Add a spark of delight to your table with a Liberty Framed Placemat! This easy weekend sewing project is sure to earn you plenty of compliments. Stitch a set for your own home, then gift a set to a friend. Once you have mastered this simple binding technique, you can use it to give woven table runners and coasters a beautiful Liberty finish as well.
Fabric Requirements
The table below shows the Liberty Tana Lawn® yardage requirements for framing a standard 13" x 19" placemat. Estimates are based on the width of fabric (WOF) for Tana Lawn® which is 52 inches. Roughly, each placemat will require about 2-3/4" x 72" of pieced binding.
Other Project Supplies
- Thin vinyl or other woven rectangular placemat
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter
- Ruler
- Iron and ironing board
- Pins
- Wonder Clips
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Coordinating thread
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Cutting Your Binding
Press your Tana Lawn® fabric and cut off the selvages. Then, cut your fabric into 2-3/4 inch by WOF strips.
Step 2: Making Your Binding
a) Place the ends of two strips (right sides facing) at a 90 degree angle. Line up the edges of your strips at the corners. Mark diagonally from the inside corner of the top strip to the opposite lower corner of the bottom strip at a 45 degree angle. Pin your strips in place.
NOTE: A diagonal seam reduces bulk where the strips are joined and results in a smoother finish to your project.
b) Carefully sew along the marked diagonal. Then, using a rotary cutter, trim your seam allowance to 1/4 inch.
c) Open your binding and press your diagonal seam open.
d) Next, fold your pieced binding in half lengthwise (wrong sides facing) and press the entire length.
Step 3: Attaching Your Binding
a) Lay your placemat right side up. Start stitching the binding to the mat with a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Begin sewing on the long side of the placemat about 3 inches from the corner. Leave the first 8 inches of binding unstitched so you can join the ends neatly later. Align the raw edge of the binding to the straight edge as you stitch. Stop sewing 3/8 inch from the corner and backstitch to lock your stitches.
b) To make your mitered corner, take the loose end of the binding and lift it up and away from the placemat, creating a 45 degree diagonal fold to the corner.
Fold the binding down so the folded edge is aligned with the top of the mat. Align the raw edge of the binding to the next side of the placemat.
c) Resume sewing your binding with a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Again, stop sewing 3/8 inch from the corner, backstitch, and make a second mitered corner.
Then, repeat these steps to complete a third mitered corner.
d) When you reach the fourth corner, create the final miter just as you did for the previous three. Continue stitching your binding down with a 3/8 inch seam allowance until you are a few inches past the corner. Backstitch to secure.
Step 4: Joining Your Binding
a) Identify the midpoint between your start and end stitches, then measure and mark 1-3/8 inches - that is, half the width of your binding strip - on either side.
b) Align one end of the loose binding with the side of the mat. Pull the strip taut, then trim at the mark past the midpoint.
Take the other end of your binding, align it with the edge, then trim at the mark past the midpoint. The overlap of your strips will be 2-3/4 inches, the width of your binding.
c) Without twisting the binding, open one end and place right side up. Lay the other end over the first at a 90 degree angle, right sides facing. Align the edges and mark the diagonal, just as you did when joining the strips together. Pin and sew the diagonal. Trim your seam allowance to 1/4 inch.
📌 Pro Tip: If the bulk of the placemats is pulling your binding strips apart, roll and/or clip the placemat to reduce the tension.
d) On a heat safe surface, press your diagonal seam open then fold your binding lengthwise and press. Keep the iron away from the placemat to avoid melting or burning the vinyl.
e) Sew down the rest of the binding with a neat, continuous seam.
Step 5: Finishing Your Placemat
a) Flip your binding from the frontside of the mat to the back and clip around the entire perimeter. Keep your binding about the same width on the front and back.
At the corners, your binding should fold neatly at a 45 degree angle.
b) Starting from a straight edge, topstitch your binding from the back of your placemat. Use your fingers to keep the fabric from shifting as you sew. Work slowly, particularly around the corners.
Picture perfect!
