Needle-felting project mat, rolls up!

In a craft swap elsewhere, i got a needle felter who wanted a project surface that could roll up with her in-progress bits & pieces inside (not for travel use, just in her own home - couch to table to couch etc). The scope of the swap was “easy & simple, an hour or so, all from stash” - which was sooooooooo very difficult for me to adhere to! I wanted to make multiple folding pockets and zippered pouches and elastic guards to hold things in and and and - yeah…. So, a simple mat & a few simple accessories. She likes arctic foxes & chose “winter solstice” as a theme.

So here is my arctic fox mat, that rolls or folds up, with a few very simple accessories (and of course, Oyster kitty sticking her head into the photo!):

I lined the mat with a couple layers of flannel. I decided not to quilt it as she’s going to be needle felting on this and I didn’t want more threads for her needles to get caught on in case they go through her foam stabbing surface. That and just trying to keep everything simple.

The inside fabric (though really she can choose which is inside or out!) and the silver shoelaces I had in stash, to tie it all up.

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The outside fabric:

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Scissor keeper, made to the size of the pair she uses. Blue felt, decorated with sequins, encased in vinyl so the decorations won’t snag on her wool. Cardboard representation of scissors in the case. :wink:

I also sewed some clear vinyl “wallets” and simple open “envelopes”, so she can stash partly constructed bits & pieces in them. Also included a small book with felt pages to capture stray bits of wool, itty bitty pieces, thread, sewing needles, etc. Also added a sheet of vinyl she can put down if the surface she is working on gets dirty.

She can roll it up, or fold it up if the contents are bulky like when she uses a hoop:

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Wow, this is fabulous! Love all the details. That fox fabric is super-cool!

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WOW! This “simple” project has so many cool functional details that really show the care you took in figuring out how to make a cool tool for your partner! All that said, what I am most tickled by is the cardboard proxy scissors! Hehe!

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It amused me to use scissors to craft scissors ….

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This is so smart!

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Nifty! I am so curious & would love to examine that closely to really understand how it works in action. Seems quite a clever design!

My swap partner loved it! It is already in full use.

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