My daughter is in 5th grade this year! It’s her last year in elementary school – and her first year to have a locker. This is a big deal for a 10 year old. So of course on our back-to-school shopping this year were things to deck out her locker.
For those of you who haven’t parented a tween in the last few years, decorating a locker has become a “thing”. I remember back when I was in middle school, your locker was allll fancy if you had a locker shelf or maybe a magnetic mirror stuck to the door.
Now they have fancy mirrors and dry erase boards and pencil cups. And wallpaper. Yes, wallpaper. And lighting! We got her a battery powered chandelier to hang in her locker. I kid you not.
But of course, even with all that purchased fanciness, she of course comes home to tell me what is missing from her locker. A rug.
The same people who sell you locker chandeliers and locker wallpaper also sell locker rugs. They’re like tiny little bath mats sized just right to fit your locker, but of course they’re nearly the same price as a full size bath mat.
I had already spent as much money as I felt like spending on a 12”x12” half locker for a 5th grader, so I decided to see if I could DIY one for less than it would cost to buy one.
And friends, let me tell you the secret. These things are so easy to make, and cheaper, too!
Tutorial: DIY Locker Rug
All you need is a square of fake fur or cuddle fabric for the rug, and a square of cotton for the lining.
I found some awesome bubble gum pink fake fur at JoAnn for $10.99 a yard. I bought half a yard, which actually is enough to make 4 locker rugs. (I ended up making three – one for my daughter, and to give to other kids at her school.) And for the lining, I made good use of some cotton stash fabric I didn’t care for, so that was free.
The making is so simple, it really doesn’t require much of a tutorial – but here goes anyway, because numbered steps make me happy.
- Measure your locker. My daughter’s lockers were 11” x 12”.
- Cut the fur and the lining fabric 1” wider and 1” longer than your locker. My pieces were 12” x 13”.
- Pin the lining to the fur, right sides together.
- Sew around the edges with a ½” seam allowance, leaving a small space to turn it right side out.
- Clip your corners and turn it right side out.
- Hand stitch the opening closed.
- Fluff out any fur that has gotten pulled in to the seam.
Seriously, that’s all there is to it. Your tween can put this bad boy in the bottom of her locker so it can immediately get all kinds of junk piled on top of it.
Locker rug, the faux fur top
…and the cotton lining
