DIY Tic Tac Toe Travel Game

Learn how to make tic tac toe travel game with felt and a drawstring bag. This beginner sewing project is a great for the car and airplane.

We’ve been doing some fun activities this summer, but it often requires a lot of driving. We love listening to audiobooks, but we also need some little travel games to bring with us.

My kids have recently fallen in love with playing tic tac toe, so I wanted to make a travel game that they could use over and over again. This DIY tic tac toe travel game is a portable game that is perfect for waiting rooms, cars, church, or an airplane.

What fabric should I use to make the bag?

The best fabric to use to make the drawstring bag is quilting cotton. I love how it’s easy to sew and easy to find. I just grab fat quarter, and it’s the perfect amount.

Should I prewash the fabric?

Yes, you should prewash the fabric if you planning on washing the drawstring bag after it’s finished. If you don’t think you’ll ever wash the drawstring bag, you can skip prewashing.

What should I use to make the game pieces and game board?

I used ribbon to make the game board. I like that the long edge are finished so that I don’t have to finish them. The short ends are cut edges, but I’m not worried about the short edges fraying.

Use felt for the game pieces because it’s easy to sew, and you don’t have to finish any edges. The felt texture helps the game pieces “stick” to the game board.

Do the game pieces fall off while you play?

The felt has a great texture that helps it “stick” to other fabrics. It’s easy to stick on and easy to take off while staying quiet. They aren’t completely stuck on like if you were using Velcro or snaps, but they will stay on even during a bumpy ride of an airplane or a car.

Do you love to sew? Try one of these sewing projects:

Supplies

1 fat quarter of quilting cotton
Scraps of felt
2 yards of 1/2 inch wide ribbon
Sewing tools
Sewing machine

Layer the felt so that it’s a double layer. Clip the edges together and draw the game piece shapes you want to use. I did squares and circles since they are easy shapes to draw and sew, but they look different so the pieces don’t get mixed up.

layer the felt and draw five shapes on each color

Sew around the outline of each shape to secure the two layers together.

Cut out the felt shapes just outside the stitching. Remove the marks you made. I like to use tailor’s chalk so that I can press it away.

Cut a long rectangle from the fat quarter that is 8.5 inches wide and 21 inches long. My rectangle is folded on one side so my rectangle is 8.5 inches wide and 10.5 inches long in the photo below.

Cut four pieces of ribbon that are 5 inches long.

Pin the four ribbon pieces on one half of the long rectangle. Pin the ribbon pieces like a “#” or tic tac toe game layout.

Sew around each ribbon piece so that the game board is secure to the fabric.

Fold the rectangle in half with right sides together so that the short sides are matching. Pin each long side together.

Sew the side seams 1/4 inch from the edge and backstitch when you start and when you stop. 1 inch from the top leave a 1/2 inch hole for the drawstring.

sew sides of rectangle and leave two holes

Trim each seam allowance with pinking shears or zigzag each seam allowance to finish the raw edges.

Sew the seam allowance open around each hole by sewing 1/8 inch away from the hole/seam on each side.

Fold the top edge of the bag over 1/2 inch. Fold it over another 1/2 inch. Pin in place.

Sew 3/8 inch from the top edge around the whole circle to create the casing for the drawstring.

fold top edge over 1/2 inch twice and sew

Cut two pieces of ribbon 18 inches long.

Take one ribbon and attach a safety pin to one side. Slide it into one hole and go all the way around the casing and out the same hole.

insert ribbon into one side and thread through

Tie those two ends into a knot so that it can come out of the casing.

Insert the othe rribbon into the other hole and casing to create the other side of the drawstring. Tie it into a know.

thread other ribbon through other side of casing and tie in a knot

Now you have a ribbon knot on each side of the drawstring bag that you can pull to close the top of the bag.

Throw all the game pieces into the bag. You finished!

pull each side of drawstring to close bag

If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!