DIY Puzzle Storage Mat

I love jigsaw puzzles, but ever since I had kids, I haven't really been able to put them together because we have nowhere to keep them. This year I decided I wanted to get some Christmas puzzles, so I worked up a solution for storing them. Enter the puzzle storage mat! You can buy storage mats from various places for various prices, but they all look basically the same. And after reading customer reviews, I realized that the mats are generally just made of felt. So I thought I should whip up my own. Here's a quick how-to:

What You Need
1 yd felt or flannel (I used flannel)
2 fat quarters in coordinating prints

What To Do

First things first... you'll want to figure out how big your puzzles are. This information is generally found right on the box. The largest puzzle I own is 30" x 38" (2000 piece), so I wanted to make sure my mat was large enough to accommodate that. My finished mat ended up being approximately 39" long x 24" wide.

I purchased nearly a full yard of light green flannel that was in the remnant bin due to some spots on the fabric. The flannel (or felt) will be the puzzle building surface, so you want a continuous piece.

For the back of my mat, I wanted to add a little pizzazz, so I pieced my coordinating fabrics together before attaching them to the flannel. My backing ended up a few inches smaller than my flannel, so I folded the edges of the flannel over, barely overlapping the edges of the backing. Then I zigzagged the fabrics together. Once the front and back were attached, I went back around the outside edges of the flannel with a decorative stitch which should help keep the edges from wrinkling.

Now I can build my new puzzle! And when I'm finished for the night, I can simply roll it up in the flannel and store it in a mailing tube.

{Linked on I Gotta Create, Life After Laundry, Embracing Change, Live Laugh Rowe, 52 Mantels, Joyful Homemaking, The Crafty Blog Stalker, The Girl Creative}