Using a few bucks' worth of materials from the dollar store, I made a spankin' new non-skid bathmat in my favorite colors.

I bought a 6' roll of shelf liner to use as the non-skid surface on the bottom of the mat. A large blue waffle-weave dishtowel was perfect for the bathmat surface, and these cool felt cutouts were a good way to dress up what otherwise would have been too plain. I also added an old towel from my stuff to sandwich in between the other layers. It provides some extra absorbency and nice cushion to the mat.

Project Cost:

• Shelf liner, id="blog_post"
• Dishtowel, id="blog_post"
• Appliques, id="blog_post"
• Old towel, id="blog_post"

First, I sewed the snowflake cutouts onto the right side of the dishtowel. I just sewed around them with my sewing machine. It might be a good idea to tack the centers down as well.

After the appliques were sewn, I laid the dishtowel out on my work surface and then cut a piece of towel to fit inside it--about an inch shorter around all sides. (After I took the picture, I decided to cut another piece that didn't have that puckery piece at the end of the towel, as shown. It was a good choice!)

Then I rolled out the shelf liner and measured it to the same size as the green towel. It wasn't wide enough, so I had to cut two pieces of the shelf liner and sew it together. I just used a straight seam, figuring it won't really be seen. You could also sew it right sides together and then put the seam-side facing in toward the towel.

Before I started the project, I was concerned that the shelf liner stuff would stick to my sewing machine plate as I tried to sew on it. It worked a lot better than I was afraid it might, and went through without sticking.

After the shelf liner was sewn, I trimmed it to fit and then put it on top of the dishtowel and the towel.

Then I folded the dishtowel edges over and pinned them all the way around the mat. I cut the corners of the towels out as shown because I wasn't sure my machine would sew through the thickness of the corners. If you wanted to be a bit neater (and avoid a bit of a raw edge at the corner after it's sewn), you could cut across the corner diagonally and fold the diagonal in and then fold over and sew.

After it was pinned, I sewed all the way around the mat, and then turned it over and sewed around the perimeter one more time to add topstitching. Then I sewed across the mat just above the appliques, and then about 1/3 of the way down from the top, just to keep the towel inside from shifting. If you have one, you will want to use a walking foot for this step to keep the top layer from shifting as you sew it.

You could also use the same materials to make coordinating hand towels and curtains for your bathroom! Or add some of the cutouts to a shower curtain or other bathroom accessories. You could also use this mat in your kitchen or entryway.

You can find more Dollar Store Crafts at my blog.