Sensory baby play-mat

Hello everyone, hope you are all staying safe in this uncertain time.

Recently I was commissioned to create a quilted play mat. I have made many Quilts but never a baby sized play mat one and certainly not with the added sensory items attached. i absolutely loved getting stuck into a new project, and trying something new gave me such a buzz !

After many discussions with my client I went ahead and drew up a digital image of what it could look like.

This is something i offer all customers, it gives them ease of mind knowing what to expect the finished quilt to look like and i also enjoy it myself.

As you can see I used a range of neutral colours and triangles for the colour pallet, and we discussed sensory items such as fabric tabs, buttons, and a teething ring with the possibility of different textured materials included in the design.

After some market research we decided triangles looked great. I decided to create an unconventional pattern compared to whats on the market already, there is lots of grey and white everywhere as its very gender neutral and I wanted to pattern to compliment that. After another digital sketch i went straight ahead and started cutting and assembling the fabric.

The center section of the mat where the baby is more likely to lay or have tummy time is padded with extra wadding, there is plenty of room for the baby to roll and explore the variety of sensory items attached. I chose a polyester wadding for this quilt as i feel it has more loft but also is less likely to crinkle or move around when washed.

Sensory additions - as you can see on the right there are some material tabs added. t The white one is filled with soft wadding and i attached two buttons for the contrasting sensory element.

The small grey tab is filled with a crunchy and crackling material so when squeezed gives a different noise and feeling.

The star is made from a soft felt and has soft edges and points to explore.

Below I added the textured material the client wanted on the quilt. We previously discussed the textures being included into the main body of the quilt but I decided that it may be a bit rough so kept it to two small windows.

Another element we discussed was the addition of buttons. These are securely fastened to the quilt and provided a different sensory element.

When exploring Sensory teething materials beads proved to be a popular choice, here I have added 5 beads for teething babies and for play purposes.

I have also sourced a wooden teething ring to attach which shall prove quite popular to the lucky teething baby who receives this quilt.

I really enjoyed making this baby play mat quilt and I'm excited to make more as the commissions are rolling in !