Outdoor dining takes a little creativity in order to keep everything from blowin' in the wind. Our darling, durable placemats have built-in pockets to hold flatware and/or napkins. Dining in? Hooray for the reversible! Simply flip over the placemats for whole new look – the back is pocket-free. These clever placemats are so quick and easy, you can easily whip up enough your own table or the entire family reunion in a weekend, making them the "whip-it-up-winner" of our Weekend Wonders with Fabric.com series.

Our thanks to Fabric.com for sponsoring our series of fast and fabulous projects. This week will be followed by a second wonderful week July 30th. If you haven't visited Fabric.com before, take a few minutes (or several hours... my how time flies when you're having fun) to browse through their incredible selection. Ordering is fast (orders ship within 48 hours), safe (satisfaction is guaranteed and return shipping is free) and easy (US orders of $35 or more always ship for free). 

You want a substantial fabric for this project: a canvas, heavy cotton duck or an outdoor fabric. We went the outdoor fabric route, which worked well and looked great. Normally, outdoor fabrics are not meant to be machine washable. It can remove the protective coatings that help keep them from fading in the sun and molding in the damp. However, these placemats are not meant to be left out in the elements for days on end, so fading and molding aren't the huge concerns they would be with pillows or cushions left out all season. We cut several smallish (about 9" x 12") swatches and washed and dried them several times. They turned out great. Plus, the surface of outdoor fabrics tends to resist dirt and grime and can often simply be spot cleaned. Now... if you plan on inviting Cousin Earnie over for the annual rib barbecue, you might consider having him eat on a towel instead of one of these. 

If you're new to working with outdoor fabrics, take a look at the tutorial we did awhile back: How To Work With And Select Outdoor-Safe Fabric. Our friends at Fabric.com have one of the best selections of outdoor fabrics we've found anywhere. You can choose from popular designers like Tommy Bahama, Waverly Sun N Shade, Richloom and Premier Prints. 

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any sewing machine (we recommend the Janome New Home 2030DC)
• Quarter Inch Seam foot (optional)

Fabric and Other Supplies

We created a set of four mix and match placemats; the supply list below is for the same.

• ¾ yard of FOUR coordinating 54" wide indoor/outdoor fabric. We used fabrics from the Premier Prints and Richloom Solarium indoor/outdoor collections in the following mix and match combos:

Placemat One:

• Front: Vertical Stripe Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com
• Back & Pocket: ZigZag Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com

Placemat Two:

• Front: Diamond Lofted Beringer Spring by Richloom Solarium from Fabric.com
• Back & Pocket: Polka Dot Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com

Placemat Three:

• Front: Polka Dot Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com
• Back & Pocket: Vertical Stripe Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com 

Placemat Four:

• Front: ZigZag Greenage by Premier Prints from Fabric.com
• Back & Pocket: Diamond Lofted Beringer Spring by Richloom Solarium from Fabric.com

Supplies needed for all placemats

• Coats Outdoor Living thread to match fabric
  NOTE: This thread is profiled in the Outdoor Fabric article. Regular thread will succumb to the elements much more quickly, so it's a good idea to use a specialty thread. However, since these placemats won't be left out for extended period, a standard all-purpose thread would also work. 
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Straight pins 

Getting Started

Above, we specified a little extra fabric to allow you to nicely fussy cut each design. To have complete cutting freedom, we recommend getting a full yard of each fabric.

1. From each of the FOUR fabrics, fussy cut the following:
   TWO 21" wide x 15" high rectangles
   ONE 6" wide x 8½" high rectangle
   

At your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Prepare and place the pocket

1. Find the four fussy cut 6" wide x 8½" high rectangles. 
   
2. Fold in and press both sides and the bottom edge ½".
3. Fold the top edge down 2" and press. 
   NOTE: Be very precise with your measuring and folding so your pretty, centered fussy cut stays pretty and centered.
4. Pin in place all around.
   
5. Create a top hem by stitching across the top of the pocket approximately 1¾" from the top folded edge.
   
6. Place the pocket on the right side of the placemat front in the bottom right hand corner. It should be 1½" from the bottom raw edge and 1½" from the right hand raw edge. Pin in place along both sides and across the bottom.
   
7. Using a Quarter Inch Seam foot (if possible), stitch along both sides and across the bottom, leaving the top open ('cause, yeah, it's a pocket). Remember to pivot at the corners. We also like to do a heavy back tack at both upper corners as this is a stress point when using the pocket. 
8. Repeat to create the remaining three pockets for the remaining three placemat fronts. 

Assemble the layers to finish

1. Find each front and back placemat pair. Place the two layers right sides together, sandwiching the pocket in between.
   
2. Using a ½" seam allowance, stitch around all four sides, leaving a 6-8" opening along the bottom for turning. Remember to pivot at all the corners, and to lock your stitch at either side of the 6-8" opening.
3. Trim all the corners at a diagonal and press the seams open. 
   
4. Turn the placemat right side out through the opening. 
5. Gently push out the corners so they are nice and sharp. A long blunt-end tool works best for this, such as a knitting needle or chopstick.
6. Press well, pressing in the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with the sewn seam.
7. Pin the opening closed.
   NOTE: We also added pins all around prior to the final edgestitching. The indoor/outdoor fabric is rather thick, and the extra pins held the two layers flat and kept them from shifting. 
   
8. Topstitch around all four sides, using a ¼" seam allowance. This closes the opening and secures the two layers. We used our Quarter Inch Seam foot again to keep our seam line super straight and even. Remember to remove your pins as you sew. Don't sew over pins!
   

Contributors

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Debbie Guild