Introduction: Easy Way to Customize Floor Mats for Your Car or Truck
Are the floor mats in your vehicle old, weathered and worn out but too expensive to replace? Do the mats buckle and slide around under your feet when you’re driving because they don’t fit properly? Maybe you just don’t like the floor mats that came with your car or truck. Or maybe you want to make a statement with some mats in a hot color or wild design.
Driving without the ugly worn-out mats is not a good solution, as mats are meant to protect your vehicle’s underlying carpeting and floorboards from damage caused by dirt, mud, sand, water and debris. However, you may be surprised to learn how simple it is to make and bind your own custom, brand-new floor mats.
With a little bit of time and a few simple tools, you can cut and bind professional-looking floor mats for your vehicle in any size and shape and save a lot of money. Do-it-yourself self-adhesive carpet binding tape will give your new floor mats a beautiful and durable finished edge and no one will ever know you made them yourself. The carpet binding tape is available in many colors, styles and materials to coordinate with whatever carpeting you choose, and no special tools are required.
THINGS YOU WILL NEED
Carpet Remnant
Old floor mats or heavy paper for cutting patterns
Instabind™ DIY Binding Tape
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks
Clear tape
NOTE: Before you start cutting and designing new floor mats, you’ll have to measure carefully to be sure the new mats will fit. You will also need to know what size carpet remnant to buy and how much carpet binding tape you need. Good deals on carpet remnants in a wide variety of colors and patterns can usually be found at do-it-yourself home centers and carpet retail stores. You may want to buy a little extra carpeting and a few extra feet of binding tape in case you make a slight mistake with your measurements.
Step 1:
If you currently have floor mats in the vehicle that fit properly, remove them and measure the length and width of all of them. You can use them as patterns.
Step 2:
If you don’t have floor mats, you can measure your car’s floors from door to door, allowing a little extra if your mat has to go over a center hump. Then cut patterns out of heavy paper. Check the fit and make adjustments where necessary. Continue to fine-tune the patterns until everything fits just right.
Step 3:
Place your patterns or old floor mats on your new carpet remnant and cut out your new floor mats.
Step 4:
Trim loose threads from the new mats and trim all edges so that they are clean and smooth.
Step 5:
Place each mat on a flat work surface to apply the self-adhesive Instabind™.binding tape.
Step 6:
Start with a clean cut, peel off part of the paper backing from the binding tape and begin applying it to the back of the floor mat, starting in the middle of one edge.
Step 7:
If you reach a corner, extend the binding tape past the end of the floor mat, cut the flat part of the Instabind™ without cutting through the piping.
Step 8:
Overlap the backing and continue around the corner of the mat
Step 9:
Continue applying the backing until you reach the point where you started and jointhe two ends with a little hot glue.
Step 10:
Now, use the glue gun to run a small bead of glue between the edge of the floor mat and the piping, all around the floor mat. Do short sections at a time, holding the piping against the edge until the glue sets.
Step 11:
Trim up the binding on the back side of the mat and apply clear tape at the corners, pressing down on the adhesive to flatten it.
Step 12:
Continue the process for each floor mat.
Step 13:
Success! You now have beautiful, professional-looking floor mats for your car or truck.
TIPS:
To prevent the floor mats from slipping, invest in a few non-slip shower appliqués and glue them to the backside of the floor mats. Or check out rug backings, such as a felt/rubber rug backings that can be applied, rubber side down, with spray glue to keep your new floor mats securely in place.
Custom-made floor mats make great gifts. Surprise your boyfriend, husband or other car enthusiast in your life with brand new, affordable mats for their favorite vehicle.
