We all have things we do to relieve our stress. For me, it is gardening in the warm months, but when the weather turns cold and my garden has been put to bed for the winter, my stress relief comes from putting jigsaw puzzles together. Some people might think this a little odd, but I work on computers all day and if I can come home to an almost mind-numbing, but enjoyable task of creating a beautiful picture from tiny cardboard pieces, I am happy and content. I set up a card table in my sewing room and dig out one of my 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. The only problem with this setup is that the card table takes up too much room. I priced some jigsaw puzzle mats and was not impressed by the cost. I would rather spend my money on new puzzles. Then I started looking at what they were made from and realized I could make one myself.
Items Needed to Make a Jigsaw Puzzle Mat(these instructions will be for a 24 by 30 inch puzzle)
-Felt (one yard measuring 60 inches wide, and folded in half on the 36 inch side)
-Cardboard roll (one from the inside a roll of wrapping paper)
-Sewing machine or craft glue (your choice)
-Scissors
-Straight pins
-Mailing tube (three inches in diameter and at least 28 inches long) (optional)
Instructions for Making a Jigsaw Puzzle Mat
Cut the one yard of felt in half along the 36-inch fold. You should have two pieces of felt measuring approximately 30 inches by 36 inches. On one piece of felt, measure and cut off five inches from one of the 30-inch sides and on other felt piece measure and cut off three-inches from one of the 30-inch sides. Measure and cut off four inches from the 36-inch side of each felt piece. You should now have one piece measuring 25 inches by 32 inches and one measuring 27 inches by 32 inches. Save the leftover felt pieces.
Lay the two pieces of felt together with the 32-inch sides together and the 25 and 27-inch sides together and pin in place. You will have an excess of two inches on the one side. Sew or glue together a one-fourth inch seam only on the 32-inch side and trim the excess fabric from the outside of the seam.
With the leftover felt pieces cut out two or three strips (however many you want to use to tie the mat) measuring 12-inch each. With the large felt sections open (25-inch side on your left, 27-inch side on your right and inside seam down the middle), fold the felt strips in half and pin them near the top, bottom and center of the bottom edge (side closest to you) of the 25-inch section (left side). Sew or glue these to the outside (underneath) edge of this section, so that these will tie on the outside after the mat when it is rolled up.
Put your puzzle together on the 27-inch (right) side. When you are ready to put your puzzle away, fold the 25-inch top felt piece over the puzzle and the bottom one and three-fourths inches of felt over the 25-inch top. The puzzle is like a page in a book and the felt is the cover. Position the cardboard roll at the opposite end of where the ties are and begin rolling up your puzzle. When you come to the end, wrap the ties around the roll and tie place. You can now insert the rolled up mat into the cardboard mailer for storage.
Alternative: You can use Velcro stripping in place of the felt ties.
Source: Personal Experience
