You wouldn’t think it for a million years, but having a designated crafting mat will heighten the experience of whatever you are crafting. Extra points for if you can find the fanciest mat for yourself.
I came upon this little discovery when I was journaling and just pulled out one of my dinner mats for fun. I had a nice color scheme going on with the rest of my setup, so I thought, “eh, why not?”
Well, I’ve been craft journaling for 10 years now, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize the tiniest detail made such a big difference. I’ll show you how to make your own double-sided mat. And you don’t need to sew at all.
Let’s get started.
The Materials
You can find these materials around your house, or for a small price in the craft section of your favorite department store. Or at any craft store.
- Two pieces of fabric (cut into identical circles of your desired size)
- Scissors
- Fabric glue
- Ribbon (should be at least 2-3″ thick)
- Two kinds of trim (or just one if you wish)
- Pins (they will be essential to placing everything just right)
The Process
[You can check back in again for a video tutorial soon! I’m still in the process of editing]
The new-sew method works so well here because each layer conceals any raw edges of your work. In the end, you actually get two mats!
If you don’t have time for video (though I recommend you check it out when you do), here are some picture directions.
- Start with cutting a circle of desired size on one of your pieces of fabric.
2. Cut another circle on your second fabric using the first circle you made as a stencil.
3. Grab your 2-3″ thick ribbon and cut a length that can circle around the fabric pieces you just cut about 1.5x or longer.
4. Create pleats on this ribbon, and hold them in place using pins. It’s important to place your pins in a consistent manner. I suggest vertically on the edge of each pleat you make as depicted below.
5. Pin the pleated ribbon to one of your fabric circles. Don’t worry if they don’t pin flat to your fabric, we’ll address that in the next step. The goal is to just make sure the ribbon is placed in a way that you like.
What’s important here is that you place your pins horizontally and only on every other pleat. You will be adjusting the unpinned pleats in the next step.
6. You will now remove the vertical pins two at a time, so that you can adjust every other pleat that you did NOT pin in the previous step.
Take your time here. You want your fabric to lay flat, and you’ll find that as you make the adjustments, the pleats will naturally taper in a trapezoid-like shape as depicted below.
7. Once you are satisfied, you can start to lightly glue any unpinned areas of your fabric. Don’t worry about being thorough right now. You are only dabbing here and there to lock in the pleats. Keep the pins on.
8. Flip the mat over. Take your second fabric circle and glue it onto the mat. Try to have the two fabric circles placed in about the same area so your mat is symmetrical. You can glue all around the mat on this side .
9. Place a heavy book over your mat and let the glue dry for however long is recommended. I waited about a day.
10. Once the glue dries, you can remove the pins. You can also add more glue around any unsealed edges.
11. Grab your trim and cut a length that can circle around your fabric circle.
12. Put just enough glue on the trim, a few inches at a time and carefully place the trim at the edge of the fabric. You can refer to the picture below.
13. The first side is finished! Flip your mat over.
14. Take your second trim and cut a length that can circle around your fabric circle. Here, I used a polka dotted ribbon. It does not want to be glued around a circular shape. I’ll show you how to fix that in the next step.
15. Cut about 3/4 into the width of the ribbon. You should be able to bend the ribbon to make a “wedge” as shown below. Keep cutting like this every inch or so into the ribbon until you get to the end.
16. You should now be able to glue the ribbon around the fabric circle with no issue. Don’t forget to glue a few inches at time so you can focus on placing the ribbon just right along the edge of the fabric circle.
17. The second side is done! Place a heavy book back on the mat and allow the glue to completely dry before using.
Using Your Mat
It’s all about the immersive experience when you’re journaling or working at the table. Taking the time out to pull out your mat is like taking the time out to brew a nice cup of tea for yourself in the morning. It just brings so much satisfaction for doing it. This can also make a thoughtful gift for a fellow journaling buddy.
Give it a try and you’ll find this could be your new favorite crafting accessory!
Till next time, xo.
Note that am not affiliated with any of the brands or organizations mentioned in this post.