Whether I am hosting a holiday event with family and friends or just dining for one, my table is always set with decorative and functional placemats, a tablerunner and napkins to match. Don’t wait until a big gathering to break out the festive hand made things. With the holidays approaching we are spending extra time in social gatherings whether you are hosting or not placemats make for a perfect addition to your set up and works great as a hostess gift.
Which is why I was inspired to make the ‘Tile Weave Patchwork’ Placemats. This placemat consists of 2 different block designs in an alternating pattern creating an interwoven design that is pleasing to the eye. A nine patch block and a strip block that can easily be made with strip rolls. I made my placemats with Katarina Roccella’s new collection called Barcelona. It plays back beautifully with the mosaic-like patterns and bold jewel tone colors offered in this collection.
Watch how easy this placemat comes together below.
Fabric Requirements:
Grab yourself a Barcelona Strip roll and after that all you need is seven (7) 2 ½” strips and some backing and batting for one placemat.
Cut all your 2 1/2” x WOF strips in half to get 1 ¼” strips.
Placemat 1:
Fabric A-BRC- 88201-2 Strips
Fabric B-BRC-88206- 1 Strip
Fabric C-BRC-98200- 1 Strips
Fabric D-BRC-88209- 1 Strips
Fabric E- PE433- 2 Strips
Backing Fabric- Fat Quarter
Batting
Make all your placements different or the same and play around with a backing fabric that is calling your name.
I made all my placemats different to play with all the prints from Barcelona Fabrics. Here are the different fabric pulls I used for each one.
Placemat 2:
Fabric A-BRC-BRC-88206-2 Strips
Fabric B-BRC-98212-1 Strip
Fabric C-BRC-88203- 1 Strips
Fabric D-BRC-88208-1 Strips
Fabric E-PE433-2 Strip
Placemat 3:
Fabric A-BRC-BRC-88208-2 Strips
Fabric B-BRC-98210- 1 Strip
Fabric C-BRC-88200- 1 Strips
Fabric D-BRC-98212-1 Strips
Fabric E-PE433-2 Strips
Placemat 4:
Fabric A-BRC-98202-2 Strips
Fabric B-BRC-88208-1 Strip
Fabric C-BRC-98204-1 Strips
Fabric D-BRC-88201-1 Strips
Fabric E-PE433-2 Strips
Featuring AGF Strip Rolls
Step by Step Instructions:
Take one (1) strip from Fabric E and cut in half to get two strips that are about 22″ long. Take a Fabric C strip and repeat the same process. Sew a Fabric E strip to each side of one Fabric C strip to get the following strip set and sub-cut twelve (12) 1 ¼” wide strips. We will call this Unit 1.
Sew two (2) strips from Fabric B to each side of a strip from Fabric E and sub-cut twenty-four (24) 1 ¼” wide strips. We will call this Unit 2.
Sew two Unit 2’s to each side of a Unit 1. To get the following nine patch blocks. Make a total of 12 of these blocks. We will call this Block 1.
To create our second nine patch block take two (2) strips from Fabric D and two (2) strips from Fabric E and cut in half. Sew two strips from Fabric E to each side of a strip from Fabric D and sub-cut sixteen (16) 1 ¼ ” wide strips. We will call this unit 3.
Take two 22″ long strips from Fabric D and sew to each side of a 22″ strip from Fabric E. Sub-cut eight (8) 1 ¼ ” wide strips. We will call it Unit 4.
Sew two Unit 3’s to each side of a Unit 4. To create block 2. Repeat this process to make 8 block 2’s.
To create Block 3, take two (2) Fabric A strips and sew to each side of a Fabric C strip. Sub cut fifteen (15) 2 ¾” wide blocks from the stripset.
To get your remaining 5 blocks, cut your remaining Fabric A strip in half and sew strips to each side of your remaining strip from Fabric C. Subcut five (5) blocks to make 20 of Block 3.
Follow the placemat layout for block placement and sew your blocks into rows and your rows together.
Place your front placemat on some batting and choose a fitting quilting motif. I choose basic straight line quilting to create a grid like pattern.
Take your backing fabric and place right sides together to the front placemat and stitch all the way around your piece leaving a small unsewn portion. Flip piece through and poke out corners and press flat. Top stitch all the way around your placemat to secure your unsewn portion and to give your placemat a nice professional look.
Make for yourself, each member of the household and of course extra for guests. These make great gifts so stack four on top of each other and wrap with a bow. I am thinking I need matching coasters now. Sew four blocks together to get a 6” coaster.Or even use your leftover strip sets and create a new design. Bind with AGF’s 2.5 binding or use the same method we used to create our place mats. Get creative with your placemats and make them your own. I love how one idea turns into so many more ideas to try and play around with.
I love that these can be used for so much more than just placemats. Use as a centerpiece or to decorate the top of a shelf or side table. I am so obsessed with these cute blocks I just want to keep making them and sewing them together to create a throw or runner.
Can’t wait to see what you guys think of this tutorial. Leave me a comment below with how you are enjoying Barcelona Fabrics and how your holiday gift giving sewing is going.
Happy Sewing,
Melissa