theme of the rug, decide on its main tasks and functions, and then start stocking up on materials.
The first thing you need to sew a development rug is fabric.
It is needed both for creating the base and for most applications that will decorate the playing field. Therefore, when choosing it, pay attention to the following:
- a non-slip fabric is suitable for the seamy side so that the rug does not crawl along the floor,
- for the base, a plain, dense fabric is more suitable so that it can withstand frequent use of the rug,
- suitable for decor and applications thin fabrics- chintz, calico, cotton,
- for rustling elements, choose a raincoat fabric, artificial silk,
- for games aimed at developing tactile sensations, velvet, suede, corduroy, etc. are more suitable.
As you can see, a lot of fabric is required to create a developing rug.
Do not forget about the accessories, which play an important role here:
- , zippers and teach children to fasten parts;
- elastic bands, will help to hide and take out individual game elements, as well as to depict natural phenomena... For example, rain or sun peeking out from behind clouds;
- beads, sequins and multi-colored stones will attract attention and develop the perception of the color of the crumbs.
Take a look around, not only sewing accessories can help you create a developing rug. Everything will be used:
- peas, beans, millet and buckwheat - as filler and creation of rustling toys;
- woolen threads - as an imitation of grass or animal hair;
- bright candy wrappers - as inserts and noise effect.
And this is not the entire list of materials that may be useful to you. Each rug is as unique as its owner. Therefore, you yourself decide what is right for you to create it.
Do not forget that all materials must be natural and not hazardous to the health of the baby.
Sew small details tightly, and choose the fabric wisely so that it does not fade and does not paint children's palms.
We create a developing rug for children with our own hands
As we already said, developing rugs for children are different. They differ not only in size and content, but also in purpose, since they are created for a specific age of the baby. Therefore, first decide how long you want the rug to serve you, and only what suits you best. And we will try to figure out how to create a base and how to complement the playing field of the most common types of children's rugs.
Do-it-yourself rug with arcs
Since rugs with arcs and bumpers are best suited for infants, it is worth creating them bright.
In addition to the previously mentioned materials in the form of fabric and accessories, we also need arcs. A gymnastic hoop or metal-plastic pipes will help us with this.
Therefore, to create a developing rug with arcs, we need:
- plain fabrics of bright colors - calico, chintz, cotton;
- non-slip fabric for the back of the rug;
- synthetic winterizer;
- gymnastic hoop with an approximate diameter of 65 cm or 3-4 meters of metal-plastic pipe.
First, decide on the size of the rug itself.
The most common size of a developing rug with arcs is considered to be 90x90 cm, but you can decide for yourself how much area your baby's playing field will be.
Mat base
Cut a square to the desired size from the main fabric for front side rug and exactly the same one made of non-slip fabric, which will become the back side. Sew them together and turn over your face, but leave enough hole for the stuffing.
To make it soft to lie and turn over on the rug, insert several layers of padding polyester into the resulting workpiece and then sew everything up.
So that the synthetic winterizer inside the mat does not move and does not crumple, quilt the future mat (all layers of synthetic winterizer and fabric), by hand or on a sewing machine.
So you and I have created the basis for a developing rug, which can be decorated immediately or over time with toys and applications for your fidget.
Arcs
Now let's move on to the arcs.
If you have chosen a gymnastic hoop, then you first need to cut it in half to get a frame. Then the arcs need to be made safer and softer. Therefore, we again take out the synthetic winterizer and wrap the blanks with it.
When the arc is not visible under the padding polyester layer, and you find it as soft and safe for the baby as possible, take the fabric, sew a long pipe out of it, twist and insert the resulting arc into it.
The connection of arcs and the base of the rug
Do not forget that the arcs up must be connected together, for this you can:
- sew two laces into one of the fabric tubes, with which you will then intercept both arcs;
- cut a ribbon from the main fabric with which you will tie the arcs;
- take any braid or ready-made ribbon.
After the base and arcs are ready, the main question remains, how to connect the two main elements together?
If you don't plan on assembling and disassembling the rug, you can sew the fabric that wraps the arcs to the corners of the rug. Your development mat will be ready on this and you can use it.
If you plan to make it more transportable, then at the stage of sewing the base, you should think about the options for attaching arcs.
You can cut small tubular pockets a couple of centimeters wider than the bow and sew them to the corners of the base of the rug.
