Tutorial: Place Setting Place Mat

Here is the long promised Place Setting Place Mat Tutorial!

Gather Your Materials

You will need:

fabric place mat
Want to make your own?  Check out this tutorial

iron-adhesive like “Heat ‘n’ Bond”
Use Ultra-hold for a no-sew project, or Lite if you will sew it down.

marking pen, scissors, straight-edge

scrap fabrics

cup, small plate, fork, knife, spoon

thread+sewing machine+etc (optional)

Trace out your place setting

Trace around each piece of the place setting on the paper side of your adhesive. *Note* I didn’t bother tracing the tines of the fork.  We will add those later.

Then, either with a straight edge or by free hand, cut out a napkin shape.  My triangle has 6″ sides.

Cut out the shapes

Iron on fabric

Place the shapes on the wrong side (back) of your scrap fabrics.  The paper liner facing up.  Press according to package directions.  You may want to use a press cloth to keep the adhesive off your iron.  I’m lazy.

If the scrap fabric has a large pattern, have fun positioning the adhesive on the fabric for greatest effect.  The place mat below is a good example of that.  I used a large flower for the cup circle and centrally positioned a pale blue flower on the plate.

Cut out fabric shapes

Once the adhesive has cooled, cut out the fabric shapes along the paper lining edge.

Optional: Now would be a great time to cut out “tines” on your fork shape if you want them.

Peel off paper backing

Peel the paper backing from your fabric shapes.  It should leave behind a clear rubbery layer.

Arrange on place mat

Arrange the place setting on the place mat.  Center the plate on the mat as much as the other shapes allow. This place mat is smallish, so the plate is off-center to allow room for the knife between it and the cup.

Press shapes onto place mat

Remove all shapes but the napkin and the cup. Bond them to the mat by pressing them according to package directions. Again, a press cloth would be good here. lazy.

Next, iron down the plate…
You might want to layout the silverware with it to double-check your arrangement. Then, remove them again before pressing the plate.

…and, finally, the silverware.

If you used a “no-sew” adhesive, YOU ARE FINISHED! Otherwise, continue on and…

Select an appropriate stitch

You have a lot of options here. You can use a straight stitch close to the edge, or a zig-zag wrapping the edge, or a full-out satin stitch for a more  polished applique look.  I like the homey and sturdy zig-zag stitch and I will be using it here.

If you have one, put on an open-toed applique foot.  Mine has a tick mark for centering up the fabric edge and it allowed me to see what I was doing.

Also, I have an adjustable pressure foot on my machine, and I dropped the foot pressure to its lowest setting to make it easier to maneuver around the tighter curves.

Sew down edges

Sew down the exposed edges of the place setting shapes.  Take care to go slowly around the curves. Patience will yield better results.

Clip your loose threads and your are FINISHED!