My friend needed a nap mat for her daughter for preschool rest time. I love the fabric on this nap mat; it's so girly and fun. Minkee fabric is pretty slippery when sewing, but other than that, the pattern was a breeze. Speaking of a pattern, I couldn't find one I liked so I created this nap mat tutorial. Feel free to download it for personal use :)
I used a foam insert instead of batting to add extra cushion. I also finished one length of the mat with velcro, so the foam can be easily removed before washing.
Leave me a comment and let me know how it worked out for you!
My youngest is going to preschool and will be in need of a nap mat. I'll have to give your tutorial a try. Thanks so much
Posted by: Angie | October 25, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Great. I hope you find it useful :)
Posted by: Jenny | October 25, 2008 at 09:19 PM
Thanks for the pattern! My daughter loves her nap mat.
Posted by: Tina Wiker | November 01, 2008 at 08:03 PM
Tina, I'm so glad you found it useful :) Your nap mat is adorable.
Posted by: Jenny | November 01, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Hi Jenny,
I came across your tutorial when I typed in "nap mat patterns" in google. I had a friend who didn't want to spend 100 bucks on a good quality nap mat for her son so I offered (as a new sewer for only a year now) to try to make one for her. Your tutorial was GREAT! the nap mat turned out perfect for him. Thanks for all your great ideas and help in sewing new items for me. I am a stay-at-home mom and anything I can make for my girls and family is great:) I check your site often to see new and fun ideas:)
Posted by: Kristi Kelly | November 17, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Kristi,
Thanks so much! I am so glad you found it useful.
Posted by: Jenny Garland | November 17, 2008 at 02:27 PM
I made nap mats with your tutorial for my twin boys and they turned out great. Thanks!
Posted by: Julie Dye | December 15, 2008 at 10:34 PM
OMG that is incredible! I'm going to have to do this when Parker is a little older!
Posted by: Alison Treadaway | April 01, 2009 at 03:17 PM
I was very excited to find your tuorial. My daughter is starting on a sleeper cot at her daycare and I just wanted something a little more personal for her. My friend made her daughter one which gave me the idea but she didn't use a pattern. Yours is like the only free pattern on the net, I looked hard. I am an intermediate sewer so I changed up a couple of things. On one side I did a three inch border and inserted a patterned fabric (2/3 yard print, 1 1/4 yard solid)leaving the rest of mat a solid color. I also decided to make a muslin pillow form to insert at the top so I can removed it for super fast wash and dry, the stuffing never dries right unless it is super compact and I didn't want it to lose it's fluff or get lump, plus as my munchkin ages she can tell me if she want a softer or harder pillow as needed. I can also leave it out completely this way. We left off the blanket to since she already has one she carries EVERYWHERE for naps. :) Thank you for putting this out there. It rolls up great.
Posted by: Kristine | June 01, 2009 at 02:15 PM
Kristine, I'm so glad you liked the tutorial. GREAT tips about ways to alter the pattern :) I love the idea of using a muslin pillow form and combining print with pattern! Send me a pic if you get a chance.
Posted by: Jenny | June 04, 2009 at 10:15 AM
I followed your tutorial to make a nap mat for my oldest daughter when she when started pre-k almost a year ago. It still looks great after weekly washings. I'll be headed to the fabric store to buy more materials to make one for my youngest who will be starting pre-k in two weeks. Thank you so much for sharing your tutorial!
Posted by: Ayanna | July 13, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Thank you so much for posting such great directions! I just got home from the store with all my supplies to make 4 of these mats. I am a daycare provider and have really been looking into cute/comfy mats to have for the children to nap & have quiet time on. These are adorable and don't look like they'll be too hard to sew! I'll have to let you know how they turn out!
Posted by: Sarah | July 14, 2009 at 08:09 PM
Hey There..
We made this in John Deere material ... so darn cute and comfy. Great instructions! Though, we used velcro instead of buttons as they may be a chicking hazard for a year old child. Also, his little embroidered name is adorable. Thanks a bunch!! WIsh I could figure out how to post a picture??
Posted by: brandi | July 15, 2009 at 11:30 AM
I'm so glad ya'll liked the tutorial! I'd love to see pics at jennygarland(at)gmail(dot)com .
Posted by: Jenny | July 15, 2009 at 03:05 PM
Where did you get the floral pattern? I have a blanket and burp cloths of the same material.
Posted by: iva | July 21, 2009 at 09:00 PM
I teach all day K and need something for my students because I hate to see them sleeping on the hard floor every day. Buying them is too expensive, so I'm going to give this a try. I'm not really a sewer, but I think I can do it! I'll let you know...:)
Posted by: Jeni | July 22, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Do you think the whole thing could be washed without taking out the foam?
Posted by: Jeni | July 22, 2009 at 08:23 AM
Jeni, I think it could definitely be washed without taking out the foam, it will just take longer to dry, as I'm not sure you'd want to put the foam in the dryer. Let me know how it turns out!
Posted by: Jenny | July 22, 2009 at 08:55 AM
This looks absolutely perfect for my son's nap map for preschool - thanks sooo much for posting the tut!
Posted by: Lee-Ann | August 09, 2009 at 02:04 PM
I just wanted to say thank you for posting your tutorial on line. I finished my son's new nap mat for preschool and I can't get it away from him - he even sleeps in it at night!
I used fleece for the blanket and it turned out fine. My only suggestion is that when topstitiching the blanket, I didn't realize I needed to make an allowance for the seanm for sewing the blanket to the mat. So, the topstitch on the left-hand side of the blanket ended up getting swallowed in the seam. Not a big deal, but something I would keep in mind for next time.
Posted by: Kelly | August 17, 2009 at 04:31 PM
I am making this nap mat this week! You ROCK for making a tute. :D
I am trying to figure out how long the handle pieces are. Any idea? Thanks again for the tute and thanks for your help!
Posted by: Adrienne | August 18, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Adrienne, the handle piece is the length of the elastic! HTH :)
Posted by: Jenny | August 18, 2009 at 03:47 PM
I'm having trouble figuring out where to place the minkee on the other fabric. Is it 8" to 10" from the ends? I have read and re-read and I just don't get it.
Posted by: Heather | August 19, 2009 at 09:36 AM