DIY educational mats for newborns. Children's educational rug: options and compositions, correct solutions, production. Developmental activities with a mat

Parents set a goal to comprehensively develop their baby, starting from birth. A crawling mat can help with this. You can purchase the device at children's store. But it’s 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.

A rug is a canvas made of yarn or thick fabric. May have different forms. The main idea when creating a developmental mat with your own hands is to make it bright and colorful to interest the baby. It should consist of different textures with colorful applications, complemented by buttons, rattles, and musical details.

Thanks to the moving elements, the child will develop fine motor skills.

Mats functions:

• Development of fantasy and imagination.
• Training concentration, memory and fine motor skills.
• Development of logical thinking.
• Basic study of the alphabet, numbers, objects, geometric shapes.
• Recognition of colors and shades.

You can buy such a rug in a store, but many women prefer to make it with their own hands, because it is not at all difficult to do.

Basic requirements for educational mats

When making a children's rug with your own hands, it is important to adhere to certain requirements.

An educational mat is a textile or knitted cloth, decorated with bright appliqués, with movable elements for play placed on it.

• The quality of materials and components used during 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 accessories that a child can place in his mouth or nose.
• The touch mat must contain only serviceable components.

Do not allow chips, cracks, or unraveling seams.

• When making canvas, it is necessary to take into account versatility. After a few months, the child's interests will change. It will be necessary to replace some parts or supplement existing ones. You can make your own children's crawling mat, equipping it with folding sides, allowing you to expand the playing area over time.
• The toy must be mobile and compact so that, if desired, it can be easily transported and folded.

This rug gives children the opportunity to develop from the first days of life, and is designed for use up to 3 years of age.

• When choosing or creating a sensory mat for children, it is important to consider age characteristics. 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 easy to unfasten for easy washing.
• When making an educational rug for children with your own hands, it is advisable to use different colors and textures, and many interactive, noisy elements.

They will help attract the child's attention and interest him.

Materials for production

To make a rug for the 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 padding polyester 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 accumulate 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 impact on the child’s psyche, tiring and boring him.
• Large buttons can be used for decoration different colors, elastic bands, thick threads and ribbons, ropes and Velcro.
• To make a play mat with your own hands, you will need to purchase high-quality plastic and mechanical parts.

For a child, the developmental mat will be the largest and useful toy, which never gets boring.

Design ideas

Before you start work, you need to decide on the form and decorative elements. For convenience, it is advisable to draw a sketch of the canvas on paper. Having looked in advance at ideas for designing educational 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 entertaining design. For absolutely early age sensory, didactic canvases, or those made from soft pom-poms are suitable.

For older children, an excellent option would be those where you can develop not only fine motor skills, but also logic - puzzle rugs, puzzles, mosaics.

Separately, it is worth highlighting rugs for girls - most often they are round or oval, with several zones that reflect the interests of the daughter. It can be supplemented with flaps and pockets. Shades of pink predominate. For boys, the car theme is most often used. How older child, the more detailed the drawing should be. Popular colors are blue, cyan, green. It is recommended for active fidgety children to build a rug with soft sides. You can use not only filler as a barrier, but also an additional layer of pompoms.

When the child grows up and begins to sit independently, he will be able to play with it and develop without outside help.

To make educational rugs for children with your own hands, you will need fabric patterns. With their help, various figures are sewn for decoration and applique. These can be animals, trees, plants, windows, cars, clouds, fairy-tale and cartoon characters.

Bright applications and a large number of all kinds of elements will occupy the child’s attention for a long time.

We create an educational mat for children with our own hands

The process of creating a children's educational rug with your own hands is not difficult. And most importantly, the product will be individual, taking into account all the needs of the baby.

When playing with such a toy, the child will feel your warmth, love and care.

You should start work by developing a sketch. You can draw a diagram on whatman paper. Next, you need to follow the instructions, which describe in detail how to make educational rugs for a child with your own hands.

Preparation of accessories

The first step is to purchase all the necessary accessories - buttons, ribbons, fasteners, beads, Velcro, threads, fasteners. The tools you will need are scissors, a needle, a stationery knife, and bobby pins. At the same stage, it is advisable to draw diagrams of future applications and cut them out.

Below we will describe everything in detail on the topic of how to sew a developmental mat with your own hands.

