Thanksgiving is six weeks away, which is plenty of time to sew the detail everyone at the table will actually notice: the placemats. These reversible quilted placemats pair a soft autumn leaves print on one side with a rich pumpkin solid on the other, so you can flip from everyday fall to full holiday — or mix both sides down the table. They are flat, simple rectangles with straight-line quilting and a self-binding finish, which makes them an ideal first quilting project and a satisfying weekend batch-sew.
What You'll Make
A set of four finished placemats, each about 12″ × 18″. One side shows the leaves print, the other shows the pumpkin solid, and a thin layer of cotton batting in between gives them enough body to sit flat, protect your table from warm plates, and go through the wash without fuss. The binding is made from the backing fabric itself, so there are no separate binding strips to cut or join.
Materials
5 of the 6 materials below (83%) are available at Linda’s — links included. The last one is a basic you may already own.
- Natural Autumn Shadow Leaves Cotton Wideback Fabric per yard — the featured print for the front of your placemats. Half a yard of this wide fabric is plenty for four fronts, with scraps left for matching napkins. Get it at Linda’s.
- Orange Grunge Basics Pumpkin fabric (44″/45″) — the reversible back and self-binding. One yard gives you four backs cut larger than the fronts, which is exactly what the self-binding method needs. Get it at Linda’s.
- Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton Batting Package — a thin, flat layer for body and a little heat protection under warm dishes. One package covers this set and leaves plenty for future projects. Get it at Linda’s.
- 2150 Pumpkin Aurifil Cotton 50wt Large Spool thread — a warm pumpkin shade that blends beautifully with both sides for quilting and topstitching the binding. Get it at Linda’s.
- Riley Blake Designs Quilty Clips — hold the folded binding neatly in place while you stitch, with no pin holes in your finished edges. Get it at Linda’s.
- A fabric marking pencil or chalk — for drawing your quilting lines. Pick one up at most craft stores or your local quilt shop if your sewing kit doesn’t already have one.
Steps
- Cut your pieces. For each placemat, cut one front 12″ × 18″ from the leaves fabric, one piece of batting 12″ × 18″, and one back 14″ × 20″ from the pumpkin fabric. The back is intentionally 2″ larger all around — that extra becomes your binding.
- Layer and baste. Center the batting on the wrong side of the backing, then place the front right-side-up on top of the batting, centered so the backing extends evenly on all four sides. Pin or spray-baste the layers so nothing shifts while you quilt.
- Quilt simply. Mark straight lines about 2″ apart across the placemat and stitch through all three layers. A walking foot helps everything feed evenly, but a regular foot with a slightly longer stitch works too. Lines do not need to be perfect — gentle and even is the goal.
- Trim and square. Trim the front and batting layers even, keeping the larger backing intact. Check that the backing still extends about 1″ beyond the front on every side, and trim it to an even width if needed.
- Fold the self-binding. Fold the raw edge of the backing in to meet the edge of the front, then fold it again up and over onto the front, forming a neat border about ½″ wide. At the corners, fold a tidy miter — tuck the corner into a diagonal point before folding the next side. Clip as you go with the Quilty Clips.
- Stitch the binding down. Topstitch close to the inner fold of the binding, all the way around, pivoting at each mitered corner. Go slowly at the corners and backstitch at the start and end to lock your stitches.
- Press and repeat. Give each placemat a good press, then make the other three exactly the same way. Stack them, tie the set with a scrap of fabric, and you have a hostess gift — or keep them for your own table.
Tips
- Batch-sew for speed. Cut all four placemats first, then quilt all four, then bind all four. Assembly-line sewing turns this into an easy afternoon.
- Placemats are not pot holders. The thin batting softens the clink of plates and handles warm dishes fine, but use a proper insulated holder or trivet under a pan straight from the oven.
- Prewash for a softer finish. Cotton fabrics and batting can shrink slightly. If you like a relaxed, crinkly quilted look after washing, assemble first and wash once at the end; if you prefer a crisp finish, prewash the fabrics before cutting.
- Change the season, keep the pattern. Swap the leaves print for a holiday print and the pumpkin for a deep red or green, and the same simple steps make a Christmas set.
Where to Get Everything
The leaves wideback, pumpkin Grunge backing, Hobbs cotton batting, Aurifil thread, and Quilty Clips are all at lindas.com — follow the links above and you can put the whole set in one cart. The only other item, a fabric marking pencil or chalk, is available at most craft stores or your local quilt shop. Set the table, flip a placemat or two for contrast, and let your sewing be part of the Thanksgiving spread.
