Hey everyone. Today we're making placemats that survive weekly washing and still come out flat — plus a pocket for your fork, knife, and spoon.
If your placemats ever came out of the wash wavy, you are not alone. I have made that set too. The fabric looked great. The batting had other plans.
Here's the fix, y'all. Pick a low-loft, needle-punched batting. And quilt it closer together. That's really the whole secret.
High-loft batting is super fun for puffy quilts. For placemats, it puffs and shifts. A flat cotton or 80/20 cotton-poly batting stays put. It also lets plates sit level. No wobbly coffee cup. Just like that.
The pocket is my favorite part. It holds cutlery for a buffet, a picnic, or a holiday table. Super duper cute. And really, really practical.
Materials
- Low-loft needle-punched cotton batting, or 80/20 cotton-poly batting
- Quilting cotton for tops and backing — 1/2 yard makes about two placemats
- Extra cotton for pockets and binding
- 50-weight cotton thread for piecing and quilting
- Size 80/12 universal or quilting needle
- Walking foot, rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
- Pins or clips, iron, and marking tool
For each placemat, cut top, batting, and backing at 13 inches by 18 inches. For the pocket, cut one piece 6 inches by 7 inches. Completely up to you if you match it or contrast it.
How to make them
- Prewash first. If you plan to wash these weekly, prewash your cotton fabric. Cotton batting can shrink a little the first wash. Get that shrink out of the way first. Press everything flat before you cut.
- Make the pocket. Fold the top edge of the pocket down 1/2 inch, press, fold again, and stitch close to the fold. Use a 2.5 mm stitch length, about 10 stitches per inch. Leave the pocket square, or fold it for an angled look. Both work.
- Layer the sandwich. Backing wrong side up, batting on top, top fabric right side up. Smooth from the center out. Pin every 3 to 4 inches. Take your time here. It's not a race.
- Place the pocket. Set the pocket on one end of the top, raw edges even with the placemat edges. Pin or clip it. The quilting and binding will catch it, so it needs no separate bottom seam.
- Quilt it dense. Here we go. With your walking foot, quilt straight lines 1 inch apart across the whole placemat, or quilt a 1-inch grid. Dense quilting is what keeps it flat wash after wash. If lines are 3 or 4 inches apart, batting can shift and bunch between them. One inch is the sweet spot.
- Add the pocket divider. For a square pocket, stitch one vertical line down its middle through all layers. That makes two slots for cutlery. Slow down at the thick fold. Slow down or the needle can deflect.
- Trim and square up. Trim to exactly 12 1/2 inches by 17 1/2 inches, or keep 13 by 18 if your edges stayed clean. Mine rarely do. I trim. No shame in that.
- Bind it tight. Cut binding strips 2 1/4 inches wide. Sew on with a 1/4-inch seam, miter the corners, fold to the back, and stitch in the ditch from the front. A snug binding keeps edges from curling in the wash.
- Wash and check. Wash the first one on warm, tumble dry medium, and lay it flat. If it lies flat, you did it. If there's a little wave, quilt the rest a touch closer.
Tips and variations
Choose batting by touch. Needle-punched batting with a light scrim holds together best for weekly washing. If you can pull a batting apart easily with your hands, skip it for placemats.
Make a set at once. I make six, assembly-line style. Cut all six, pocket all six, then quilt all six. It goes faster, and your quilting stays consistent.
Change the pocket. Make it wider for a napkin plus cutlery. Angle it. Or skip the divider and tuck in a recipe card. Completely up to you.
Seasonal sets. One set for everyday, one for holidays. Same pattern, same dense quilting. The batting does the hard work either way.
And listen, it doesn't have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic. If a quilting line wanders a little, that placemat will still get used, washed, and loved. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me, folks. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop Warm & Natural® Needled Cotton Batting – Premium Cotton Quilt Batting — Baby 45" × 60" at Linda's Electric Quilters.
