Travel Checkers

Going on vacation? Pack this travel checkers game in your suitcase. It's easy to make and easy to store, too!

Level: Easy
Creation time: 3h

Supplies

Materials

• 1 square of cotton fabric, 36 cm (14-3/16 inches) each side
• 1 square of cotton fabric, 36 cm (14-3/16 inches) each side, for the lining
• 1 strip of fabric measuring 144 x 4 cm (56-11/16 x 1-9/16 inches), from the same fabric as the lining
• White embroidery thread (and black if you want to embroider black squares)
• White and black Fimo clay
• Matching sewing thread
• Aluminum foil

Tools

• Basic sewing supplies
• Oven
• Fabric pencil
• Embroidery needle
• Ruler
• Cookie cutter (or a coin) to cut out the checkers from the Fimo clay
• Sewing machine (optional)

Instructions

Game board

• With a fabric pencil, draw a margin of 3 cm (1-3/16 inches) around the main fabric. This will give you with a 30-cm (11-7/8 inches) square.
  

• Draw horizontal and vertical lines every 3 cm (1-3/16 inches) within this square.

• Stitch over these lines with a couching stitch. This will give you 100 squares.

• Embroider every other square as you wish: here, geometrical motifs inspired by Bogolan, a Malian fabric-dyeing method, are used.

• From the lining fabric, cut out 2 strips measuring 36 x 4 cm (14-3/16 x 1-9/16 inches) and 2 strips measuring 35 x 4 cm (13-3/4 x 1-9/16 inches).


• Make a double fold in the strips, bringing each end to meet in the center. Flatten the folds with an iron.


• Sew the fabric strips around the game board and its lining, joining them together.

Checkers

• With a cookie cutter, cut 20 white and 20 black checkers from Fimo clay.
  

• Cook them in the oven at 140°C (285°F) for 30 minutes and check to make sure they're thoroughly cooked.
  NB: If they're a little thick, cook them longer.


• Let them cool.

• Make a carrying case for the game board and the checkers.

Tips

• Instead of Fimo clay, use colored pebbles, seeds, or small shells as checkers.
  

• To make the game board more quickly, draw the squares on 3D fabric with a felt-tip pen.

Source: "Les tutos de Pamina" ("Pamina's Tutorials")

:laura: