Fold-Up Car-Mat For Your Purse or Pocket (or Christmas Stocking!)

A long, long time ago (in a land far, far away) I made a fold up car mat  but I wasn't thrilled with the results. Then I made a larger car mat for my  nephew. Loved it but still wanted to make a smaller one to fit in my purse. Well, I finally made one that I am happy with! Since then I have made more but with different prints and different styles:

Vintage Cars

Cars, buses and trucks!

Airport on blue or red

Flip it over and drive on the tarmac!

Girls like cars too!

Flip it over and check out some Honolulu hot spots!

The car mats measure approximately 10" x 8" when open and 

2.5" x 4" when folded: 

 

The perfect size to stick in your purse, pocket or Christmas stocking! Each car mat can hold two of your kiddo's favorite cars!

If you'd like one I have several car mats listed in my Etsy shop and they include one new car with purchase! Unfortunately with only nine days (NINE?!?) left until Christmas I cannot guarantee Christmas delivery! 

I also want to thank my talented and crafty friend, Amy from Pineapple Spice for helping me come up with the design! Mahalo! :)

Take Along Car Carrier/Mat

For awhile now I've had this project bookmarked and on my "to do" list. Since we're heading to a birthday party this weekend I thought it would be worth a shot to make and take it as a present.

The verdict? It was easy to make but the instructions definitely need some tweaking. I am a visual learner so more pictures would've been helpful as well. Due to the fact that I had some difficulties making sense of some of the instructions it took me a bit longer (due to having to unstitch/restitch, etc.) to make. It is a simple project but if you are a beginner sewer you definitely need more clarification on the how-tos. I think it's a cute little gift so I am seriously considering rewriting the tutorial for my own sake. I'll let you know when/if that happens.

Here's how it turned out. You may or may not (depending on how much of a perfectionist you are!) be able to see some cosmetic blemishes. *Sigh* Live and learn!



Instead of going with the traditional race track or Disney "Cars" theme I opted for the "Woodie" look since we are back in the islands. It's got the total surfer appeal! The pocket holds three cars. At the time I thought using a constrast fabric for the pocket was a good idea. I think I should've stuck with the same red woodie fabric instead. Again, live and learn.


A couple of cosmetic issues - fraying of the ribbon for one. The instructions recommended using grosgrain ribbon - of course I couldn't find any yellow so I settled for yellow twill. Next time I will try something completely different - just not sure what yet.

I actually managed to find a "Woodie" car to include with the bag! :)

Regardless of the headaches I encountered I think it turned out pretty cute. I'm looking forward to making another one. Next time I will probably include some velcro to keep the bag shut when not in use.

On that same note - have you seen THIS one?

Click on the photo and it will take you to the tutorial. If you make it please let me know! :)

12/11/09: Update! I finally made the above car mat! Here's my version of it. Click on the picture and it will take you to the post!