Patchwork Placemat Tutorial

Supplies

• fabric scraps at least 3.5" square
• Backing fabric- piece of fabric 18' x 14"
• Batting- 18" x 14"
• fat quarter to make own bias binding or a pack of 1/2" bias binding

All seam allowances are 1/4".

Completed placemat will measure around 17.5" x 13.5".

1. Cut 24 3.5" squares for your patchwork front.  I fussy cut most of my pieces to make sure I got my favorite little characters in there, so I used a 3.5" ruler to center them and cut them out that way. 

 2.  Now lay out your squares and make a pleasing layout.  Try to balance out your colors.  For this one I alternated light and dark fabrics.

3.  Sew  four squares together to make a strip and do this six times.  You can see my rows in the picture above.

4.  Press the seam allowances of the rows in alternate directions.  This makes it easier to match up your seams when you sew the rows together as they will make a little sandwich.

 5.  Sew your six rows together.  Press your seam allowances to one side. This is what your placemat should now look like!

 6.  Take a dinner plate and place it on opposite corners of the top square and trace to make your curve.

7. It should look like this.  Now trace around all four corners and cut to make them rounded.

 8.  Now take your front, batting, and backing fabric and lay them together as shown.  Baste them together to make a quilt sandwich.

9.  Quilt as desired.  For this one I stippled it, but there are no rules for this one!  These are nice and small and perfect for trying different techniques.

10.  Now trim up your backing and batting.  Add your bias binding using your preferred technique.  I like this tutorial on how to make five yards of bias binding out of one FQ, except I cut mine 2".  This tutorial will show you how to add bias binding to rounded corners!

Enjoy your completed placemat!