How to Make Placemats and Napkins

We love marking special occasions with meals and treats as a family. Why not also mark the special day with some cute placemats and napkins! These pairs are perfect for using up scraps, orphan blocks, and fat quarters to make something beautiful and do a bit of stash busting all at once!

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I use Olfa and Aurifil products-- especially rotary cutters and 50wt thread-- every single day, so I was pleased as punch when Olfa and Aurifil asked me to write a special post sharing these products with you. This year, Olfa is celebrating its 40th anniversary (huzzah! See snazzy ruby rotary cutter in the pics), and, I don’t know about you, but I know I love to celebrate with some good food, wine, and company. That sounds like a party to me, so let’s make some placemats and napkins for the special occasion!

This quick project could likely be done in an afternoon, especially if you have a couple of orphan blocks hanging around. It’s also scrap friendly, so it’s a fun way to use up some leftover bits that are hanging out in your sewing room looking for “job.”

Materials needed (for two placemats and two napkins):

-2- 12 ½ inch unfinished blocks (This is great for orphan blocks, etc. I used the smaller Dogwood Blossoms block from my quilt pattern)

-4- 2 ½ x 12 ½ inch strips

-4- 2 ½ x 16 ½ inch strips

-8- 4 ½ inch squares

-2- 20 x 22 inch pieces of fabric for backing

-130 inches binding

-2- 20 x 22 inch pieces of batting (I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Fusible)

-4- 16 ½ inch squares (two each of two colors)

-Olfa rotary cutter for cutting out all the pieces listed above

-Aurifil 50 wt thread for piecing and quilting

First assemble the placemat top: sew the 2 ½ x 12 ½ inch strips to each side of your blocks. Then, sew the 2 ½ by 16 ½ inch strips to the top and bottom of each block. Next, sew the four 4 ½ inch squares end to end in two sets of four. Finish the placemat tops by attaching the strips of squares to the right side of each framed block.

Baste the placemats. Layer the backing, batting, and top of each placemat, then pin or spray baste (or steam if using fusible batt).

Quilt as desired, then bind.

Not sure how to “quilt as desired”? Let me help! I chose to use feathers as the primary motif on my placemats. I have a tutorial to get you started here. If you’re brand new to free motion quilting, I invite you to check out my top tips here!

Ready for napkins? These are unbelievably easy! Place two of the 16 ½ inch squares right sides together. Sew all the way around ¼ inch from the edge, leaving a 2 inch opening to turn. Snip the corners on the diagonal (to make them less bulky), turn, and press, folding in the edges where you turned the napkin. Then, topstitch all the way around ¼ inch from the edge.

Voila! You are party-ready! Thanks for stitching along with me today, and I hope I’ll see you inside some of my classes as well as in my Facebook Group, Quilting Rockstars, so we can continue to quilt and live with confidence together!

Check out the rest of the Slice & Stitch Challenge on the AURIbuzz Blog!