The large, flat front of a placemat is like a canvas for your creativity. These beauties combine patchwork, decorative quilting, and bold appliqué with crisp, clean lines of precision stitching and a striking color palette.
Pretty stitching takes a simple surface from ordinary to special in the blink of an eye. These traditional linen placemats include eight tiny tucks for texture plus 15 lines of decorative stitching in sparkling metallic thread.
If you’re used to table linens being long and narrow, take a look at the Table Throw – also known as a Table Square. Ours finishes at a generous 50” x 50” and is a showcase for a bold patchwork design in gorgeous linen.
Home décor fabric is a great choice for table linens. Motifs tend to be bigger and tones more dramatic, plus it’s thicker and more durable – good qualities for this table runner. To soften, we added deep ruffles in a handkerchief linen.
Plates are traditionally round, but placemats are usually rectangles. Hmmmm. Square peg/round hole? How about a round mat? Ours are a generous 16″ in diameter, and they’re reversible: patchwork on the front, solid on the back.
Start with a simple yet bold fabric, add some distinctive decorative stitching, and you can have a stunning table runner perfect for any holiday gathering or special occasion. Remember, “Life is short; use the good china!”
The word "only" gets kind of a bad rap. Maybe because it seems a little too close to "lonely," but the flip side is the heart of its true meaning: to focus on one thing. If you do one thing very, very well, then you are likely an expert. So it is with the Janome
The idea of a dresser cloth might seem a bit old-fashioned, but it not only helps protect the wood surface from hairbrush dings and perfume spills, it also lends a lovely splash of color. Ours has a very vintage vibe.
A handy, keep-clean trick for outdoor dining. Lay out these laminated mats: one as a surface for your meal, another to sit on. When done, simply wipe clean with a sanitizing spray, re-roll, and drop back in your bag.
Bound all around and featuring accent bands and elegant tassels at each end, this table runner is perfect for a formal tabletop setting. It finishes at approximately 86½” x 15″. Choose a metallic cotton for the prettiest sparkle.
At just 16″ x 30”, this runner is almost more like a jumbo placemat. It’s a great size for smaller tables, breakfast bars or as the center décor on a larger table. The pretty patchwork center features four flying geese blocks.
For kids – or kids at heart, our playful owls placemat set makes mealtime more fun. We provide complete templates for all our owl and tree designs along with step-by-step instructions for how to layer and stitch.
This beautiful runner design is created with two layers of burlap joined by decorative stitching and highlighted with a splash of luxurious silk. We show it as wedding décor, but it would be lovely for a variety of occasions.
Dig down into your scrap stash for your favorite tall and narrow pieces, fussy cut them to center the prettiest possible vertical motifs, then stitch them together into this striking table runner with a subtle ruffled edge.
These clever mats are an outdoor version of the mug rug. There’s a full-width pocket and a grommet for hanging to store. Hold utensils or slip in a paperback to hold your place on a breezy day. Outdoor fabric adds durability.
Outdoor dining season is coming; at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves as winter stubbornly clings on. Keep the faith and get ready with our darling, durable placemats that have built-in pockets to hold flatware and/or napkins.
The beauty of this solid color runner is in the texture of the pleated squares side by side with plain squares. Our tutorial also shows you an easy way to create mitered corners without using a separate binding strip.
We’re all eating in right now! Maybe it’s time to amp up the wattage of your tabletop with these colorful placemats. A hand running stitch in a thick floss across the bottom panels adds a subtle dash of texture.
By emphasizing a large motif and using a contrasting fabric for the borders, this placemat design creates the perfect frame for your favorite place setting. Adapt your fabric choices to go from everyday to elegant.
Bigger than a coaster but smaller than a placemat – a mug rug is just the right size at your desk, in the sewing room, or on a small end table in the living room or den. Our design adds a unique little pocket with its own napkin.
Download free embroidery designs to add delicate autumn leaves to table linens (and more). Learn two hemming techniques: narrow double-fold hem with diagonal point corners plus a wider hem with full mitered corners.
Pretty placemats sweet enough to eat. The design is perfect for leftover jelly roll strips or cut your own narrow strips from scraps. Decorative stitching ties the rows together and holds all the layers in place.
Pretty patchwork with pie-shaped wedges spins into a full circle. There are free downloadable patterns for the front wedges and the back circle. A Janome Circular Sewing Attachment gave us those perfect concentric quilting circles.
We can’t get enough of the itty-bitty adorableness of Mini Charm Squares. At just 2½”, they are bite-size pieces you can stitch together into colorful combinations. We used them to create double borders on a set of placemats.
Color Block style has a cool 60s vibe with a bold, modern look. No prints need apply. This is all about solid, saturated color. Classic half square triangles make up this stunning runner. The easy patchwork creates a fabulous finish.
Lovely linens make any occasion special. With new fabric collections hitting the shelves of online and in-store retailers nearly every month, it's always a perfect time to mix and match your favorites to create a set of fancy placemats for tea time or anytime. When making your next cup, here's a little tea tip: the
The mug rug is a mini placemat with just the right amount of room for a mug and a few little treats. Ours features pretty patchwork on one side with custom embroidery (a free download) on the opposite side’s pocket and napkin.
A happy tabletop centerpiece has the potential to become a best-loved holiday tradition. Make one for yourself plus more for friends and family. We used a Layer Cake with bright poms in a coordinating color.
This gorgeous quilted table runner was originally designed to feature the Downton Abbey fabric collection from Andover Fabrics. However, the traditional patchwork star design is one that would work well with any number of current quilting cotton collections – especially ones that feature a similar palette of both dark and light colors and a selection
Explore heirloom stitching by machine. We show two options: hemstitching (if you are brand new) and fagoting (if you’re more advanced). Both offer beautiful borders with mitered corners and an optional monogram.
Originally developed to prevent down mattress and pillow feathers from poking through or blowing away, ticking dates back as early as the eleventh century when the fabric was made with a linen warp and a cotton weft. Today, the clean and simple look of striped ticking comes in a variety of colors and is a
It’s a reversible placemat. No, it’s a kid’s activity. Wait… you’re both right! There’s festive fabric on one side and cool chalk cloth on the other. Write on it with regular or liquid chalk; wipe it clean with a damp cloth.
My brother made me laugh out loud when he said a "mug rug" sounded like a bad toupee for an ugly guy. Although a great guess, a mug rug is really a mini placemat designed to hold your coffee mug or tea cup and maybe an extra little treat, or... when placed by your sewing
An exquisite ribbon can transform a simple rectangle of solid fabric into an elegant table runner. We quilted the center in a wide diamond pattern, and the ribbon frame extends beyond the edge at the corners with pretty loops.
Three tabletop projects in one! A long patchwork table runner plus generous reversible napkins with pretty ribbon wraps. We outline how to measure to best fit the runner to your table and how to adjust the patchwork if needed.
A classic nine-patch center shows off a beautiful selection of vivid, large motif quilting cottons. The border all around features rows of vintage buttons, and bright corner tassels add an extra special finishing touch.