Preparing the base

This stage involves creating a diagram of the finished canvas. You also need to select materials. It is recommended to give preference to natural, non-slip compounds with antistatic properties. These include calico, flannel, felt, cotton. If you intend to create knitted elements, you must choose cotton yarn.

Soft materials cause pleasant tactile sensations and do not provoke allergic reactions.

Important! It is necessary to take care of high-quality internal filler. Kids rug designed for crawling and is most often placed on the floor. It must be well insulated. It is recommended to use padding polyester or foam rubber.

Before you sew the parts of a baby's educational rug with your own hands, you need to decide on the front and back sides. After this, you can start cutting out the upper and lower parts and the filler. Be sure to leave seam margins on all sides. Then you need to overcast the edges, not missing any protruding threads.

Creation of a playing field, production of game elements

At this stage, you will need to sew on all pre-prepared appliqués and drawings. Then you should firmly attach the fittings, mechanical and musical elements, and rattles. Special attention It is necessary to pay attention to the quality of fastening of small parts, such as buttons, beads. The child should not be able to tear them off. It is recommended not to use glue, replacing it with thick threads.

Adhesive bases are acceptable for fastening fabric elements and appliqués.

Securing elements to the mat

Large fittings can be made either firmly attached to the base or movable. Safe soft parts can be attached using buttons and Velcro.

This will make them easier to remove before cleaning and washing.

After completing the preparatory work, you can proceed to combining all the parts. To do this, you will need to tightly sew all the components together from the wrong side and turn them right side out.

The advantage of a homemade rug for children is its uniqueness. When creating it, it is possible to take into account all the characteristics and interests of the baby. Below are several ideas that will help parents decide on the plot of the playing field for children from 0 to 3 years old.

You choose the materials for its manufacture yourself and you will know exactly what it is made of.

• A bee hiding in a bright flower.
• Christmas tree with buttons for fastening toys.
• A castle for cartoon characters, equipped with opening doors and windows.
• Ships, boats, cars, attached using tape in a movable way. This way, the baby will be able to move objects independently.
• Multi-colored trees, clouds, plants.
• For older children, you can choose more complex applications - traffic, stories from fairy tales.
• It is recommended to equip rugs with pockets in which the child can put his favorite toys.

Rug with arcs yourself

A good idea for creating a rug for children with your own hands is to equip it with special arcs. You can attach toys, musical mechanisms, and rattles to them.

Thanks to such elements, you can concentrate the child’s attention.

The process of creating a canvas for a children's room consists of the steps listed below. To sew elements of a developmental rug for children from 0 to 3 years old, you need to adhere to the following sequence.

Mat base

To make a sensory mat for children with your own hands, equipped with arcs, you will need several meters of natural fabric and a material that serves as a seal - padding polyester or foam rubber. If you don’t want to create patterns for appliqués from fabric, you can purchase one that is already decorated with children’s patterns.

For the wrong side, a plain calico is suitable.

To create a rug for children with your own hands, size 1 square. m. you will need:

• Main fabric with 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, pompoms;
• Adhesive tape, preferably in different colors;

After choosing fabrics for the base, you need to start cutting:

1. The bottom part is cut first. A pre-prepared paper diagram is applied to the selected base and carefully outlined with soap or pencil. Be sure to leave gaps for seams. After marking, you can cut the fabric.
2. Next, you should cut out even squares from the background fabric, which are sewn together one by one. You should get a contrasting pattern. It is important to make all seams tightly and efficiently, leaving them from the inside of the product.
3. Educational toys are sewn to the top.
4. After this, the front side can be sewn to a sealant - foam rubber or padding polyester.

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 stationery knife.

1. The hoop is divided into parts - 125 cm and 132 cm.
2. To give softness to the resulting arches, it is recommended to wrap them tightly with padding polyester, securing it with threads.
3. After this, the arcs must be decorated with colored fabric.

Pieces of padding polyester must be attached to each half of the hoop, pressing tightly and wrapping them with threads at intervals of 2–3 cm.

Connecting the arches and the base of the mat

The best option is to thread the arcs through the holes and secure them with wide Velcro on the inside.

To prevent the arcs from jumping out, you need to tightly wrap the pockets with the arcs with material.

