Set Your Table With Twice the Style

Gather your family in style with this quick placemat project. 

I don’t know whether the creative planning or the execution of a project brings me more joy. This time of year, my brain is buzzing with handmade sentimental projects for the home like Advent calendars, stockings, tree skirts and the focus of today’s blog, the Twice as Nice placemats.

So why choose to sew handmade placemats for your home when you could buy them?

This feels a little like "I'm preaching to the choir" to those reading. You already know why! Decorating your home with handmade items places the spotlight on your unique style. Your handmade items reflect your personality and taste and fosters a sense of attachment to your home. Isn't it so gratifying to make something with your own hands? For about $35 in fabric, and some scraps of batting, I  customized set of placemats that match my dinnerware for two holidays and had a lot of fun doing it.

A project you can finish in a couple afternoons or several evenings is perfect for this time of year when you want to create, but don’t have time to dedicate to a long project like a quilt.

Double Sided Placemats:

These Twice as Nice placemats allow you the flexibility to transition seasons with half the work by just flipping the placemat over to reveal a totally different tablescape! They take you from fall’s red shimmering leaves and golden harvests to the fresh scent of balsam and cranberries. The placemats finish at 13” x 19” including the ruffled edge. Adjust the size to your liking. A small square or circular shaped placemat would allow for more family and friends around your table. 

The Twice as Nice placemats rely on a common denominator to tie the two sides together, the ever-popular ruffle or pleated edge! I’m so glad ruffled edges are back in style. From pillows and shirts to napkins and quilts, a ruffled edge is the exclamation point of personalization! You can go glam with your fabric choices, but I stayed true to my own style with a casual warm palate. I can’t wait to see what you dream up! 

Fabric Selection:

I made my fabric selections at Fabric And Reason. I was inspired by one of Gina’s weekly Friday fabric pulls that she creates weekly on Instagram @fabricandreason. I wanted two fabrics for the base of the placemat so I could easily turn it over and to expand my tablescape options. Here's a glimpse of my fabric inspiration below, a vintage Golden Book 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and ornamental corn. I have another blog devoted to using a design prompt like these to help you select fabrics.

 Check out the process of using a deign prompt here. 

 

I chose the ruffled edge fabric first. Rifle Paper Company has a lot of lovely fabrics that could be used for fall and holiday sewing. I chose the Rifle Paper Wildwood in Red. My main dinnerware is Denby Boston, seen below, and I think this fabric ties it all together! I also wanted the Christmas side to pop with my Christmas china so I made sure to select a fabric base that paired well with my Christmas china. 

 

 

For the Christmas side I selected a fabric from a line Gina designed called Quilt Geometry. The Grid fabric in mossy green by Fabric and Reason was a standout option with the tiny little pinstripes of color. The subtle pattern makes a great backdrop for a placemat. Kona Roasted Pecan was a natural choice for the other side of the placemat to celebrate Thanksgiving. It exudes fall, apple cider and campfires to me. 

 

The creative options to reveal your personal style are endless.  If you use this tutorial, tag me @Cottonsplendor to show off your personalized tablescape. I can’t wait to see how you make this simple sewing project your own!

Twice as Nice placemat options aren’t only great for this holiday transition. Consider game day options for a house divided loyal to multiple teams. What a fun  way to upgrade your tailgate experience or tablescape at home supporting your favorite teams. Consider options with a patriotic theme on one side for holidays and a causal everyday option on the other.

 

Supplies Needed:

• FABRIC A: ¾ yard
• FABRIC B: ¾ yard
• FABRIC C RUFFLE FABRIC: 1 yard *
• BATTING:  4 (13” x 19” scrap pieces)

Fabric A & B are the fabric for the front and back of the placemat. Consider ordering additional fabric C if you are new to ruffles or plan to use a very tight ruffle that will require more yardage. 

