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Craft a Beautiful Thanksgiving Placemat Adorned with Delightful Embroidered Motifs

by Finery Embroidery 26 Sep 2023 0 Comments

Bring even more cheer Thanksgiving table with these distinctive placemats. Featuring a lining, cozy flannel padding, and an intricately embroidered side adorned with sublime theme motifs, you can now customize your party décor to perfectly complement your finest style.

 MATERIALS

To create a cozy 12 x 18-inch placemat, gather the following items:

  • ½ yard of fabric in your preferred color (we chose black) for the front and back of the placemat.
  • ¼ yard of cotton flannel or upholstery fabric.
  • 2 meters of bias tape.
  • Threads, including all-purpose, bobbin, and embroidery threads.
  • Embroidery tape or painter's tape.
  • Embroidery scissors.
  • Leaf embroidery patterns (varied in size; see "Designs" for details).

PREPARATION

To get started:

EMBROIDERY

Please note that the following instructions are suitable for embroidery hoops smaller than 6 "x10". If you have a hoop of 6 "x10" or larger, you can simplify the embroidery process. Use combined pattern templates for precise placement, adjusting as needed.

  • Print four templates for each leaf pattern and cut them out, leaving about a ¼" margin around the pattern outline.
  • Arrange the patterns on the placemat's front side according to your preference. You can refer to the project photo above for guidance or arrange them as you like. Once satisfied with their placement, mark the centerlines on the fabric.

Tip: Take a photo of your layout after arranging the templates to ensure they are correctly positioned during embroidery.

To embroider the leaves, proceed as follows:

  • Surround the fabric with tear-away stabilizer, ensuring that the crossmarks are well-centered.
  • Place the hoop on the embroidery machine and begin by embroidering the chosen pattern, then move on to the next.
  • Once the pattern is complete, remove the hoop from the machine and take the fabric out of the hoop.
  • Carefully tear away the stabilizer from the edges of the pattern.
  • If desired, you can further enhance the pattern with decorative stitching, using, for example, the cross-stitch.
fall-time-thanksgiving-autumn-harvest-delights-embroidery-design-collection

CONSTRUCTION

For assembly:

  • If necessary, trim the edges of the placemat to make them even and uniform.
  • From the remaining black fabric and the flannel or batting, cut rectangles of the same size as the front of the finished placemat.
  • Place the placemat's front side against the flannel or batting, right sides together, aligning the raw edges. Then, position the back of the placemat, right sides together, over the front.
  • Sew around all the edges using your chosen seam allowance, pivot at the corners, and leave a 2" opening along one edge for turning.
  • Turn the placemat right side out through the opening and press it flat.
  • To close the opening, hand-sew it with a slip stitch or fuse it with a fusible seam tape.

Now, let's move on to attaching the bias tape to the back of the placemat. Begin in the middle of one side of the placemat (this makes it easier to join the edges later without encountering the corners). Leave one end of the bias tape unsewn at the start – approximately 3-4 inches long (longer than shown in the photo below). Start sewing this first fold from the raw edge, with a seam allowance of about ½". You can use a basting stitch.

Unroll the bias tape.

 

 (Note: The length of your bias tape will depend on your project; there's no need to unroll it all at once. You can do it as you go.)

  1. Place the bias tape right sides together with the raw top edge of the placemat. Start sewing about 3 or 4 inches from the upper left corner. Sew into the upper groove/the fold closest to the top edge of the placemat. Stop 1/4 inch from the placemat's edge. Sew at a 45-degree angle as shown. Remove the placemat from the sewing machine.
  2. Fold the bias tape over itself to form a 90-degree angle. The folded end of the bias tape should be on the wrong side.
  3. Fold the bias tape in the opposite direction so that it comes back to the right side with the placemat. Start sewing 1/4 inch from the upper edge. Sew into the outer groove/the fold closest to the placemat's raw edge. Stop 1/4 inch from the bottom edge of the placemat. Sew at a 45-degree angle as shown, then remove it from the machine. Press the formed angle with your fingers (or use an iron). This will create a "flap" at the angle. Ensure the folded edge of the bias tape aligns perfectly with the raw top edge of the placemat and folds over the area you've already sewn, avoiding the next area to be sewn.
  4. Repeat this process for all corners until the bias tape is about 3 or 4 inches from where you started.
  5. Turn the placemat so that the unfinished corner is the bottom right corner.
  6. Place the free ends of the bias tape right sides together. This will automatically fold the placemat to the wrong side. Join them at a 45-degree angle, as shown. Sew the bias tape just to the right of the angle point (the angle point is shown below for illustration purposes only), without sewing over the angle point. Cut the excess bias tape to achieve a 1/4-inch seam (also cut the excess crochet lace inside the seam to avoid bulk).
  7. Sew one unfinished side of the placemat, ensuring you sew at a 45-degree angle as before.
  8. Press the remaining flap and finish sewing the last "joint corner" 1/4 inch from the edge, where you've already sewn.
  9. Fold the bias tape back to its original state over the raw edges of the placemat.

The back of each corner should be tucked/pressed to form a tabbed corner, which should be fairly easy to do. The joint corner will be slightly bulkier than the other corners. If desired, trim the excess before pressing. Hand-sew the bias tape on the wrong side of the placemat using a slip stitch, or sew it by machine through all layers.

Tip: If needed, you can adjust the width of the border strips using bias tape of a different width to create a wider or narrower border according to your preferences.

DESIGNS:
fall-time-thanksgiving-autumn-harvest-delights-embroidery-design-collection
To access the Fall Time embroidery designs pack, download them from fineryembroidery
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