I wanted some brighter-colored placemats to lighten up my kitchen for summer but I didn’t want to spend a lot of time sewing. I drafted a quick and easy pattern that can be cut out with a rotary cutter (It’s all straight lines!) , grabbed some flower-y cotton fabric and whipped up a new set in an afternoon. Seriously, these go together in no time. You could probably make one in less than half an hour if you have all the supplies handy.
Supplies for one placemat:
- A 12″ x 18″ piece of fusible fleece (I used Pellon Thermolam TP791F)
- A half yard of fabric (or two fat quarters)
- Matching thread
Supplies for a set of four matching placemats:
- 3/4 yard of fusible fleece (I used Pellon Thermolam TP791F)
- 1-1/2 yards of fabric
- Matching thread
You can download the pattern for the placemat here: Placemat Pattern.
The pattern file contains contains a total of 8 pages that need to be assembled into two patterns, one for the inner placemat and one for the outer placemat. Print the file at 100% and tape the four pieces of each pattern together along the dotted lines. To check your scale, the little box on the first page should measure 1″ x 1″ when printed at 100%.
For each placemat, cut one inner placemat from the fusible fleece and two outer placemats from fabric.
Center the fusible fleece inner placemat sticky side down on the wrong side of one of outer placemat fabric pieces, leaving a 3/8″ border around the fleece on all sides. Fuse according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Layer the fleece/fabric piece and the remaining fabric outer piece right sides together and pin through all layers. Sew the two pieces together with a 1/4″ seam, leaving about 6″ on one long side open for turning. You’ll have a small gap between the edge of the seam line and the edge of the fleece all the way around. This helps the edges lay flat when you turn everything right side out.
Clip the corners to minimize bulk. Careful, don’t cut your stitching!
Turn the placemat right side out. I used a chopstick to push out the corners. Turn under the raw edges along the opening, press and pin closed. Topstitch the placemat, catching the turned-under edge of your opening to secure it. I did two rows, one about 1/8″ inch from the edge and one about 3/8″ from the edge.
That’s it! See? Easy peasy. If you wanted to get really fancy you could make matching napkins to go with these.
I’m moving soon and these will be perfect to make my new place feel like home. And I can use them to decorate my kitchen on a budget! 🙂
I have a set for every season. They’re so quick and inexpensive to make!
Pretty!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow evening that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=86012 –Anne
Aw, thank you so much, Anne! I can’t wait to see the post.
I never thought about using a chopstick to turn corners. That’s perfect!
I bought two sets when I went to visit Pha in Tokyo and they’re just too pretty to use for food. They’re perfect for crafting, though!