Red, blue and white outdoors travel tic-tac-toe set

Outdoors tic-tac-toe game set

20 June 2024
7 Minutes to read

Posted by

20 June 2024
7 Minutes to read

This large-scale version of the classic tic-tac-toe game will keep the family occupied during sunny days spent outside in the garden or on the beach. This set folds up into a neat parcel, perfect for tucking into a beach bag or picnic basket.

Do you love tic-tac-toe so much that you need a mini version to take with you? Check out the teeny tiny ScanNCut made version here.

Materials needed

Oilcloth:
- Colour one – two 60 x 60cm squares for the play mat
- Colour two – 10 squares of 25 x 25cm each for the X shaped pieces
- Colour three – 10 squares of 25 x 25cm each for the O shaped pieces
2.5m ribbon or cotton tape, approximately 1cm wide, in a contrast colour to colour one
4m bias binding in colour matching colour one
Sewing thread
Fibre filling

Equipment needed

Brother ScanNCut DX machine (or scissors and printer if you don’t have a ScanNCut)
Rotary Auto Blade (CADXBLDR1) OR Auto Blade (CADXBLD1)
Fabric Mat (CADXMATF12) OR Standard Mat (CADXMATSTD12) with High Tack Adhesive Fabric Support Sheet (CASTBL2) attached
Spatula
Washi tape
Brother sewing machine
Non-stick foot (F007N) (optional, but it’ll make it so much easier to sew with oilcloth!)
Pen
Scissors
Ruler
Fabric clips

Materials to make tic-tac-toe set with Brother ScanNCut and Brother sewing machine.

General notes

Oilcloth is easily cleaned and water-resistant, making it the ideal choice for outdoors use. If you don’t want to use oilcloth, you could also use denim, polar fleece, or canvas to create the tic-tac-toe play mat.

If you don't have a cutting machine, you can use the supplied PDF file to cut templates for the X and O pieces, which you can cut by hand.

Seam allowances: approximately 7mm (¼”) unless otherwise stated.

All seams in this project are sewn with a straight stitch on stitch length of 4, unless otherwise stated.

Finished size: The mat measures 60 x 60cm. Each piece is about 15cm square.

Download patterns / cutting files here

How to

Step 1

Cut out the X and O pieces. Place one of the 25cm squares of oilcloth onto the cutting mat and fix it into place with washi tape.

Tip: if you don’t have a ScanNCut, download and print the PDF. Cut out the templates and cut 10 of each shape from colour two and colour three of the oil cloth. Skip forward to Step 5 for the remaining steps of the project.

Red and white oilcloth being fixed onto a Brother ScanNCut fabric mat with washi tape.

Step 2

Load the design onto your ScanNCut. The cutting file contains both the X and O shapes. Save the design to your machine, then select the shape you want to cut first, and delete the other.

X and O shapes for outdoor tic-tac-toe game on Brother ScanNCut SDX1500 screen.

Step 3

On your ScanNCut, set the cutting speed to 3, the cutting pressure to ‘Auto’, and Half Cut to ‘off’. Load the mat into the machine and follow the prompts to start cutting. Remember to do a test cut first! If the blade is not cutting a clear line through the oil cloth, adjust the cutting pressure and test again.

Hand with white stylus selecting ‘ok’ button Brother ScanNCut screen

Step 4

After cutting, carefully remove the oilcloth from the mat. Repeat this step until you’ve cut 10 of each shape.

Removing oilcloth from Brother ScanNCut Fabric Mat with a Brother spatula.

Step 5

Place two of the O shapes together with wrong sides facing and edges aligned all around. Fix them together with fabric clips.

Tip: we’re using clips instead of pins, as pins will leave holes in the oilcloth. It is also hard to pin through oilcloth!

Clipping two red and white striped oilcloth O shapes together using fabric clips.

Step 6

If you have the Brother non-stick foot, attach it to your sewing machine, if not, use the standard J foot. Sew around the inner circle of the shape, then work around one half of the outer circle. Stuff fibre filling into the half of the O that has already been sewn up. You needn’t add a lot – just enough that the game piece gets some volume. Sew a little more of the outer edge, then add a little more filling. Continue in this way, gradually sewing and filling the shape again and again, until only a small opening remains. Finally, sew the gap in the seam closed. Make five stuffed O shapes.

Striped red and white oilcloth O shaped piece in front of Brother swing machine

Step 7

The X pieces are made in a similar way. Place two X-shaped pieces of oilcloth together with wrong sides facing and fix them with clips. Stitch three sides of the X closed. Insert fibre filling through the opening in the fourth side and stuff it into the various parts of the shape. Next, sew up the edges of the fourth side (except for the tip), stuff with filling, then finally sew the tip closed. Make five X pieces.

Oilcloth X piece for tic-tac-toe game being stuffed by hand with fibre fill

Step 8

Round the corners of the two large oilcloth squares by placing a round object like a roll of washi tape or a drinking glass onto one corner of the oilcloth sheet. Trace the curve onto the oilcloth with a pen and cut it out. Repeat for all corners of both oilcloth squares.

Hand placing Brother washi tape onto oilcloth fabric corner

Step 9

Place the two squares together with wrong sides facing and fix them with fabric clips. Sew them together with a straight machine stitch, working close to the edge all around.

Blue and white oilcloth mat pieces for tic-tac-toe game set clipped together.

Step 10

Mark 20cm increments on each edge of the mat. Make marks across the mat as well to help you keep the lines straight while you sew, as it is difficult to pin through the two layers of oil cloth. Cut the ribbon into four equal pieces (each a little longer than 60cm). Clip the ribbon pieces across the mat. The ribbons will form a 3 x 3 grid made up of 20cm squares.

Using quilting ruler to attach white ribbon in straight lines onto dark blue oilcloth

Step 11

Sew the strips onto the mat and trim ends of ribbon to be flush with the mat edges.

Sewing white tape in straight lines onto blue oilcloth with Brother sewing machine

Step 12

Cut a 2.5m length of bias tape and open it out. Align the opened right edge flush along one edge of the tic-tac-toe mat and sew on the fold line. Sew the tape around the edge of the mat. To get the tape smooth around the corners, it needs to be stretched ever so slightly while sewing. Use more clips if needed. Once you get back to the start of the tape, overlap the ends and sew them up.

Attaching bias binding with Brother sewing machine to oilcloth tic-tac-toe mat

Step 13

To finish the play mat, turn the bias tape around the edge of the work to the wrong side of the mat, clip it into place, then machine sew to fix it in position.

Attaching blue bias binding around oilcloth tic-tac-toe mat with clips

Step 14

Use the remaining 1.5m of bias tape to make a tie. Fold the bias tape in half with folded edges aligned and sew down the centre.

Place a pin 65cm from one end, leaving 85cm on the other (so the clip is NOT placed exactly in the middle of the tape). Place the tape in the centre of one edge of the play mat, at right angles with the edge of the mat. Align the pin to the edge of the mat. Sew across the tape a few times to create a strong join.

Attaching bias binding tie to oilcloth with Brother sewing machine

Now you are ready for the game! After playing, the game pieces can be placed in the centre of the mat, which is then folded and tied with the bias tape around it to keep everything secure.

Outdoors tic-tac-toe set folding up into a neat parcel.

Brother blogger Missredfox with her tic-tac-toe games.

I can’t wait to see what you make! Remember to tag in Brother on Instagram and Facebook, and myself too!