Olga Volkova clearly demonstrates the process of such a connection in her master class:
You can cut through the base of the rug at the cutting stage, overcast the loops and sew on the back of the Velcro. Attach the second part to the finished arc and insert it into the loop. This is exactly what Lyubov Lozinskaya proposes to do, sharing the tricks of creating a mobile and bright developmental rug in her master class on creating a children's rug.
If you plan to use a developmental mat and after the baby learns to walk, then the arcs can be assembled separately from the playing field.
To do this, you just need to cut them to the desired length, wrap them with padding polyester and sheathe them with fabric, and then form an arc by pulling the ends of one pipe between each other with tape. You will get a strong frame of two arcs, on which you can lay any mat of suitable size.
Calculation of the length of the pipe for arcs
To do this, simply multiply the diagonal of the rug by the number π, which is 3.14, and then divide the result in half.
For example, you want to assemble arcs from a pipe for a rug measuring 90x90 cm. They will be installed in the corners of the field, therefore, the base of our semicircle will be the starting point.
So, the diagonal of our rug will be 126 cm (90cm x 1.4). Now we need to multiply the resulting number by 3.14 - 126 cm x 3.14 - to get the circumference of the assumed circle, which will be 395.65 cm.But since this is the length of a full circle, we need to divide it in half - 395.65 cm / 2 = 197.82 cm. In total, we need two cuts of reinforced-plastic pipe with an approximate length of 198 cm. If the arc turns out to be too high, just shorten the length of the pipe until you get a satisfying result.
Please note that one pipe should be several centimeters longer than the other for greater structural stability.
Do-it-yourself rug with arcs and bumpers
Another distinctive feature of developmental rugs for younger children is the presence of not only arcs, but also sides so that fidgets stay in place.
As we already said, there are several types of such rugs:
- with side bumpers;
- with bumpers that are part of a large rug.
Pillows, bolsters, or other soft restraints can become the side bumpers.
If you want the rug to become your assistant for a long time, then your choice is a rug with lifting bumpers. After all, it has two sizes - assembled and disassembled.
To sew such a rug, you first need to build the correct pattern. To do this, decide on the size of the original, small rug. Draw this square or rectangle on paper, and now add a rectangle on each side, the height of which will be the height of the wall. This is exactly what your foundation will be.
In places where the collars will fold, you can sew on laces or ribbons. Then, to assemble the rug, it will be enough for you to tightly tie them together. If you prefer Velcro or buttons, then sew them along the entire height of the side.
The process of creating such a rug can be seen more clearly in a small master class of a young mother.
DIY theme or play mat
And yet, play mats are considered the most popular among developmental rugs for children. After all, there are so many interesting and funny things on them!
The basis of such a rug can be sewn in different ways:
- a solid canvas, to which applications and educational toys will be sewn after;
- separate sections that will be connected, over time increasing the size of the rug.
But in any case, you will need:
- several large cuts of fabric;
- synthetic winterizer or foam rubber as a sealant;
- scraps of bright fabric of different textures;
- buttons, beads and other accessories;
- locks, Velcro and elastic bands, etc.
First, decide on a sketch of your future rug:
- take into account the size of the finished product and whether you will sew it from rags or from a single cut;
- think over the location of the games and the logical transition between them;
- come up with a plot of the rug.
It is very important that in everything that will happen on the rug there is a sense and regularity. Do not try to place games with bees and hedgehogs in the middle of the sea - this will only confuse the child.
The choice of the type of rug can also be an excellent hint. You can stitch:
In any case, you will need a base, sewn from two pieces of fabric and sandwiched with filler, so that the rug is as safe as possible for play.
Then you can sew game elements to it in the order you need.
If you have chosen a map of the area as a plot - a forest, a highway or a park - then you can divide the field into heaven and earth. At the bottom, place trees, a road, small animals or houses, at the top you will have room for clouds, sun, birds and planes.
Do not limit your imagination, you can always add a new object to the rug, simply by sewing it on or swapping it with other places.
Use Velcro, buttons and zippers to keep the toys together. So an airplane attached to a lightning slider can fly in the sky, windows in a house can be opened and closed with a button, and a hedgehog hiding under a bush can pick apples or berries, which are attached to it with Velcro.