1. Through slots should be made close to the junctions of the background and the center.
2. Then it is recommended to sweep them.
3. Velcro is sewn on the bottom part (closer to the outer corners).
4. The second halves of the Velcro are attached to the arcs on the front surface.
5. The arches are folded crosswise, and a thick braid is attached to the bottom to secure the structure.
6. The touch mat is ready.

Developmental activities with a mat

The functions of a homemade sensory mat are very diverse.

All that remains is to hang the toys from the arcs using 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. This develops concentration and tactile sensations.
• After the child learns to sit, you can place the canvas on the floor and join him, showing in a playful way what can be done with different toys.
• Older children can fasten buttons and zippers and move elements on their own. These actions develop fine motor skills of the hands.
• As they grow older, a hand-made educational mat for newborns can be equipped with letters and numbers.
• It is important to pronounce all actions and names of objects during the game. This way the child will train attention and memory.

A hand-sewn carpet for a nursery will delight a child for several years. And it will help parents free up some time by keeping their baby occupied. Made with love, it will bring joy and fun to the baby, leaving only warm memories.

Loving parents, trying to develop their child from birth, use modern techniques and all kinds of expensive toys. Recently, developmental mats have been invented specifically for these purposes. You can buy such a rug in a store, but many women prefer to make it with their own hands, because it is not at all difficult to do. In this article we will tell you how to make DIY educational mat for children from 0 to 3 years old, and we will show photo the most original ideas.

Educational mat for a small child

An educational mat is a textile or knitted cloth, decorated with bright appliqués, with movable elements for play placed on it. It is sometimes supplemented with a frame for hanging toys. This rug gives children the opportunity to develop from the first days of life, and is designed for use up to 3 years of age.

Developmental mat for newborns

Playing with an educational mat will help:

Did you know: a child’s brain is not fully developed at the time of birth. In the first months and years of life, the most active growth and development of nerve connections in the brain occurs. This process, and the number of connections created, is influenced by the environment in which the child grows up and how he is dealt with.

Developmental mat for babies

For a child, a developmental mat will become the largest and most useful toy that never gets boring, and for a mother, it will be the main visual aid for activities with the baby. When the child grows up and begins to sit independently, he will be able to play with it and develop without outside help. Bright applications and a large number of various elements will occupy the child’s attention for a long time, and you will have the opportunity to relax a little or do household chores. During joint activities, it is necessary to show the child what actions can be performed with objects placed on the mat, and to get him to complete the assigned tasks.

Educational mat for little ones

Advantages of a homemade rug

Advice: make a rug with a spare size so that as the child grows up, you can add new developmental elements that are appropriate for his age. It will “grow” with the child and will always be new and interesting.

Making a developmental mat

We make a developmental mat with our own hands

First, you need to decide what exactly you want to see on your rug and draw a rough sketch on a piece of paper. Then choose a material suitable in size and texture for the base of the rug and for its lining. To make the rug soft and warm, you will need padding polyester or warm coat fabric. The latter will help the mat better keep its shape and not wrinkle during play.

Ideas for an educational square rug

Advice: choose natural or half natural ones for the face covering. synthetic fabrics. They must have a stable color and not accumulate static electricity. Chintz, linen, gabardine, and suiting fabrics with natural wool fibers are suitable. For lining, use a non-slip material. Do not use satin or satin. It is better to take chintz, cotton jersey, linen or corduroy, and woolen suiting fabrics.

Bright and colorful educational mat for children

Preparation of accessories

Collect all the scraps and unnecessary things that you don’t mind cutting up. Try to choose different textures, bright fabrics, with interesting patterns. Wash and iron everything. Look around your house for threads, buttons and locks. Find different colored laces, buttons and beads. Gather small toys and boxes together. All this will be useful to you in your work and this will be enough to get started.

Photo of a model educational rug for children

Then, as needed, you can search for and select the necessary materials. You may need ribbons, elastic bands, and Velcro. Metal and plastic rings, Kinder surprise boxes and broken rattles will come in handy. You can use multi-colored wool threads of different thicknesses.

Important! Do not use toys with small parts that cannot be secured to the mat; small children put everything in their mouth and can swallow them! Do not use materials that crumble, break or come off!

Preparing the base

DIY educational mat for a baby

Cut panels of the same size from the main fabric, from the lining fabric and from the padding polyester. Lay them out in three layers so that the padding polyester is inside, and connect them together. Finish the edges with an overlocker, edging, or a simple hem. The base for the rug is ready.

