Guest Post: Cheryl Halloween Placemats

My sister has an awesome Mom-in-Law who loves to sew too.  I was so excited for Cheryl to be a guest on the blog.  She came up with these really cute placemats, and they would be great with other \fabric combinations too.  I can't wait to try them :)

 

 

Halloween Placemats

Cheryl Wood, Spokane, WA

I love to decorate for Halloween!  I made very cute Halloween placemats years ago and made the mistake of mixing 100% cotton and polyester fabrics.  After sewing them together, the cotton shrunk and the polyester did not!  The placemats could not be used without taking them all apart and recutting them and reassembling.   I finally found new fabric and came up with a design that I really liked - now my table will be adorned with darling Halloween placemats this year.

***All fabric requirements are listed as washed and ready to cut.  You may need to buy a little more fabric to allow for shrinkage and squaring.    I recommend washing all fabric before cutting. 

Fabric Requirements:

Binding: 1/2 yard cut into 8 strips 2-1/4" wide

Backing: 1 yard cut into 4 pieces 21" x 18"

Top: 10 pieces of fabric, 1/4 yard each.  Cut into  20  4-1/2" strips , do not use fat quarters.  Separate the 20 strips into 2 stacks of 10 strips.  You will want to think of the pattern or order of these strips as you separate them into your two stacks.  (You will have enough of this fabric to make 6 placemats.)

Batting: 4 pieces cut 21" x 18"

Instructions:

1.  Sew 10 of  the 4-1/2" strips together to make a large piece of fabric.  Repeat with other 10 strips to make a second piece of fabric.

2.  Cut pieced fabric into strips that are 2-1/4" wide. 

3.  Layer backing fabric - wrong side up with a piece of batting centered over fabric

4.  Starting with 1 strip laid right side up on left edge of batting. 

5.  Lay another strip of fabric right sides together on top of first strip.

 Sew with 1/4" seam allowance on right edge of strips through all layers.  Open up so strips are now right sides up.  Finger press seam.

6.  Continue sewing new strips

 until entire placemat is filled .

 Be careful to keep these strips straight as you are sewing them.  

7. Square placemat up to measure 18" x 15".   Make sure the two end strips remain equal in width.

8.  Sew 8 binding strips together and sew binding onto placemat

9.  Enjoy completed placemats. 

Guest Post Jennifer: From The Craft Patch

I met Jennifer a little over a year ago, she is one awesome person.  She loves to craft, and she always does it on a budget.  She really is a great example of not letting funds stand in the way of doing what you love, thrifting, repurposing, creating, its a way of life.

Hey there! I'm Jennifer. I am addicted to creativity in all it's forms... sewing, baking, homed decor. Yep, I love it all. I am also an enabler, so I blog at The Craft Patch. Sharon lives a couple streets down from me and we became fast friends when I moved to the area about a year ago. We share a love of knitting, raising kids and eating good donuts. :)

Some of my favorite things to make are fabric and felt books, especially as gifts to my favorite people. They are just so stinkin' fun! Be warned, they are time consuming, but that's part of what makes them such a special gift to give. Time equals love, right?

Here's a round-up of the books I've made in the past. Just click on the captions to see all the pages in each book.

Boyish Felt Name Book

Girly Felt Name Book

Another Felt Name Book

Felt Book of Favorites

Fabric Name Book

Fabric Quiet Book

Dexter's Quiet Book

Guest Post: Jessica does a giveaway!

Remember Jessica's moccasin tutorial?  Luck for you she made an extra pair.  Yay!  We're giving them away to one of you!  Just in case you are too busy to make some yourself.  They measure 4.5 inches from heel to toe and would probably be a 3 - 6 month size or 6 - 9 month size depending on the baby's feet.  

 

To enter, leave a comment!  I'll pick a winner next Monday :) Good Luck!