Linen Placemats

There was quite a lot of linen fabric leftover from our bed project that I have been saving and yesterday I finally put it to some good use. I made placemats! Originally I had plans to make pillows (of which we don't even need), but literally every time we sit down at the table I place kitchen towels under our plates. Until yesterday, nothing has been successfully produced from my sewing machine. To say I am sewing-challenged is an understatement. The following photos may be pretty, but I promise this was a war zone.

The standard sized placemat does not work with my 4 chair round table because the corners touch, so I wanted to make a fabric charger type placemat instead. First I made a rough cut against my plate to help me with the dimensions, which was 14x14.

Then I pinned both squares together, inside out.

I sewed around the edges leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance...

...making sure to leave a 2 inch gap for when I pull the square right side out. Tip: Clipping the corners helps!

After my fabric was right side out I placed a pin over the gap to help the fabric stay folded in while I ironed over everything.

Voila. I am still deciding if I want to make an outside hem for decoration, but that would mean tackling the sewing machine again..hmm

Tip: Having your hubby come home with 'just because' flowers is really encouraging :)