Photo of an educational mat with overlays

Creating a playing field

On the prepared basis we create a playing field according to the sketch. It could be a forest, a lake, or a flower bed, a road for cars and a river for ships. You can make a green meadow and a blue sky with clouds. We cut the parts of the required size and color, fold the edges and sew them onto the rug, first by hand and then by sewing machine.

Educational mat with small details for a small child

Tip: place the parts on a soft adhesive base (non-woven fabric), it will be easier to work with them and they will look better.

Making game elements

This is the main and most labor-intensive part of the work. You can make flowers, butterflies or mushrooms, and come up with fairy-tale houses and castles. Make cars, airplanes or boats, sew any small animals or birds. Show your imagination. They can be sewn or fixed movably, on cords or ribbons, or attached to the rug using Velcro or buttons.

Educational mat in bright colors

Tip: to make the game elements voluminous, use padding polyester to fill them.

Interesting ideas

Tip: To make a lake, use a piece of clear polyethylene or organza and place the fish underneath. For the weed suitable suitable fleecy fabric in color.

Educational mat with houses, butterflies and toys

Securing elements to the mat

According to the sketch you came up with, place the finished elements on the rug. Sew buttons, laces and Velcro, secure toys, place game characters in places. Close the clasps and lace up the pockets. Complete each developmental composition according to the sketch you created.

Important! Check the reliability of fastening of small parts, the strength of cords and threads with beads, the integrity of loops and boxes!

An original idea for a developmental mat for a baby

Developmental activities with a mat

Did you know: children who are regularly tutored are, by the age of two, ahead of their peers in development, and their vocabulary is 300 words higher.

The idea of ​​a beautiful educational mat

Having spent a little time making a developmental mat, you will use it for your child's development for several years. You will always find something to keep your baby busy and something to play with him. A bright and colorful rug will decorate a child's room and become a favorite place to play. Made with love by your hands, it will bring your son or daughter a lot of joy and leave warm memories for a lifetime.

Developmental mat for babies

DIY educational mat for children from 0 to 3 years old 39 photo ideas:

Sewing a developmental mat with your own hands can be a very pleasant and exciting activity for a mother during pregnancy or in the first months after the birth of the baby.

Of course, you can simply buy a rug, but by making it yourself, you not only save, but also invest your soul in the development of your baby.

It can be very simple, but contain different elements for understanding the world around you, or you will put a lot of effort and imagination into creating it - it all depends on your desire.

In this article, we have collected the basic principles for creating elements of a developmental mat and ideas for using improvised means for the development of a child.

As a rule, such a mat is used for babies from 1-2 months. The child is placed there on his back (if the mat has curves) or on his tummy. The main requirement for a rug is that it should be warm and cozy and have many different textured elements that the baby can touch, kick, catch, press, and put in his mouth.

The woven material and elements should be varied to the touch - smooth, rough, fur, fleecy, cold, with pimples, etc.

General idea and materials

First, come up with a general idea– color scheme, mood. Will the rug depict a whole story, or represent various phenomena (elements, seasons), or will it simply be sewn from squares or triangles of different fabrics? Draw a sketch.

The colors should not be very flashy, but also not too pale. Small child It only recognizes contrasting colors well, so sewing the entire rug in different shades of pink is a bad idea. And fabrics and various elements should not pose a danger to the baby.

Think about what you have- scraps of fabric, buttons, ribbons, fringe, braid, zippers, Velcro, appliques, images of animals on fabric, something instead of an arc. Everything can become elements of a developmental rug, the main thing is to sew it securely.

And do not forget that the rug will need to be washed, so the fabrics and all elements must withstand washing, or be attached in such a way that they can be removed before washing.

To sew a developmental mat with your own hands, we suggest using an old blanket or padding polyester as a base to make the baby warm and soft. The blanket can be square 1x1 m or 1.5x1.5 m, or any other shape and size.

You will cover the blanket with the main material with already sewn elements in the form of some kind of pattern, or sew the outer surface of the rug using the patchwork technique from pieces of fabric of various textures and colors.

Arcs for a developmental mat can be made from a hoop, which is cut to length depending on the size of the mat. How to attach them is clearly shown in the video at the end of the article. The arcs are covered with fabric, then you can hang toys on them - store-bought or homemade (for example,).

