DIY Kennel Mats

So, I recently made some curtains for my parents' kitchen, and I had some left over fabric. Since the fabric was mostly just long strips, I decided to make some kennel mats for my local animal shelter!

This project is really pretty simple, and you can make them up using either a sewing machine or handsewing!

Supplies:

• Scraps of fabric (You can also use thick plastic tablecloths to make them more durable)
• Thread (this is a great project to use up all of those half filled bobbins/spools you have!)
• Sewing needles (for machine sewing you will need medium weight AND heavy weight needles)
• Batting
• Scissors

Let's get started~!

1st: Lay out your scraps, and cut the ends so they are even. I used a cutting mat and a rotary blade to make this quicker, but you can easily use scissors!

Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, and sew up 2 of the sides (leaving 1 side open to stuff the mat!) Also, to make the project quicker, when you get to the corner, put leave the needle in the down position, lift up the presser foot, and swivel the fabric around!

To make the corners neater, cut close to the seam at the corner, and make a couple of slashes into the seam allowance!

Then, just flip the fabric right side out, and use a needle to pick out the corners!

Then, measure your mat shell, and cut your batting to a size that will fit inside. I simply took 1 inch away from the top and side of my mat shell to make sure the batting fit.

I was feeling pretty lazy at this point, and simply folded my batting over until I felt that it was thick enough. Then, I used a ruler and cut through all 4 layers at the same time.

After I shoved the batting inside the shell, and lightly pinned it in place, I folded over the last side to sew! I simple folded over about 1/2 inch, and pinned in place.

You might want to sew a bit closer to the edge on this side. That way you will make sure to actually sew over the folds, and not have any loose edges on the outside of your mat.

If you are using a sewing machine, now is the time to trade out your medium weight needle, for a heavy weight needle! You are going to sew the batting into place, and you don't want t broken needle flying at your head. And DO NOT SKIP sewing the batting into place! This will keep the batting from bunching up, and ruining the mat after it is washed!

I tried two different ways to sew the batting into place, and this is the first one. I simply sewed a few strips down the center. It didn't turn out very pretty, but the thread will do its job.

This is an example of how I sewed my last couple of mats, and they turned out prettier. Though, it did take a little bit more time.

Word of advice when you are sewing the batting down: you may want to hold the batting and fabric down while you are sewing. This way it all doesn't bunch up and look crazy.

So, there you have it! A simple way to use up some of your scraps, and help make an animal's day! This was a pretty quick project, and I made 4 mats in about an hour. That included the time spent taking pictures, and figuring how in the world I was actually going to make these things.