Floor Doodle Duvet

Sometimes, parents today dont know just how great they have it. When my kids were young, and got their hands on a magic marker, the day was going to end badly. If one of them scribbled on the wall, it was possible that I could scrub it off, but if the drawing was done on the bedspread, it was trash; most marker scribblings were permanent. Nowadays, there are washable markers, and kids can scribble on all sorts of things. Still, you try to contain their enthusiasm by giving them a certain place where they can scribble. And, that place can be a duvet, which can be the childs bed cover, or a doodle mat for the floor.

You dont have to make a complex creation to give your child a doodle duvet. Just throw together a simple blanket-type of floor mat, and your child has a unique place to draw, color, and scribble. Start with white fabric and you can make the duvet look like a piece of notebook paper - perfect! The perfect fabric is cotton, linen, or another lightweight, non-stretchy type.

Cut two pieces of white fabric to be the size that you want for the duvet. Also cut a thin piece of flannel, cotton batting, or another thin but filling material. Decide if you want notebook paper lines on both sides of the duvet, or just on one side. Make them before sewing the duvet. Use a blue paint marker to make the horizontal lines down the duvet. Remember to leave a large, white space, across the top of the "paper". Use a yardstick to draw the horizontal lines, and space them evenly apart. Although you can space them as you want, a good size is 6" to 10", between each line. When the blue paint has dried, draw a red line - with a paint marker - down one or each side of the blanket, to make a margin line. When all the paint has dried you can sew the duvet. Stack the two white pieces of material so that their right sides are facing each other. Lay the filling material on top, and pin it all together. Sew almost all the way around, but leave an opening for turning. After turning the duvet right-side-out, sew the opening shut. Its optional but, if you really want a convincing piece of notebook paper, make three holes down the left side, and sew around them. You have various choices when making the duvet. For example, you can sew the lines onto the blanket, rather than drawing them. But no matter how you make it, give it to your child with some washable markers, and your child can create the design on the duvet, over and over again.