House on a budget: Quick and easy placemats

Ok, so I know I said my next post would be about turning a skirt into a purse, but it's going to take a bit of time. Yes, I'm a busy mom that can only do so much! So while we wait I thought I'd share one of my Christmas projects that I've been wanting to show you. This time I'm adding a little tutorial so you can enjoy making them too! These placemats are so easy to make that I think they are a perfect project to learn to sew on. I present what I call quick and easy placemats!

First, choose some good sturdy fabric and thread to match. I chose a black and white gingham for one side and a solid black for the other. Oh, and don't forget your interfacing. Once your fabric is washed, dried, and ironed decide how big you want to make them; keeping in mind you will want to have about a 1/4 in. inseam. I cut my fabric to about 18in.X 13 1/2in. Cut the interfacing to the same size. The interfacing adds thickness to the placemats.

Now pin all 3 together with the right sides facing each other.

For the inseam I just used the preser foot as my guide. Line up the presser foot with the edge of the fabric.

Be sure to back stitch to secure the stitches. I also like to start sewing in the middle of a straight edge, not a corner. It's easier to hand stitch a straight edge than a corner. Sew all the way around, but leave a little opening, about 1 in. unstitched to pull the fabric through.

For those of you who haven't done much sewing, when you get to the corner, leave the needle in the fabric lift the presser foot and turn the fabric. It's like book marking your fabric so your needle knows where the next stitch should be.

Now clip the corners of the placemat, not to close to the stitching, but close enough so you don't have a bunch of fabric in your corner once you turn it right side out.

Now it's time to turn the fabric right side out! So pull it through that little opening you left in the side. Once it's all through, pop out the corners. Do this gently as it can tear if poked to hard. (I speak from experience!) ;)

Now iron the placemat and then hand stitch the opening closed.

You're almost done! Now top stitch around your placemat. If your machine has fancy stitches, this is the time to use them if you like. I just did a simple stitch, but there are many things you can do to get more creative. In the picture below you can see that I stitched about 1/2 in. from the edge.

What do you think? Cute, right?!! And sooo easy! I also added napkins to match. Basically do the same thing just make them a bit smaller. I love that these placemats and napkins are reversable!