Making a Non-Slip Play Mat
My little grandson was given a play mat with roads, buildings, RR tracks, etc. His mom wants to use it as a rug in his room, but it is made of a kind of loose felt, and is very slippery on a bare floor. I (blissfully ignorant) volunteered to add a non-slip backing to it, which would stabilize it at the same time. I thought the rubber-like grid mats that are sold to line drawers and cabinets would work well, and I have used small pieces of it to sew things before.
However, when I tried sewing on the long pieces needed to cover the back, the felt part kind of gathers up, and leaves bumps and valleys. I had to sew with the rubber mesh side up, and a strip of wax paper on top to allow the pieces to pass under the presser foot. Pretty sure there is no way the rubber mesh piece could be down, as it is really non skid, and wouldn't move at all.
So I took the stitching out and tried gluing the two fabrics together. First I used spray glue, and that did not stick at all. Then I tried watered down Elmer's glue, and although it works on a small sample on which I really saturated it with glue, it doesn't seem to be working on the larger piece. Actually, checking the sample now, I see it's not sticking either.
So do you have any idea what I can use to make this mat non-skid? Is there a rug backing that I can buy in a large piece? (about 4 by 6 feet)
This is like making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It's a cheap, poorly made mat that is probably not even washable. I have already spent more time and money than it's worth. Arg!