How to Make a Patchwork Quilted Placemat

Take your Bosal placemat and draw around the outside onto a piece of paper or card to create your first template.

Separate the template into 4 equal sections drawing a line down the centre of the placemat horizontally and vertically. On the left hand side of the template, split this into 3 equal sections. On the right hand side of the template, split this into two equal sections. Cut these pieces out.

Place your templates onto the wrong side of the fabric and either pin in place or draw around with a pencil or tailors chalk. Make sure to add on a 1cm seam allowance when cutting all of your pieces out.

Lay all of the fabric pieces together so that you can see how your placemat will look when finished. Start by sewing the top row together and then the bottom row, then join both rows together. When sewing along all seam allowances make sure all of your seams fall in the same direction so that there are no lumps and bumps in your finished project.

Next, choose the fabric that you want for the back. Draw around the placemat on the wrong-side of the fabric. Cut out the fabric leaving a 1 cm allowance.

Iron both the front and the back pieces to get out any creases. Place the front piece onto the placemat, making sure there is an equal over hang around the edge, iron onto the placemat until the fabric bonds with the fusible fibers.

Repeat the same for the back piece on the reverse side of the placemat. Leave the placemat to cool and set.

Now trim all fabric edges flush to the placemat.

To make the binding, measure the circumference of the placemat and add on an extra 10 cm to ensure your binding is more than long enough. On the wrong-side of the fabric draw out the binding in two strips to be joined together (each 5 cm wide), starting from one corner and drawing diagonally across the fabric at a 45 degree angle to create your bias binding. Cutting the fabric this way will make it easier to curve your binding around the edge of the placemat.

Join your two pieces of binding together at a right angle to make one long section of binding. Trim any excess fabric.

Fold the top and bottom part of the strip of binding by 1 cm and iron to create a crease. Then fold the whole binding in half and iron to create another crease. You should now have 3 creases and a finished binding. Place the wrong-side of the binding to the back of the placemat and match the raw edge of the fabric to the edge of the placemat. Sew around the binding on the first 1 cm fold, leaving 2cm unstitched at the beginning so that you can join the ends together.

When you have stitched around your binding, turn the beginning of your binding back by 1 cm.

Overlap the ends by 1 cm and then trim the excess fabric. Stitch along the join making sure your fold marks on both pieces match up, this will join the beginning and the end of your binding together neatly.

Roll the binding over the edge of the placemat so that the fabric's right-side is facing up, and the centre fold runs flush with the edge of the placemat.

With the front of the placemat facing you, tuck the remaining edge underneath and top stitch neatly around the edge of the binding to finish your placemat.