Quilted Homespun Place mat
A set of rag style place mats can be a really quick and easy way to use up any homespun fabric left over from a larger project. In the tutorial below, we used an assortment of black/white/gray homespun fabrics from Jubilee Fabric. Only homespun will fray like this when washed! Here in the studio we think that this color set would also look really good with a pop of yellow or red or some other single color to accent the monochromatic grays.
Finished size of this place mat is approximately 15" x 11.5". This project can also be done as a table runner by simply adding more squares. The basic construction method is the same. For a table runner that is about 15" x 46", you would need to expand this project to be 4 squares wide by 13 squares long.
Of course if you don't have left over coordinated fabric scraps, you can always purchase a 5" charm pack which would be more than enough squares to make 3 place mats. Our 5" charm packs come in some fun color assortments such as American Heritage, Autumn Spice, Route 66, Lightwash as well as many others.
Scroll down to review this tutorial and see more pictures of the finished project and the work-in-progress.
Materials:
24 - 5" homespun quilt squares (makes one place mat)
12 - 3.5" low loft batting squares
24 - 5" homespun quilt squares (makes one place mat)
12 - 3.5" low loft batting squares
*** Remember that you must use homespun fabric to get a fluffy fray like this in one washing. All seams should be 5/8 inch. Back-stitch to secure the stitching about 5/8" from the raw edges because the last 5/8" will turn to fray.
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Match up your front and back for each square and lay them all out in a pattern that pleases you. In the photo below, each square is two layers thick, front & back.
- Place a square of batting between the front and back layers of one square making a "sandwich" with the fabric on the outside and batting in the middle. Center the batting and trim if needed so that it is at least 3/4" from all raw edges. Pin in place
- Stitch an X from corner to corner through all thicknesses.
- Repeat until all the squares have been quilted with the X.
- Be sure to keep your layout design intact by just doing one square at a time.
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- Stitch the first row of 4 together with all the seams facing the same direction.
- Stitch the second and third rows together in the same way.
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- Stitch the three rows together, again with the seams all facing the same direction.
- Stitch around the perimeter of the place mat about 5/8" from the raw edges.
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- Look for any places where the exposed seam allowances have been stitched down. Free the seam allowance by clipping close to the stitch line. (see detail image below)
- Clip all the raw edges about 1/2" deep and 1/2" apart. Don't forget to clip the outer edges also. Make a diagonal clip into the corners.
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- Machine wash cold with a liquid fabric softener to help loosen the strings. Add about 1/4 cup of table salt to help reduce fading of the cotton especially if you are using bright colors. A lot of strings will come loose in the wash so you will probably want to take this outside and shake it good before going into the dryer. If you are drying multiple place mats at one time, you also may want to stop the dryer and clean the lint trap once or twice during the cycle to clear out strings.
- Enjoy your new table pretties! Send us some pictures if you stitch up something you really like!
For the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5
