Fat Quarter Project; Garden Table Lunch Set
Hi everyone, Tamlyn here. When I saw this month’s tropical themed fat quarters, they instantly made me think of holidays and BBQs. As we are starting to enjoy some warmer weather here in the UK, I have designed a tutorial to make some fun & practical placemats for your garden table.
You will need:
- Fabric fat quarters (One per placemat + one for the napkins) – iron these to get any creases/folds out
- Sewing machine with a universal needle
- Rotary cutter & cutting mat / Fabric scissors
- Ruler
- Fabric marker / chalk
- Pins / Clips
Remember to back stitch at the start and end each time you sew – this is essential to secure your stitches.
I’ll be using a ½” seam allowance throughout, unless specified.
Decide how you want to mix and match your fat quarters to create your placemats. You’ll see I have combined two different fat quarters to create one placemat, rather than using the same fabric for the whole placemat. But there are no rules – you decide!
To make two placemats
- Take one fat quarter and fold it in half by bringing the two longest edges together. Measure along from the left hand side 15 inches and cut (You will now have two pieces of fabric). Cut along the fold of the larger piece so you have two identical sized rectangles.
2) From the smaller piece of fabric, cut one rectangle 3.5 inches wide and 6 inches tall.
This is for your cutlery pocket. Then cut a rectangle 3.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall.
This is for your napkin holder.
Repeat these steps for one more fat quarter.
3) Take your pocket piece. Press the top short edge under by ¼” and top stitch. Then press the other three edges under by ¼”. Repeat for the other pocket piece.
4) To make your napkin holder: Draw a horizontal line across the middle of the rectangle on the wrong side. Press the short edges under to the wrong side by ¼”, then press each long edge into the middle, meeting the line you drew. Repeat for your second napkin holder.
5) Measure up 2” from the bottom of your pocket piece. Pin your napkin holder on and baste at each of the short edges. Repeat for your second pocket.
6) Take one pocket piece and one large rectangle that you cut earlier. Pin the pocket to the right side of the fabric in the bottom right hand corner, 1.5” in from the bottom and the side. Stitch around three edges, leaving the top edge open.
7) Place this rectangle right sides together with the other large rectangle and pin, leaving a gap for turning (approx 3”). Sew around all the edges, remembering to leave the gap. Snip across the four corners.
8) Turn it through the gap so that your placemat is right sides out. Use a tool or a chopstick to poke out the corners. Press with the iron, making sure the opening is pressed under neatly. Now top stitch all the way around the outside at ¼”, closing up the gap.
Repeat steps 6-8 for your second placemat.
You’ve made two placemats – hurray!
If you received the luxury box, you have enough fat quarters to make 4 placemats. Alternatively, you could use fabric from your stash for the wrong side of each placemat.
I also whipped up some quick coasters and napkins with my leftover fabric.
Coasters – Take two 4” squares of fabric, sew them right sides together with a ¼” seam allowance, leaving a gap for turning. Turn through to the right side, press and top stitch. Simple!
Napkins – Take one fat quarter. Fold it in half, then in half again to create four equal rectangles. Cut along your fold lines. Now you could either do a simple double-fold hem all the way round, you could just overlock the edges (Which is what I did, for speed) or you might want to take a bit more time and do mitred corners – there are lots of tutorials for these on YouTube.
I hope you enjoy following this tutorial. Share your finished makes on instagram, using the hashtag #SewHayleyJaneFQ and tag me @sewn_on_the_tyne
See you next month,
Tamlyn xx