September, jeans month #1 : the playmat

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Since I have become a crazy crafter, I often get given old clothes and unwanted scraps of fabric to fuel my habit. This is how I came to have a few very worn pairs of jeans in my stash, patiently awaiting their time to shine. So when the mini monkey started to want to move around (a lot), they seemed like the perfect material to make him a sturdy playmat, which could survive all the rolling around and large amount of dribble!!
 
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Making the most of nap times and of a kind offer of Mr Monkey to babysit for the day, I managed to cut out some squares in the laid out jeans, as well as in some scraps of canvas, oilcloth and Minky. These were then all joined up to make up a mosaic to the required dimensions.
 
I thought it would take forever but once all the squares were cut out it came together surprisingly quickly. I just added a layer of thick wadding and a large piece of upholstery fabric for the back, and it was ready for testing by the mini monkey. He seemed to like it, as he fell asleep on it pretty much instantly !!
 
Technical details
 
Completion time : 3-4 hours
Cost : old jeans - free, fabric scraps - next to nothing, wadding : £3.95 a metre, but you could also use an old quilt or duvet, backing fabric - an old scrap from Ikea purchased ages ago for £3.50 a metre, but you could certainly use an old bed sheet or curtain
TOTAL : about £12 for my mat which measures 1 x 1.70 m, but you could get away with spending a lot less if you only used recycled materials
Eco credentials : upcycling of old jeans that would otherwise have ended in landfill, and non-purchase of a brand new playmat made in China!
 
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I have to admit I am rather pleased with some of my corners ! OK, I am cheating as I chose not to show you any of the dodgy ones, but that's allowed, isn't it?!
I intentionally alternated the weave of the jean fabric to give a bit of rhythm to the pattern, and left a couple of pockets for my mini monkey to hide his little treasures in!

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The next post will be a quick DIY of the mat, in case you own a few pairs of old jeans that you don't know what to do with! See you soon my little monkeys! 
 
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