A pretty set of placemats brighten up any table top. This patchwork set is reversible – so that’s twice the beauty and brightening! Each mat features unique fabric combinations for the front, back, and binding; yet the patchwork feature band is the same on all, which ties the whole set together. We show you how to make a ‘strata’ so this common patchwork band is fast and easy.

We originally used fabric from the Vintage Modern collection by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics, an older collection that is no longer readily available. But there are always lots of new quilting cotton collections from which to choose. If you are interested in using pre-cuts, we believe our friends at Fat Quarter Shop have the very best selection. We also provide yardage calculations with and without pre-cuts in the mix.

If you love these placemats, you’ll want to check out the other items in our Kitchen Confection Series: coordinating napkins, a small table runner, oven mitts, and an adorable apron. To round it all out, click to download an adorable set of matching recipe cards and gift tags. You’ll be set to brighten your kitchen from top to bottom.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Sewing Machine and standard presser foot
• Quarter Inch Seam foot
• Even Feed/Walking foot with quilt bar; optional, but helpful for the straight line quilting. You could also engage your machine’s built-in fabric feeding system, such as the Janome AcuFeed™Flex system

Fabric and Other Supplies

Supplies listed below are for FOUR placemats; each finishes at 20″ wide x 14″ high.

• FIFTEEN 44″+ wide quilting weight cottons: yardage is shown below both with and without pre-cuts in the mix
  NOTE: You could certainly use fewer cuts, but the beauty of this collection is how marvelously it all mixes and matches, so we have given you the information below for how to built our set.
• 1 yard of 45″ wide lightweight, low loft batting: we used Warm & Natural quilt batting
• All purpose thread to coordinate with fabrics
• Machine quilting thread in 50 wt: we used white
• See-through ruler
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Straight pins
• Adhesive dots or masking tape
• Temporary spray adhesive (one option for basting)
• Hand sewing needle and contrasting thread (another option for basting)

Specific Yardage Notes

Our patchwork strip is made from the same seven strips for each placemat.

The Binding/Front/Back combination for our first placemat is as follows:

The Binding/Front/Back combination for our second placemat is as follows:

The Binding/Front/Back combination for our third placemat is as follows:

The Binding/Front/Back combination for our fourth placemat is as follows:

Getting Started

WOF = Width of Fabric

Fabric 1 – Floral Wish Sky:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips and ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips and cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 2 – Floral Snickerdoodle Pear:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle and ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle from the Fat Quarter and cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 3 – Floral Hopscotch Pebble:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips and ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips and cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 4 – Floral Vintage Sky:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16″ x 22 rectangle and ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle from the Fat Quarter and cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 5 – Floral Wish Pebble:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 6 – Floral Swirl Candy Apple:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 7 – Floral Hopscotch Sky:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 2½” x 25″ strip
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut the Jelly Roll strip down to 25″

Fabric 8 – Floral Dot Stripe Candy Apple:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips

Fabric 9 – Floral Snickerdoodle Sky:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Fabric 10 – Floral Snickerdoodle Melon:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Fabric 11 – Floral Vintage Cream:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Fabric 12 – Floral Wish Candy Apple:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut TWO 2″ x WOF strips

Fabric 13 – Floral Snickerdoodle Pebble:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 14½ x 15 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Fabric 14 – Floral Vintage Pebble:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Fabric 15 – Floral Cotton Blossom Candy Apple:

Without pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle
With yardage/pre-cuts:
Cut ONE 16 x 22 rectangle from the Fat Quarter

Low loft batting:

Cut FOUR 16″ x 22″ rectangles

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Create a ‘strata’

1. A strata is a quilter’s term for a block of pieced fabric made up of strips sewn together side-by-side. The completed strata can then be cut into smaller strips for the project. It’s a wonderful time-saving technique!
2. Collect the SEVEN 2½” x 25″ strips.
3. Place the strips in a row in the desired order. Number the strips using an adhesive dot or a small piece of masking tape. This will help you keep track of the order.
   