There is another option than replacing the arcs for the rug:

Design themes and elements of the educational rug

The design of the rug can be dedicated to the theme of animals, flowers, fruits, fairy tales. It could be some kind of story or a town with houses, cars, a river and trees. Try dividing the playing surface of the rug into sectors dedicated to the seasons, time of day or elements - water, earth, air, etc.

If you just sew a rug from different fabrics, then take a variety of colors and textures, polka dot and striped prints. Fabrics with patterns are also available, you can choose a suitable theme and sew everything from one fabric, the main thing is that it washes well.

Sew rustling polyethylene or candy wrappers into some game elements. Use satin, tulle, artificial fur for the baby's sensory development.

Let some elements be convex and soft; fill them with padding polyester or holofiber. Sew different buttons tightly, you can make a pattern out of them, use buttons of different shapes.

Rain or rays of the sun can be depicted using fringe, or sew on multi-colored ribbons in the shape of a rainbow. Somewhere you can sew in lacing and a zipper so that the child can practice his fine motor skills and learn how to use them when he grows up.

Let some elements of the rug be attached with Velcro - for example, this is how doors in a house can open and close. Hide some surprises in your pockets; your baby will be interested in how they are hidden and found again. Sew some toys with elastic bands into the pocket.

Come up with sound effects. In addition to the rustling candy wrappers sewn into the elements of the rug, you can hang a bell or musical toys on the arcs. Try taking out a music block from old toys and sewing it into a rug.

And now a video that will clearly show how, from a technical point of view, to make a developmental mat with arcs with your own hands, how to make and attach toys:

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
- plain fabric, 4 colors (let’s call it background), 30 cm each. The ideal option is a raincoat fabric with fleece.
- padding polyester 1.5 m
- Velcro tape (Velcro) white and black
- laces, elastic bands, ribbons, fabrics of different textures, etc.
- rustling candy wrappers :))))

2. Cut 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

The remains of plain fabrics are used to sew 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 developmental elements onto the background.
There are several rules here (we focus on ages from 3-5 months):
- large
- contrasting
- It's clear
- reliable and safe
- ban on small details
You shouldn’t puff and overload the mat with development tools; a child at this age will not appreciate it. It’s also better to save all sorts of locks, zippers, etc. for a later age.

We take into account that children love to fiddle with strings, pull rustling leaves, ears, wings, open and close, find something that is not immediately visible, and touch different textures. Don’t forget that what we are depicting will need to be named to the child and told something.
Here, for example: House. There are flowers on the window, clothes are drying on a line nearby (we call it with an older child).

We open the rustling door (fastening is Velcro)... And it turns out that a girl lives in the house! I like to make the eyes from black Velcro, the soft half. I just cut it out and sew it tightly by hand. I sewed the second half of Velcro onto the palms - with hooks, so you can play the favorite children's game "peek-a-boo" with your palms. The girl's arms are like one cord: you pull one arm, the other becomes shorter. The hair is tightly sewn yarn.

And a girl can giggle at a frog that catches butterflies with a net))))).

And so on. Other examples of developmental elements can be found in my posts about rugs: http://happynata.blogspot.ru/2014/03 and http://happynata.blogspot.ru/2014/02

4. We assemble the front part of the rug from pieces.

First we sew the short pieces to the central part. It is imperative to maintain an allowance of exactly 1.5 cm! Now we sew on the long pieces. Same with allowance.

All developmental elements should be directed towards the center so that the child can, after twisting and turning, choose for himself what interests him or crawl from one element to another. The central part, in fact, is needed for this, to lie down and crawl comfortably, so we don’t attach anything here!

This is roughly what you should get at the end of this stage:

5. Making arcs.

We saw off two arcs from the hoop, 125 cm and 132 cm long.

We cut the padding polyester - 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:

This is what you should end up with:

Now we cover the arcs with fabric.

Hoops can be thin or thick, so I can’t give the exact dimensions of the parts. We wrap a measuring tape around the resulting arc (not tightly) and add allowances. This will be the width of the fabric cut, take the length to be 1.5 m - we will cut off the excess on the spot. Naturally, we cut off two of these))).

Fold the fabric with the right side inward, stitch it, sewing on loops and ties along the way, if necessary. Below I’ll write how to sew a clever thing that makes these ties unnecessary. We turn it inside out and insert the arcs there. And for now we put it aside.