Cute soft hedgehog
When creating educational rugs for children with your own hands, be sure to pay attention to a variety of types of toys:
- sew or knit noisy objects - put buckwheat or beads into a chocolate egg capsule, tie or cover with a cloth, giving the toy the image of a bee, butterfly or rabbit;
- use felt for flat appliqués that will move around the playing field and fasten with Velcro, buttons or buttons;
- provide for the presence of pockets on zippers, in which they will be;
- sew in separate areas of the rug applications with a candy wrapper inside, such rustling will not go unnoticed by the little fidget.
Collection of toys for the rug
If you have not yet decided on the plot or are not confident in your abilities, then take a look at the video master class by Handmade Tailor. Here you will be inspired to create a simple play mat with different elements and principles for attaching toys.
If you doubt your seamstress skill, then you can use the great idea of Svetlana Rost, who suggests creating a developmental rug based on stool cushions. So you can increase or decrease the size of the playing field, change the places of games and tasks, or even remove for a while those that are already tired of the kid.
Double-sided development mat
Practical parents prefer reversible rugs that contain two playing fields. So they will provide their baby with something to do for a long time and keep the family budget.
But when creating such developmental rugs with your own hands, keep in mind that the baby will move on it and nothing should interfere with it. Therefore, you should avoid bulky and hard objects that can cause unnecessary abrasions and bruises.
As with play mats, first you need to:
- come up with a plot;
- draw a sketch and a map;
- prepare materials.
Then you sew all the game objects and Velcro on the prepared playing fields and sew them together according to the principle of a sandwich for a stitch - fold the playing field, apply a synthetic winterizer to the seamy side and put the second playing field, seamy side to the filler. Sew the resulting sandwich together, sew along the edge of the tape.
For playing on such a developing rug, felt toys are most suitable, which can be rearranged, rearranged, or used for both sides.
Puzzle mat or puzzle mat
If your kid is already old enough and independent, then he will like the idea of assembling a rug for himself. The folding process itself will become an excellent game for him and a test of logic, spatial thinking, as well as the relationship of forms with each other. This is why puzzle rugs or puzzle rugs were invented.
Big puzzle - little man
Most often, these rugs are made of PVC, i.e. it will be difficult to repeat their production at home. But mothers-needlewomen found a way out and began to sew puzzle rugs in the form of many soft pillows that can be easily connected together.
To create such developmental rugs with your own hands, you will need:
- fabric - felt, fleece or cotton are best;
- filler;
- pattern.
First, think about how many pillows you want to sew and what shape they will be. Draw the assembled puzzle and cut out each piece separately - this will be your pattern. Then just transfer it to the fabric - each piece should be cut out in duplicate, which will then be sewn into pillows.
Fill the pillows tightly with padding polyester or any other filler, sew up the hole and you can give the finished rug to your child to play with. He himself will decide how to assemble it and what to do with it next.
To add another element of the game and test the child's logic, you can sew an applique in the form of a maze or a road to the pillows, which will need to be connected in the correct order.
Eclerka and her detailed master class, in which she shares the intricacies of cutting and sewing pillows, will help you to understand in more detail the process of creating a puzzle rug.
As you can see, in order to give your child full development and help him learn about the world, you do not have to run to the store and buy everything from its shelves. Sometimes it is enough to show imagination and ingenuity, as well as to give him your love through the creation of a comfortable, useful and interesting developmental rug. And what it will be like and what it will teach your baby is up to you.
The birth of a child for all parents is a very joyful event, for which they prepare in advance, stocking up on various accessories for a new family member. All kinds of toys, pacifiers, bottles, diapers and clothes are all an integral part of the preparation. And quite often during pregnancy, a woman shows an interest in needlework. Someone knits socks and booties, someone decides on hats and blouses, and some dare to take on more serious things, such as a play mat for children. Of course, the baby will not need it right away, but two months later, when the baby learns to concentrate his attention on individual objects, but it’s better to do it in advance, because then there simply may not be time. It is about how to sew developmental rugs with your own hands, and will be discussed in this article.