   
4. With all purpose thread in the top and bobbin, use a ¼” seam allowance to sew together the 2½” x 25″ strips to create a 14½” x 25″ strata.
5. To do this, place the first two strips right sides together, aligning one 25″ side. Pin in place. Stitch together. Add the third strip to the remaining 25″ raw edge of the sewn pair. Pin and stitch in the same manner. Continue in this manner to create a finished strata 14½” x 25″.
   
   
6. Press all the seam allowances to one side, toward the very first strip.
7. Using a rotary cutter, quilt ruler and cutting mat, square the end of the strata, removing as little fabric as possible. This means aligning your strata along a cutting mat grid line, then also aligning your ruler along the grid lines and trimming the edge perfectly straight.
   
   
8. Cut the squared strata into four 6″ strips, one for each of the four placemats.
   
   
   
   
   

Finish the placemat top

1. Find one of the 14½” x 15″ rectangles.
2. Place one 6″ x 14½” strata strip right sides together with this rectangle, aligning the 14½” sides. Pin in place.
3. Using a ¼” seam seam allowance, sew the two pieces together. Press the seam allowance together and toward the rectangle. This completes the placemat top.
   NOTE: You can sew the strata to the left or right. We chose to place it to the right since that usually where flatware would be placed. 

Layer and quilt

1. Find the appropriate 16″ x 22″ rectangle to match your placemat top. This is the placemat back.
2. Find one 16″ x 22″ batting rectangle.
3. Place the placemat back right side DOWN on your work surface. Layer the batting on top of the back. Layer the completed placemat top right side UP on top of the batting. The backing and batting are cut slightly oversized to allow a bit of extra room for quilting.
   
   
4. Baste all three layers together all around the outer edge and through the middle. You can use a temporary spray adhesive for this step or a long running stitch with needle and thread. We opted for needle and thread, basting a large X.
   
   
5. If possible, attach an Even Fee/Walking foot to your machine or engage your your machine’s built-in fabric feed system. It will make working with the layers easier. Stitch in the ditch (which means stitching along your previously sewn seam line) between the strata strip and the main front rectangle of fabric.
   
   
6. Re-thread your machine with white quilting 50wt in the top and bobbin.
7. Channel quilt parallel lines, following the lines of the fabric. Our lines were 1″ apart to allow us to sew between the motifs.
8. Quilt horizontal lines of stitching across the strata strip, running ¼” to either side of each seam.
9. When the quilting is complete, trim the excess batting and backing to match the placemat top.
   
   

Bind

1. Find the two 2″ x WOF binding strips appropriate for the placemat.
2. Place the two strips right sides together, along one 2″ end. Pin and stitch together with a ¼” seam allowance.
3. Fold the joined strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press.
4. Working from the front of placemat, align the raw edges of the folded and pressed strip with the raw edge of the placemat.
5. Re-thread your machine with thread to match the binding in the top and bobbin.
6. Start in the middle of one long edge, leaving a tail of approximately 4″, sew the binding to the placemat, using a ¼” seam allowance.
   
   
7. Miter each corner. To do this, stop with the needle in the down position when you are ¼” from the corner.
8. Pivot the fabric 90°.
9. Using the reverse button on the machine, back off the fabric
10. Turn the binding straight down at a 90˚ angle. This will create a 45° fold to the inside of the corner, and allow you to align the raw edge of the binding with the raw edge of the next side of the placemat. Re-start stitching at the point of the fold.
11. Stitch all the way around, stopping approximately 4″ from your starting point.
12. Open out the binding and join the ends, measuring to fit.
13. Re-fold the binding.
14. Bring the binding up and over to the back side of the placemat, covering the line of stitching. Press in place and pin as needed. Don’t be afraid to use lots of pins.
    NOTE: If you are new to binding, you can check out our full step-by-step tutorial for more tips and photos.
    
    
15. Stitch in the ditch from the front all the way around the placemat.
    
    
16. Repeat to create your other three mix-and-match placemats.