How to Make Quilted Placemats

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Placemats are both practical and decorative and many people use them on a day-to-day basis. They are great for protecting your table from heat, moisture and scratches and, depending on the style, they can give your table a more formal feel. Plus, placemats are easier to clean than a tablecloth and can be quickly switched out depending on your mood or season.

Video Chapters:

Patterning — 0:23 min.
Gluing Assembly Together — 1:20 min.
Sewing — 2:05 min.
Trim & Bind Edges — 4:22 min.
Materials List — 6:41 min.

Materials List:

Fabric Backed 1/4" Sew Foam #121506
Decorative Upholstery Fabric
Coats Extra Strong^® Tex 70 Nylon Upholstery Thread (we used Green Linen #104815)
3/4" Bias Binding (we used Sunbrella^® Acrylic Binding)
3M™ Super 77 Spray Adhesive #636100

Tools List:

Ultrafeed^® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine #311502
3/4" Swing-Away Binder #100102
Scissors
Yardstick
Pencil
Utility Knife
Cardboard

We made these quilted placemats for the table in our Outdoor Dining Area Makeover, but they are the perfect accent for an indoor or outdoor table.

We made our quilted placemats reversible so you can easily switch from one pattern to the other. The quilting gives the placemats a unique and more casual look. We used a Sunbrella^® Upholstery fabric for our placemats to keep them easy to clean and stain resistant. The quilting was created by sandwiching a layer of thin, polyurethane backed foam between the two decorative fabrics. You can use either thin foam or batting for this project, both are machine washable (let air dry).

Watch the video to see step-by-step how to pattern, sew, trim, and finish your own quilted placemats.

How to Make Quilted Placemats:

Standard placemats are 19” x 13” finished. Cut your foam 1” larger on all sides.
Using the foam as a template, cut out your fabric panels, each a little bit larger than the foam.
Use a spray adhesive to baste the foam to the fabric for easier sewing.
Sew the quilting across the assembly. Start by sewing diagonally across one corner and then measure down 2” and start the next line. It is helpful to draw out the quilting pattern with a soapstone pencil to know where to sew.
Create a cardboard template the exact finished size you want the placemats to be. Trace the template on your assembly and cut it out.
Add binding to the edges to finish the placemat!

Do you use placemats every day, just for special occasions, or never? Have you ever sewn your own? Let us know in the comments!