Stitching - Exercise Mat

With the floor being installed I decided that I would need a mat to do exercises in the living room.  The floor is hard and provides no cushioning.

I researched options and found a large rug at IKEA which was 100% cotton and a color I could live with.  I had bought a yoga mat from my sister who had purchased it for a class and never used it again.  That provides the non slipping base for the rug.  I only do walking videos so there is not much impact exercises.

It is about 5 x 7 feet in size so doubling it up with the yoga mat would provide 3 layers of cushion.  That should be good.

I did try it for a few days until I was convinced that the idea would work.

It would really need to be solidified into a single piece now that it was folded because there were open edges which presented tripping hazards.

The blue yoga mat is just a bit smaller than the mat which is okay.

It really sticks to the floor so keeps the mat in place very well.

It is big enough to do my floor exercises and the cushion makes those comfortable.

I clipped the folded edge first for stitching.  That way any adjustment can be made on the open edges if needed.

I laid the hemmed edges opposite the fold next to each other instead of over each other to make that edge smoother.

I chose some heavy 100% cotton crochet cotton for the stitching. It is Clark's Anchor Cronita size 10 in Turquoise to add a bit of color to the mat.

I am so grateful for what I have learned on my slow stitching journey this year.  These experiences gave me confidence to know I could do this.  I found a heavy needle in my stash. 

I used a back stitch which doubled up the stitching on the back.  Hopefully that will wear better than single stitch.

Now there were a lot of inches to go about 250 of them so it was going to take a while.

The weaving of the thread was quite open considering the size of needle I was using.  The weaving was very even so I could just follow the edge of a row.

I made crosses at the corners to really tied down those thick corners.

I am very happy with my even stitching.

The turquoise color is great.

It took about 8 hours of stitching to go all the way around.

It feels and looks great!

I found a piece of webbing and a clasp to make a strap to keep it closed when I roll it up every day when I am done.

This clasp just traps the webbing in a clip on both sides so no sewing was required.

I am amazed sometimes at what I have in my stash.

It was exactly what I needed.

Everything needs a home at my house so I placed a basket on the bottom shelf of my IVAR shelving unit to hold the mat and my indoor exercise running shoes. 

That works very well tucked away in the corner of the living room.

A two week project but bodes well for regular exercise with  my walking videos now that fall is here and the temps will be cooler.