It's a reversible placemat. No, it's a party activity. Wait... you're both right! Our party placemats feature fun and festive fabric from Patty Young's new Playdate collection on one side, and Über cool chalk cloth on the other. Similar to oilcloth, chalk cloth is heavy yet pliable and waterproof. You can write on it with regular or liquid chalk and then wipe it clean with a damp cloth or baby wipe. We gave each party guest his/her own box of chalk to play with, keeping little hands busy while we set up for more fun and games.

For best results with your writing, most companies suggest prepping the chalk cloth first. To do this, rub a piece of chalk side to side across the entire surface to be written on. Wipe it clean. Then, rub the chalk up and down across the entire surface and wipe it clean again. Now you're good to go.

Our thanks to our birthday pals at Michael Miller Fabrics for providing all of Patty Young's awesome Playdate fabric for our projects. These fabrics are available in stores and online. Get it now while the selection is best. Also, take a look at what Patty has been making with Playdate at the Michael Miller blog.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome Memory Craft 5200)
• Size 14-16 Denim or Jeans needle:  necessary to stitch through the Chalk Cloth
• ¼" seam foot - optional

Fabric and Other Supplies

Supplies listed are for a party set of FOUR MATCHING placemats. If you'd like to mix and match your fabric as we did, you can use smaller chunks of fabric, possibly scraps. For each placemat, you need enough fabric to cut a 21" x 16" piece of the patterned fabric and a 19" x 14" piece of chalk cloth.

• 1 yard of 44-45" fabric for the back of the four placemats
  NOTE: As mentioned above, we mixed and matched our fabrics, using four designs from Patty Young's Playdate from Michael Miller Fabrics: Purple Chinese Lanterns, Chocolate Gumdrops, Teal Goldfish and Orange Lollipop Dreams
• 1 yard of 47-48" wide chalk cloth for the front of the four placemats
• All-purpose sewing thread in colors to match fabric(s)
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• See-through ruler
• Seam guage
• T-square, optional but helpful for 90˚ corners
• Straight pins
• Iron and ironing board
• One set of Liquid Chalk markers or boxes of regular colored chalk

Getting Started

1. The key to success with this project is in the cutting. First, fussy cut your patterned fabric so the design on the back of the placemat is straight and pretty. This is important for reversibility... I don't think that's really a word, maybe, but you catch my drift. It should look as good on the back as on the front. Second, make sure all your cuts are square! Because you are wrapping a narrow hem around the sides of the chalk cloth, if either piece is crooked, you'll be struggling to get the chalk cloth to lay flat and/or the patterned fabric's hem to stay even. Take the extra time to really measure accurately and ensure all four corners are 90˚. It takes more time upfront, but you'll be much happier in the long run.
2. From the patterned fabric(s), cut ONE 21" wide x 16" high rectangle for each placemat.
3. From the chalk cloth, cut ONE 19" wide x 14" high rectangle.
   NOTE: You can't iron chalk cloth without a pressing cloth.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. To achieve our simple squared-off corners, you need to work in a specific order: top, bottom, left side, right side. Everything we do will follow this pattern.
2. Fold and press the top 3/8". Repeat to fold and press the bottom, then the left side, then the right side.
   
3. Fold and press an additional ½" in the same pattern: top, bottom, left side, right side.
   
4. Carefully unfold all the sides so you can see the creases. Slip the chalk cloth into place so it aligns with the first crease line on all sides.
   
5. Refold the top and bottom (not the sides yet), pinning in place horizontally. The sides should remain unfolded so you can pin the top and bottom all the way to each outer edge.
6. Turn the placemat over and make sure your fabric is still straight and flat. If not, adjust and re-pin.
   
7. Edgestitch the top and bottom hems in place. I used my ¼" seam foot to help keep my stitching straight. Remember to slip out your pins as you go.
   NOTE: It helps to gently roll the placemat so it fits in the bed of your machine.
   
8. Make a small diagonal clip at each corner. This helps keep your corners clean.
   
9. Fold in and pin the sides, following the same steps as for the top and bottom. As above, take the time to turn the placemat over and make sure the fabric is smooth and flat on the back. If not, adjust and re-pin.
   
10. Stitch both sides, again following the same steps as above. Be extra careful to keep your corners neat. The hems should match and the stitching should align.
    
    NOTES: Two things to keep in mind: 1) as mentioned above, you can't iron chalk cloth without a pressing cloth. So with your finished placemats, do NOT try to iron the hems from the front. Turn the placemat over and iron from the back. Use a low setting and keep the iron moving. Also, 2) do NOT fold chalk cloth always roll it. Folding can leave permanent marks.
    

Contributors

Project Design: Alicia Thommas 
Sample Creation and Instructions: Liz Johnson

Other machines suitable for this project include the Elna 5200 and the Baby Lock Symphony.

Comments (9)

Jumping Castles Sydney said:

... Very cute and wonderful placemat. I adore the resourcefulness of making this crafts that it turned into a colorful birthday party food placemat.

January 09, 2012

Dee Vancouver WA said:

... Made 4 for Grandkids. Sooooo Easy! LOVE them. Thanks for all the great projects

September 01, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi Shirley, you did not include an email - so I am posting your message here. Everybody has their favorite online or in-store retailers, so there are quite a few options to choose from to find Patty's new Play Date. You could try our friends at Fat Quarter Shop: http://www.fatquartershop.com/...age_id=17, Hawthorne Threads: http://www.hawthornethreads.com/fabric/designer/patty_young/playdate and/or QuiltHome: http://quilthome.com/Patty_Young/Playdate Your local quilt shops may have it as well. Pricing varies depending on the outlet and so we don't normally include the price, but it is likely to average around $9.00 - 9.50 per yard. The chalk cloth is available from a number of sources as well, you might try fabric.com (it is not a Patty Young design, which is why you didn't see it at the Michael Miller site or Patty's site): http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=402e03c3-68e4-4aff-ba8a-03330816cc14 It runs approximately $11.00 to $14.00 per yard. Have fun!

August 03, 2010

shirley vukmanic said:

... It would be nice to know where to purchase the materials and the cost per yard. I may be interested in the purchasing some of the chalk cloth went to the Patty Young site but could not find it. Since this idea is awesome would you please email me the info to get some. I teach Sunday School and thought it would be nice to make my students each one. Thank you

August 03, 2010

http://candacecreations.blogspot.com said:

... I love this idea! this is fantastic!

August 03, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Ohhhhh ... taking to a restaurant! Great idea, Linda A!!

August 03, 2010

LINDA A said:

... cute. wonderful idea to keep little hands busy while waiting for dinner. This would be great to take to restaurants to keep little ones occupied.

August 03, 2010

jodieth said:

... Super cute idea. This would be great for grandchildren when they come to house.

August 02, 2010

myhappybluebird said:

... Great idea! Thanks so much for sharing.

August 02, 2010

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