6. Sew the rug and quilt it with padding polyester.

Don't turn it out yet. We cut the padding polyester 1m by 1m and put it on top. We grab it in the corners and in the middle of the sides to the rug. Now he won’t move or get lost anywhere.

Turn it inside out. Sew it up.

We quilt along the connecting lines of the fabrics and somewhere else, if we are not too lazy))). The main thing is to baste it first, because when sewing, the padding polyester will absolutely pull the fabric to the side.

7. Attaching the arches to the mat.

Of all the options I considered, I liked this one. The arcs are threaded through the holes and attached from the inside with wide Velcro. Firstly, it is fast (and when a child cries, minutes count), and secondly, it is reliable - tested over several months of daily use.

So. we make four slits (through and through) in the four corners - not far from the junctions of the background and the central part. And we sheathe it as best we can))). I used bias tape.

We sew the Velcro on the back side - near the cut, closer to the outer corner.

We sew the second halves of the Velcro to the arches, having first cut off the excess and folded it in. Velcro should be located on the front surface, i.e. the center seam of the arc will be at the back. In general, try it on seven times before you start sewing.

Insert the arcs crosswise. We sew fasteners for the arcs to the bottom arc (the one that is shorter) in the middle. I like to use thick webbing and Velcro. Here's what happens:

Despite the great variety of educational rugs for children in stores, very often we cannot choose a specific model. And this is not surprising, all babies are special. But it is difficult to determine exactly what is special about them in the first weeks of life. Therefore, usually the choice either falls on all the rugs at once, or none of them suits our needs.

If you still can’t decide on the choice of rug, then know that you can create it yourself! Desire and knowledge of the basic principles of their design are enough. That's what we'll talk about next.

Basic requirements for hand-sewn rugs

Even if you already know exactly what type of rug you need, don't rush to grab a needle and fabric. It is very important not to forget that educational rugs become your baby’s main toy for a long time, a faithful companion and assistant in exploring the world. Therefore, first you should study the basic requirements for such rugs, and only then start sewing them.

Attention to detail

The best child psychologists work on the development of modern rugs and use high-tech equipment, but handmade rugs have their own number of advantages:

• you choose the materials for the rug yourself and are confident in their safety,
• you decide how many games and game elements will be on the mat,
• you yourself determine the size of the playing field of the future rug, and it may differ greatly from the standard ones offered by global manufacturers,
• your rug will be created exclusively for your baby, it will provide and take into account his characteristics and preferences, his love for certain games, as well as colors.

That is why most mothers still prefer to sew educational rugs for children with their own hands.

But before you start sewing such a rug, you need to remember several important requirements for the work, so as not to be disappointed with the result.

1) If you are going to develop your baby’s fine motor skills, then choose different objects that will perform this function.

The child will quickly get bored with the monotony, and he will lose interest in the game.

2) If you want the rug to last you a long time, leave some free space to add new games.

In the first days of life, the baby will play more and more interestingly 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 playing does not disappear.

4) Consider the arrangement of sectors and game elements on the canvas so that they not only include maximum benefit as an educational game, but also fit harmoniously into the overall idea.

The field must be logically structured, 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 the development of your baby in a playful way. And therefore it is very important that he finds it interesting, fun and educational.

To create an educational rug for children with your own hands, you will need a lot of different materials. But this does not mean that it should be full of beads, laces and chaotically stuck Velcro, which will only disturb and confuse the baby.

First, you need to think about 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 developmental rug is fabric.

It is needed both to create the base and for most of the applications that will decorate the playing field. Therefore, when selecting it, pay attention to the following:

• For the wrong side, a non-slip fabric is suitable so that the rug does not slide on the floor,
• For the base, a plain, dense fabric is more suitable so that it can withstand frequent use of the rug,
• for decoration and appliqués, thin fabrics are suitable - chintz, calico, cotton,
• for rustling elements, choose raincoat fabric, artificial silk,
• for games aimed at developing tactile sensations, velvet, suede, corduroy, etc. are more suitable.

As you can see, you will need a lot of fabric to create a developmental mat.

Don’t forget about the fittings, which play an important role here:

• , zippers and teach children how to fasten parts;
• Rubber bands will help you hide and take out individual game elements, as well as depict natural phenomena. For example, rain or the sun peeking out from behind the clouds;
• beads, sequins and colorful stones will attract attention and develop the baby’s color perception.

