Sew an Upholstery Fabric Pet Mat

The floor that I have my cat's food and water bowls on is wood, which allows things to slide very easily. My cat has discovered he can push his bowls all over the floor. It can sometimes be quite a scavenger hunt to locate them. I decided a pet mat was in order, but the pet stores want way too much. I went looking for a cheaper alternative. I dug through my fabric stash and came up with scraps of upholstery fabric that were just perfect for a custom cat mat. I liked the finished product so much, that I decided to also make one for a dog. I don't even have a dog, but the mats were so cute, I figured I could use it as a gift for a friend who has one.

Upholstery fabric ends are almost always marked down. Ends are the small amount of fabric left on a bolt after the bulk of it has been cut and sold. There is usually not enough left for a large project, but upholstery ends are an inexpensive alternative for making throw pillows and small home accessories.

The size and shape of your mats may vary from mine. The patterns I make for many of my projects are more crafty than artistic. I prefer to find shapes that I can reduce, enlarge and alter. I found the fish shape on a greeting card, and the bone was a scrapbooking sticker. Both of these shapes were enlarged as big as I could get them on my home printer, then I enlarged each quarter of the shapes to make them big enough for the mats. The fish pattern is 15 inches wide by 21 inches long, and the bone is 16 inches wide by 23 inches long. Cut around the outline of the shapes to complete the patterns.

The instructions that follow are the steps to create one mat.

Materials You Will Need:

Fish or bone shape of your choice
Upholstery fabric
Straight pins
Scissors
Sewing machine
Iron
Cricut or computer fonts
Pencil
Lightweight fusible web
Contrasting fabric

Step 1
Fold a piece of upholstery fabric in half with the right sides facing. The layers of fabric need to be large enough to accommodate your pattern. Center the pattern on the fabric and pin through both layers. Cut out the shape.

Step 2
Remove the pattern and pin around the edges of the fabric shape. Sew around the shape using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Leave a 5-inch opening along an edge for turning.

Step 3
Clip the inner and outer curves on the seam allowance. Turn the mat right side out. Press the mat. Upholstery fabrics can be a little touchy when it comes to ironing, so test on a scrap of the fabric first. Start with a warm setting before going hotter.

Step 4
Top stitch around the shape, 1/4 inch from the edge. The opening will be closed when the top stitching is complete.

Step 5
I made paper patterns for "meow" and "woof" on my Cricut, but you can also enlarge fonts from your computer. Each letter is 5 1/2 inches tall.

Step 6
Flip the letters over to display a mirror image. Trace the letter shapes on the paper side of lightweight fusible web. Choose a fabric for the letters that contrasts with the mat. Iron the letters to the wrong side of the contrasting fabric. Cut out the letters.

Step 7
Peel the paper from the back of the letters. Arrange the letters on the mat and iron to adhere.

Step 8
Applique each letter to the mat using a blanket stitch or zig-zag stitch.