How to Make Placemats

Maybe making all those coasters inspired me. Or maybe it was our aging collection of placemats that inspired me. In any case, it turns out to be insanely simple to make your own placemats.



What you'll need to make 4 placemats:
1 yard of fabric for the top
1 yard of fabric for the back
1 yard of medium weight interfacing
thread
needle
sewing machine (optional, but reaaaallly nice to have)
scissors and/or a rotary cutter
pins
seam turner or chopstick


For the fabric, I chose a cotton for the top, and a slightly heavier, not quite canvas cotton for the back. (It's vintage, so who knows what it really is.)

First, cut out 4- 13x16 (33 cm x 40.6 cm) pieces of the top fabric, backing, and interfacing.

You'll have about 14" (35.5 cm) leftover from your yard. Napkins, perhaps?


Next, iron the interfacing onto the back side of the top pieces according to the package directions.


Pin the newly interfaced fabric in place, right sides touching.


Starting in the middle of one side, sew around the edge of the fabric. Leave about a 1/4" (.6 cm) edge. Be sure to leave about a 2" (5 cm) gap so you can turn the placemat inside out.


Once that's done, turn the placemat inside out. Use a seam turner or a chopstick to get those pesky corners.

Pinch the fabric together at the gap, and hand sew the gap closed.


Finally, iron the placemat out nice and pretty. Really press the edges and corners to get nice firm edges.


Repeat the process to create as many placemats as you wish.


Now, invite your friends over to admire your handiwork!