Look around, not only sewing accessories can help you create an educational rug. Everything will come into play:

• peas, beans, millet and buckwheat - as a filler and to create rustling toys;
• woolen threads - as an imitation of grass or animal hair;
• bright candy wrappers - as inserts and sound effect.

And this is not the entire list of materials that may be useful to you. Each rug is unique, just like its owner. Therefore, you decide for yourself what suits you to create it.

Just don’t forget that all materials must be natural and not hazardous to the baby’s health.

Sew small details firmly, and choose the fabric wisely so that it does not fade or stain children’s palms.

We create an educational mat for children with our own hands

As we have already said, educational mats for children come in different varieties. They differ not only in size and content, but also in purpose, since they are created for the specific age of the baby. So first decide how long you want the mat to last, and only what suits you best. And we will try to figure out how to create the basis and how to complement the playing field of the most common types of children's rugs.

DIY rug with arcs

Since rugs with arches and sides are best suited for infants, it is worth making them bright.

In addition to the previously mentioned materials in the form of fabric and accessories, we will also need arcs. A gymnastic hoop or metal-plastic pipes will help us with this.

Therefore, to create a developmental rug with arcs we will need:

• plain fabrics of bright colors - calico, chintz, cotton;
• non-slip fabric for the back of the mat;
• padding polyester;
• a 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 developmental mat with arcs is considered to be 90x90 cm, but you can decide for yourself what area your baby’s playing field will be.

Mat base

Cut out a square of the required size from the main fabric for the front side of the rug and exactly the same from non-slip fabric, which will become the back side. Sew them together and turn them right side out, but leave enough opening for stuffing.

To make it soft to lie on and turn over on the rug, insert several layers of padding polyester into the resulting blank and then sew everything up.

To prevent the padding polyester inside the mat from shifting or crumpling, quilt the future mat (all layers of padding polyester and fabric), either by hand or on a sewing machine.

This is how we have created the basis for an educational rug, which can be decorated immediately or over time with toys and appliqués for your fidget.

Arcs

Now let's move on to the arcs.

If you choose a gymnastic hoop, then you first need to cut it in half to get a frame. Then the arches need to be made safer and softer. Therefore, we again take out the padding polyester and wrap it around the blanks.

When the arc is not visible under the padding polyester layer, and you consider it as soft and safe as possible for the baby, take the fabric, sew a long tube from it, turn it inside out and insert the resulting arc into it.

Connecting the arches and the base of the mat

Don't 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 tape.

Once the base and arcs are ready, the main question remains: how to connect the two main elements together?

If you do not plan to assemble and disassemble the rug, you can sew the fabric that wraps the arcs to the corners of the rug. Your developmental mat will now be ready and ready to use.

If you plan to make it more transportable, then at the stage of sewing the base you should think about options for attaching the arches.

You can cut small pockets in the form of pipes with a diameter a couple of centimeters larger than the arc, 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 resulting loops and sew Velcro on the back side. Attach its second part to the finished arc and insert it into the loop. This is exactly what Lyubov Lozinskaya suggests doing, sharing the tricks of creating a mobile and bright educational rug in her master class on creating a children's rug.

If you plan to use the developmental mat 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 required length, wrap them with padding polyester and cover 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 rug of suitable size.

Calculation of pipe length for arcs

To do this, simply multiply the diagonal of the rug by the number π, equal to 3.14, and then divide the resulting 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 (90 cm x 1.4). Now we need to multiply the resulting number by 3.14 - 126cmx3.14 - to get the circumference of the intended circle, which will be equal to 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 will need two cuts of a metal-plastic pipe with an approximate length of 198 cm. If the arc turns out to be too high, simply reduce the length of the pipe until you get a satisfactory result.

Please note that one pipe should be several centimeters longer than the other for greater stability of the structure.

DIY rug with arcs and sides

One more distinctive feature Developmental mats for younger children include not only arches, but also sides so that fidgets stay in place.

As we have already said, such rugs come in several types:

• with attached sides;
• with sides that are part of a large rug.

Pillows, bolsters or other soft restraints can become additional sides.

If you want the rug to become your assistant for a long time, then your choice is a rug with lifting sides. After all, it has two sizes - assembled and disassembled.

