You may have seen the placemats I added to my shop recently. A nice placemat really livens up the dining room table and they are so simple to make. With these simple, minimal designs you can customize and design a look that’s perfect for your home. The best part – they are machine washable, so they’ll always look clean. Sewing these placemats is super simple – this tutorial will walk you through it step by step!
This project is perfect for beginners, or anyone who hasn’t tried quilting and wants to try their hand at some quilt math. I’ll walk you through the basics of sewing a simple colorblocked placemat: materials you need and the details of how to get it sewn together. I also wrote up a post about customizing your designs if you’re interested in switching up the design.
If you have questions along the way, drop them in the comments section and I’ll get back to you ASAP. I’d love to see any placemats you make – tag me on Instagram @stitchin_camaro.
Materials
We will be making a colorblocked placemat similar to the gray + white one shown above. If you want to make a solid version, I recommend reading through the sewing directions for this version and then checking out this blog post about customizing the design.
Fabric
You will need woven fabric that is at least 44” wide. Quilting cotton or linen is best, I recommend Kona solids.
For a set of 2-14×18 placemats:
3/4 yard of main color – This will be one of the blocks and the backing.
1/4 yard of contrasting color
For a set of 4-14×18 placemats:
1 1/2 yards of main color
1/2 yard of contrasting color.
Notions
1/2 yard of fusible fleece that is at least 45” wide. I use this brand.
Matching thread – you will be able to see top-stitched thread on the top of the mat, so make sure it’s a close match or color you like.
Cutting your fabric
Pre-wash your fabrics before you cut them. This will ensure that the fabric is pre-shrunk and the placemats won’t shrink when you wash them.
For each placemat you make you will need the following:
Main color:
7.5″x18.5″
14.5″x18.5″
Contrasting color:
7.5″x18.5″
Fusible fleece:
14.5″x18.5″
To make a set of 2, cut out 2x of the above.
When you cut the fabric, try to respect the grainline of the fabric as much as you can to ensure that the placemat lays nice and flat. If you’re not familiar with grainlines, essentially it means you want the sides of your rectangular pieces to be parallel with the edge of the fabric. Here’s a fabric cutting layout for set of 2:
Your placemats are ready for sewing!
Great! Now that your fabric is cut out, you are ready to start sewing your placemats together – read on to part 2 of the tutorial for the sewing directions.