First stage - sketch
The first stage of the work is that you should draw a plan-diagram, having thought over exactly what the play mat will be. With your own hands, you can create a real developmental center for your baby or just a warm blanket with interesting elements. Therefore, when making such a thing, you need to take into account the age of the child. For children of two months of age and a little older, developmental mats for newborns with special arches are suitable, on which all kinds of rattles and Stuffed Toys with various fillers. Such a thing will be of interest to a child until the time when he learns to sit. But an older baby who already knows how to crawl will not be left indifferent by soft or rustling details on the rug. They can be removable. When developing a sketch, you need to decide not only on the developmental elements, but also on the color scheme. It is best to give preference to rich, but natural colors. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange, blue and other natural shades will create a harmonious composition, while rich lime green, neon and hot pink will irritate a child's eyes. Therefore, it is better to make a do-it-yourself development rug using fabrics of natural colors. After all the details are thought out and a sketch is made, you can proceed to the selection of materials.
The second stage is the selection of materials
In order to sew a children's developmental rug with your own hands, you will need to stock up on dense material or leather for the lower part of the product and colored cuts of fabrics to decorate the main elements. In addition, you will need various fillers, such as plastic balls of unequal size, well-rustling cellophane, insulation of different densities, such as holofiber, synthetic winterizer, and plain cotton wool. As for the quality of fabrics, for the place where the baby will lie, it is better to take natural warm and soft tissue such as flannel, fleece or polar. And the rest of the parts can be made from raincoat fabric. Also, quite often, craftswomen in such works use coarse calico for children's bedding, because it is this fabric that has a cheerful children's color and will look very appropriate in such a product.
It is good if the main play elements are removable so that they can be easily washed. Therefore, Velcro or zippers are useful in work. You will also need to buy several meters of corset bones, with the help of which it will be easy to design stable arcs for the rug.
The third stage is the template
As with sewing any thing, you first need to build a pattern for the product. This will require paper, a pencil, a ruler, and scissors. If you do not find a drawing paper or other large sheet at hand, then it is quite possible to use wallpaper or construction film.
First of all, they draw an oval, circle or square, depending on what shape the base of the rug will be. If some special drawing is planned on it, like a 3D application, then you should immediately select or draw yourself a suitable picture on a duplicate base and cut it into parts. If it is small elements, then it is enough just to draw the base into sections to make it easier to determine the size additional details... It is also necessary to estimate the size of the arches if the rug is intended for a baby. Here you need to measure the height of the future rack on which the toys will be hung. As well as the width of the strip, which will fit a corset bone in several layers, wrapped in padding polyester. You should also consider what kind of fasteners for the rattles will be. It can be just ribbons, strings or fabric ribbons that are attached to the arc with Velcro. Quite often they make loops sewn into the upholstery of the arc, on which rattles are then hung. Nowadays, it is quite easy to find toys with special hanging hooks in stores.
The fourth step is cutting the fabric
Using templates, you need to cut out all the elements of the product. Namely: the base, the inner filler (for softness), the fabric on which the baby will lie, stripes for decorating arcs and applique elements. In order for the rug to be soft enough, lightweight and at the same time stable, a combination of batting and padding should be used as an internal padding, or thick foam rubber should be used. In fact, it is not difficult to sew a development rug with your own hands. The main thing here is to correctly develop a template and, when cutting, do not forget to give allowances for seams. It should be noted that for dense materials, in which threads do not crumble, allowances can be 5 mm. But for fabrics such as raincoat fabric, the indent from the edge to the seam must be at least a centimeter, otherwise the product will begin to creep during operation.
The fifth stage - sewing the elements and assembling
Of course, this stage of work is not so difficult in comparison with the calculations, but here, too, it will be necessary to make a lot of efforts to connect all the elements into a single whole. DIY do-it-yourself rugs should be done as accurately and competently as possible. The sequence of work for the implementation of each specific idea must be considered separately.
How to sew a rug with arcs
So, we sew a developing rug with our own hands for a nursing baby. Usually it is made round or square, two arcs are attached to its base, connected in the center. To make such a developmental rug with your own hands, the patterns of which are quite simple to develop on your own, you only need to correctly calculate the height of the arcs, so that the baby is comfortable in such a structure, and, of course, the base area, taking into account the fact that children grow very quickly.
How to make arcs
To decorate the racks, you need to take plastic corset bones, which are sold per meter, and tape three or four sections with tape. After the workpiece is wrapped with padding polyester. Next, they start sewing the cover. To do this, measure the diameter of the prepared arc, add a seam allowance to this value and cut a strip of fabric 30 cm longer than the workpiece. After the strip is sewn, turned inside out and the workpiece is put into it, and Velcro is sewn around the edges. In order to make it convenient to hang rattles from the rattles, loops folded from the same fabric are put into the seam. A tape or braid is attached in the center of one of the arcs in order to secure the two racks together.