To sew such a rug, you first need to create the correct pattern. To do this, decide on the size of the initial, 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 sides will fold, you can sew laces or ribbons. Then to assemble the rug you will only need to tie them tightly 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 by a young mother.

DIY themed or play mat

And yet, the most popular among educational rugs for children are play mats. After all, they have so many interesting and fun things to do!

The base of such a rug can be sewn in different ways:

• a single piece of fabric, to which appliqués and educational toys will then be sewn;
• separate sections that will be connected, increasing the rug in size over time.

But in any case you will need:

• several large pieces 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, etc.

First, decide on a sketch of your future rug:

• consider the size finished product and whether you will sew it from scraps or from a solid cut;
• think over the location of the games and the logical transition between them;
• come up with a plot for the rug.

It is very important that everything that happens on the mat has meaning and pattern. 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 rug type can also be an excellent clue. You can sew:

In any case, you will need a base sewn from two pieces of fabric and layered with filler to make the mat as safe as possible for playing.

Afterwards you can sew game elements to it in the order you require.

If you have chosen a map of the area as your subject - a forest, a highway or a park - then you can divide the field into sky 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 airplanes.

Don’t limit your imagination, you can always add a new object to the rug by simply sewing it on or swapping it with another one.

Use Velcro, buttons and zippers to connect toys. So an airplane can fly in the sky, attached to a zipper slider, in a house, windows can open and close 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 the variety of types of toys:

• sew or knit noisy objects - pour buckwheat or beads into a chocolate egg capsule, tie it or cover it with fabric, giving the toy the image of a bee, butterfly or rabbit;
• use felt for flat appliqués that will move across the playing field and be attached with Velcro, snaps or buttons;
• provide pockets with zippers in which there will be;
• Sew appliqués with a candy wrapper inside into separate sections of the rug; such rustling noise 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 skills, then you can use the excellent idea of ​​Svetlana Rost, who suggests creating an educational rug based on pillows for stools. This way you can increase or decrease the size of the playing field, swap games and tasks, or even temporarily remove those that your baby is already tired of.

Double-sided developmental mat

Practical parents prefer double-sided rugs that contain two playing fields. This way they will provide their baby with something to do for a long time and save the family budget.

But when creating such educational rugs with your own hands, keep in mind that the baby will move around on it and nothing should interfere with him. Therefore, you should avoid bulky and hard objects that can cause unnecessary abrasions and bruises.

As with play mats, first you need:

• come up with a plot;
• draw a sketch and map;
• prepare materials.

Afterwards, you sew all the game objects and Velcro onto the prepared playing fields and sew them together using the quilting sandwich principle - fold the playing field, apply the padding polyester to the wrong side and place the second playing field, the wrong side to the filler. Sew the resulting sandwich together, sewing tape along the edge.

For playing on such a developmental mat, the most suitable toys are made of felt, which can be rearranged, shifted or used for both sides.

Puzzle mat or puzzle mat

If your baby is already old enough and independent, then he will like the idea of ​​assembling his own rug. The process of folding itself will become an excellent game for him and a test of logic, spatial thinking, as well as the relationship of shapes to each other. This is exactly why puzzle mats or puzzle mats were invented.

Big puzzle for a little man

Most often, such mats are made of PVC, i.e. It will be difficult to reproduce their production at home. But handicraft mothers found a way out and began sewing puzzle rugs in the form of many soft pillows that can be easily connected to each other.

To create these educational mats 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 simply transfer it to the fabric - each detail should be cut out in duplicate, which will then be sewn into pillows.

Fill the pillows tightly with padding polyester or any other filling, sew up the hole and you can give the finished rug to your child to play with. He will decide for himself how to collect it and what to do with it next.

To add another element of play and test the child's logic, you can sew an applique to the pillows in the form of a labyrinth or a road, which will need to be connected in the correct order.

Eclerka and her detailed master class will help you understand the process of creating a puzzle rug in more detail, in which she shares the intricacies of cutting and sewing pillows.

As you can see, in order to give your child full development and help him understand the world, you don’t have to run to the store and buy everything from its shelves. Sometimes it is enough to show imagination and ingenuity, and also to give him your love by creating a comfortable, useful and interesting educational rug. And what it will be like and what it will teach your baby is up to you to decide.