Hey everyone. Today you will learn how to turn one patriotic panel into a set of placemats for your table.
Here we go. Let's talk about the fabric first.
The 1776 Independence Day Fabric Panel 33 is a fabric panel from QuiltingFabricPanels.com. It is proudly printed in the United States of America. For an Independence Day design, folks, that just feels right.
It is made with 100% premium quilting cotton. It presses flat, cuts clean, and sews smooth. Placemats need all three, because they get used, washed, and used again.
This is a panel, not regular yardage. The picture is printed whole and ready to use. You trim it, back it, and quilt it. The artwork does the hard work for you. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
One honest note, y'all. Colors on a browser screen may differ in tone from printed cotton fibers. Look at your panel in good daylight first, then pick your backing and binding to match what you see in person. Completely up to you.
The Project: Panel Placemats
Panel placemats are simple, flat mats for each place at the table. A good finished size is about 12 by 18 inches. Big enough for a plate and silverware. Small enough to sew in an afternoon.
Why does this fabric suit them so well? The panel stays the star. No piecing runs through the design. The quilting cotton is stable, flat, and easy to quilt in straight lines.
And hear me on this. It doesn't have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic. Take your time. It's not a race.
Materials List
- One 1776 Independence Day Fabric Panel 33, for the placemat fronts
- Backing fabric: 1/2 yard of quilting cotton for every two placemats
- Thin batting or fusible fleece: one piece per placemat, cut 13 by 19 inches
- Binding: 1/4 yard of quilting cotton per two placemats, cut into 2 1/2-inch strips
- Matching thread, 50-weight for piecing and quilting
- A universal 80/12 needle for all the sewing
- Rotary cutter, ruler, mat, pins or clips, and an iron
Brief Steps
First, press the panel well. Lay it flat and look at the printed design. Decide where your cuts make the most sense for the artwork.
Second, trim your placemat fronts. Aim for 12 1/2 by 18 1/2 inches, including a 1/4-inch seam all around. That gives you a finished 12 by 18 inch mat. If your panel trims a little smaller, that is fine. Just make the whole set match.
Third, cut backing and batting to the same size. Lay the backing wrong side up, smooth the batting on top, then center the panel front right side up. Pin or spray baste so nothing shifts.
Fourth, quilt it simply. Stitch in the ditch around the printed design if there is a clear edge. Or echo about 1/4 inch from a main shape. Straight lines across the mat work too. Use a stitch length around 2.5 to 3, about 8 to 10 stitches per inch.
Fifth, trim each mat neat and square. Check your corners. This little step makes binding so much easier, y'all.
Sixth, bind it. Join your 2 1/2-inch strips, fold in half lengthwise, and sew to the front with a 1/4-inch seam. Fold to the back and stitch it down. Slow down at the corners, or the needle can catch those thick folds.
Practical Tips
Use thin batting here. Really really thin. A puffy batting looks cute, but plates will wobble on it. A flat mat sits better and washes better too. That is my preference.
Test your quilting on a scrap sandwich first. I have quilted a crooked line on a placemat more than once. I just slow down, take a breath, and stitch it again. Nobody at supper will ever know.
Make two, or make a full set. You can bind them all to match, or use a different binding on each one. Completely up to you.
Super duper fun, and super duper useful too. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the 1776 Independence Day Fabric Panel 33 at Linda's Electric Quilters.
