How to Design a Kid's Playmat | Spoonflower Blog

Have you seen Anda Corrie’s DIY travel playmat tutorial? (Either on the blog or in The Spoonflower Quick-Sew Project Book?) See how easy it is to make your very own playmat design with just a piece of paper and paint—no Photoshop® required!

DIY Playmat Design Tools

  • 7″ x 9″ (17.78 cm x 22.86 cm) piece of paper
  • Paint and paint markers in black, white and a secondary color
  • 1″ (2.54 cm) paint brush
  • Colored construction paper in a color matching your secondary paint color
  • Scanner

1. Create the playmat’s main feature.

The main feature of this playmat is a road. (Yours could be a lake or giant building or something else entirely!) Use your black paint and paintbrush to make a big, loose, looping shape that fills the page. Then take the white paint marker and draw a dotted line down the middle of it to create the road.

2. Add the playmat’s secondary features.

This mat’s secondary features are buildings to stop by and visit! Draw or cut rectangles of the colored construction paper for the buildings, and glue along the road to create the town. Add details to these buildings with the paint markers.

3. Bring in the details.

This mat’s details are what’s around the building, in this case trees and lakes. Use paint to add details like trees and lakes—since with this mat we’re going for a minimal look, a tree can just be a circle with a trunk or a triangle. Keep it simple!

4. Scan, then upload your drawing to Spoonflower.

Scan your drawing vertically at 600 DPI and upload to Spoonflower. A 7″ x 9″ (17.78 cm x 22.86 cm) image scanned at 600 DPI will allow you to print a 28″ x 36″ (71.12 cm x 91.44 cm) design at 150 DPI, which just so happens to equal a half yard of Organic Cotton Knit!

Looking for a more digital design option? Just use a drawing app like Procreate to get your image set without bringing out the paint!

How to Design a Kid's Playmat | Spoonflower Blog