If you’d like to make additional placemats or smaller charger sized placemats, adjust your fabric yardage accordingly. The ruffle I made is a pleated ruffle which uses about twice as much length of fabric as the perimeter it will be attached to. The fabric requirements include yardage to make a ruffle like the one I made.

• Simple sewing machine
• Seam guide is a helpful option
• Rotary cutter and acrylic ruler
• Pins/clips
• Basting spray
• Thread

Optional: I used a ruffler pressor foot attachment to make my pleated ruffle, but I've seen tutorials using a fork to make the pleats. A gathering foot can also be used to make a ruffle, but if you don’t have either of those, hand gathering your ruffle is one of the prettiest finishes! 

 

Placemat Prep: Finished Size 13" x 19", including ruffle 

Cut each of your placemat fabrics into 2: 13” WOF strips.

Cut those strips into four 13” x 19” pieces for the placemat bases.

Use a bit of basting spray to adhere the batting to the wrong side of each of Fabric B piece.

  

Ruffle Prep:

Cut your ruffle fabric into 12: 3” WOF strips.

Join 3 strips together for each placemat ruffle. I recommend joining the strips on the bias, as you would for quilt binding. This will give you approximately 2x the length of the perimeter of your placement. 

Press the strips lengthwise wrong sides to gather, as you would typically to make binding for a quilt.

 

You’ll need approximately 60 inches of finished ruffle/pleat per placemat.

 HOT TIP:

If you use the hand gathering method to form your ruffled edge, I suggest using a polyester thread for extra strength since you have two layers of fabric to gather. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting halfway through gathering only to have your thread break! 

Whatever method you select,  a ruffled or pleated edge is a beautiful way to elevate your projects.

Time to sew:

Measure the length of ruffle needed for your placemat. Sew the ends of your ruffle together and pin the ruffle in place around the edge of the placemat. Gently round the corners with your ruffle on each placemat as shown in the photo below left. 

      

Baste the ruffle to the placemat with unfinished ruffle edge along the edge of the right side of fabric A. Use approximately the same stitch line used to form the ruffle to baste your ruffle.

Carefully trim the corners of Fabric A away along the perimeter of the ruffle as seen in the photo above, right.

Place Fabric A with ruffled edge attached, right side down onto the right side of Fabric B. Trace the rounded corners of Fabric A onto Fabric B. Trim Fabric B corners off to match Fabric A. Now you should have two placemat pieces with rounded corners; Fabric A with a ruffle attached and Fabric B with batting spray basted to the back.

Let’s make a placemat sandwich. Pin Fabric A and Fabric B right sides together. The ruffle will be inside the placemat sandwich, which is why basting in the previous steps was valuable. 

With the batting on the bottom of the placemat sandwich, and the back of Fabric A facing up, sew slowly around the perimeter of your placemat, just beyond the left of the basting stitch line. I like to use my seam guide for a nice consistent straight edge. I used a 1/2" seam allowance.  Work slowly around the corner, keeping the placemat touching the seam guide as you turn the corner.

 

Leave a 3-4 inch opening to turn your placemat inside out. Once turned right sides out, press the placemat well. Hand stitch Fabric B to the ruffled edge to close the opening using a blind stitch.

Top stitch ¼ inch from the edge of placemat fabric as shown below for a finished look.

 

 

Finishing Touch:

Simple quilting, like a cross hatch or straight-line pattern will elevate your placemat and keep the batting from shifting when you wash your placemats. Quilt from edge to edge with your desired pattern. You can bury your threads into the placemat easily for a professional finish using a self threading needle. This is a game changer to reduce frustration when you have a lot of threads to bury.

 

Ready To Gather:

 

Wishing you meaningful connection around your table, whether it’s a gathering of two or twenty. Your table will be so inviting with your personalized Twice as Nice placemats!

 

Whatever you make, make it splendid!

Use #twiceasniceplacemat to show off your sewing. 

 

Cheers,

Jen, Cotton Splendor