How to make a base
Next, they begin to work on the base. All layers of the rug are cut out according to the prepared template. To prevent the padding from crumpling, it should be sewn to the bottom of the base plating, and then the second front section should be stitched. It should be noted that the filling should be dense enough so that the bent racks do not deform it. If the shape of the rug is square, then the fasteners for the arcs must be placed in the corners, but if it is round, then the diameter should be measured and the value divided by 4. And it is at this distance that the arcs should be placed. At this stage, it is necessary to decide on the option for attaching the racks. If it is Velcro, then one of the parts of the tape should be sewn to the bottom of the base at the joints. If there are strings, then tapes or braid must be put into the seam.
It is difficult to say which shape is the best for developing rugs for newborns. The plus of a square one is that such a product will take up much less space, and while the baby is very small, it can easily be arranged right on the changing table. At the same time, such game centers round shape more spacious, and hanging toys will not be in front of the child's face, but at chest level.
How to connect base and arcs
How to connect all the prepared parts to get a ready-made developmental mat? You can fix the racks and the base of the play center with your own hands in several ways:
- Velcro tape. One part of the tape is sewn to the elongated edges of the arch covers, and the other to the bottom of the mat. This connection is very convenient and reliable. Even if the baby juggles the toys strongly, the arc will stay in place. The main thing is that the tape is not shorter than 15 cm.
- The fabric ties are also quite secure. The main thing is not to use thin satin ribbons, because they are easily torn and may not withstand constant stress. To make such a connection along the edges of the arcs and at the points of their attachment, either wide ribbons or processed strips of fabric are sewn at the base. It is worth noting that they cannot be tied with a bow, since the baby can easily untie them by accidentally pulling on one of the free edges.
- Sew-on bows. This option is also very common, but folding the rug with fixed arcs is very inconvenient. For beautiful design of such an attachment at the junction, a small pocket is made from a piece of fabric, which, slightly going into the arc, will hide the alignment seam.
By connecting all the details and attaching the rattles to the loops, you will finish making the development rug with your own hands.
3D Printed Rug Ideas
For a toddler who has learned to sit or even crawl, it is better to sew a rug with a large number of removable parts, because he no longer lies in one place, looking at several rattles. And here - just great amount ideas. It can be a rug in the shape of a tree with removable fruits, or a whole city with towering houses from which windows and doors are removed, where there are roads and soft cars, as well as various flowers. It can be a clearing with removable plants and insects. For inspiration, you can consider the already made developmental rugs with your own hands, the photos of which, in particular, are in this article.
How to make a 3D applique
Removable elements for the rug are not so difficult to make as it might seem at first glance. Such a developmental rug, reviews of young mothers about which they say that kids can spend hours playing a game, will form the logical thinking of the baby and train fine motor skills of fingers. After all, you can only imagine how much effort you need to make a crumb to figure out how the elements are attached to the base. Any fabric can be used to create such interesting details. And it is not at all necessary to be sophisticated and make, for example, a typewriter with all the little things. It can be a flat version of the toy, with two wheels, windows and headlights. Also, the fruit should be as simple as possible with a few leaves and lines, if only it is clear at first glance that it is a pear or an apple. In order for such elements to interest the child, a rustling oilcloth or plastic balls can be added to the filler. It is better to make such elements double-sided, stuff them not tightly and sew on small pieces of a tenacious piece of Velcro tape on both sides. In order for the child to understand exactly where this or that element should be, stripes should be made on the rug with the outlines of the objects that need to be attached there.
There is no limit to fantasy
Knowing how to sew educational rugs with your own hands, you can make a whole series of such toys for your child. With their help, the kid can easily learn geometric shapes, numbers, letters, the names of fruits, berries and animals. In order to simplify the task, you can pick up a printed baby fabric and make simple geometric parts with a hand-drawn image. You can also use photographs embedded in the element and covered with a film part for long-term use. In general, only your own imagination can be a limitation for creativity.
Basic rule
Do-it-yourself development rugs can be of different themes, but you need to try not to overdo it, trying to fit many different elements in a small area. Better it will be a small but neat play center for the kid. In addition, as already mentioned, you can not stop at one product and make several of them. At the same time, also arrange the connecting elements and start with the baby. addicting game, clinging to the rug more and more new areas.
