A New Mat for Molly

With the time of our airplane trip quickly approaching, I had to hurry up and make a thick warm mat for Molly like I've been planning. I started with a wool blanket we bought at a thrift shop and some pieces of stiff foam about 1 cm thick. I'd hoped to make it with two layers of foam, but two layers didn't quite work, so we ended up with one.



Molly took to it right away. She seemed quite eager to test it out. DH also gave it a quick test to make sure that it is warm enough.

We want to be able to clean her mat when necessary, so the one end has a zipper to allow us to take the foam out. Then we can just wash the wool cover and put it back on when it's dry.

For a mat to be easy to take on a trip, it has to be possible to make it portable. The foam is cut in half the long way so I can just fold it that way. The mat cover is sewn in the middle as well so it keeps that spacer and avoids ending up with a lump from the foam overlapping.

I also sewed in two tie straps, so the mat is equipped for being rolled and tied into a little bundle.

Overall, I'm really proud of my construction. I think it is nice in looks, easy to use, and warm. Molly seems to love it too. We did some mat training today with it and she lay on her mat silently for 5 minutes despite distractions of me moving around and a toy in sight on the coffee table. She also hurried over to lie down on it with her toy when I was playing with her.