About to head to power pilates which may leave me unable to even USE a sewing machine later.... :) Seriously. But I am planning on attempting at making my own placemats this afternoon. I've been wanting to do this forever and haven't learned how.
PS: Still stumped on a 2nd year anniversary gift for Chris... yikes. Who would have thought cotton would be this hard?
Tips on either of these topics would be much appreciated!
Are you hoping to make fabric mats? Do you have any wadding (pref. in a sheet, that you can cut to size)? My suggestion for fairly simple, but pretty mats.... 1) Single-layer of fabric; Cut out a rectangle of baking paper, the size of your mat, plus 1" all round. Use this as a pattern, lining up the edge with the "grain" of your fabric (ie. so the thread direction of warp/weft) lines up with the edges of the baking paper). Cut your rectangles with sharp scissors/dressmaker's shears. Fold over and press 1/2" all round, then fold over another 1/2" - both of these onto the back of the mat. If you are clever, mitre the corners...if not, just cut out a small bit from the corner, to reduce bulk and fold the corners up carefully, so they line up with the sides. Either: use iron-on hemming tape to stick the edges down; Or sew a straight seam round all four sides, just inside the fold-line, to firmly fix the edges. You could also stitch just by the folded edges, to make it extra secure and more decorative. Easy mats....
ReplyDelete2) Padded, double-layer mats. Make a paper pattern, with a 1/2" hem allowance this time. Cut Two sets of fabric per mat - a Front and a Back (the fabrics could be different patterns/designs, but I recommend using the same type of fibre - ie. all cotton or all poly-cotton - cotton is preferable & more durable). Fold under and press the hem allowances on each piece. Cut a new paper template for your wadding, that is the size of the finished mat, less 1/2". Use this to cut a sheet of wadding. Place the wadding between the front and back pieces, with each piece facing "outwards" (back of each piece against the wadding). Then Stitch all round, to fix the pieces together at their edges, then again just inside the hemline, to secure the fabric and the wadding. If you want, you can make some straight lines of stitching across or diagonally, to make a "quilted" mat. Less simple than Mat 1, but more "posh", more heat-proof and also option of two patterns, so you can have a change when you fancy it.
Hope these ideas are helpful....
Of course, you can make Mat 2 without the wadding!
I got John a bath robe for our anniversary and he has loved it! A hammock was the other thing I saw when I looked online.
ReplyDeleteJen, great ideas... thank you! not sure where a hammock would go but the robe is a good one... I'll let you know what I decide!
ReplyDeleteLizzie, WOW! thank you so much for your super detailed and extremely helpful response. I will definitely use your tips!!!