Place mats and Cloth Napkins!

Place mats and cloth napkins are always a great stand by for dressing up your table! Cloth napkins are also great in place of paper in order to cut down on waste! So not only are they pretty to look at but also Eco-Friendly! I would like to give a special thanks to Kaleena for leaving behind her kitchen table with me when she moved! Jesse and I sit at it every morning and enjoy some tea/coffee and toast before he leaves for work. These days there are not many families that sit down at a table and have dinner together on an everyday basis. As cheesy as it seems I think it is important to keeping open communication and a sense of community among a family. I can not wait until the twins get a little older and we can enjoy our dinners together as a family. Although most people save their place mats and cloth napkins for holidays and special occasions they are also great for everyday use.  So weather you want to get a head start on your preparations for entertaining this holiday season or if you just want to add some color to your kitchen this is a quick as easy project.

You will need:
Approximately 2 yards of fabric (I used to different patterns 1 yard of each)
1 yard of liner fabric
Coordinating thread
Scissors
straight pins
sewing machine
Rotatory mat and rotatory cutter (optional, I did not use one but if I had one I would have)

Step One: First decide what shape you want your place mat to be. circle, oval, square, rectangle...whatever you like. I choose to do a rectangle with trimmed corners. Then decide what size you would like it to be. For the place mats I did 17 by 15 and the napkins 13 by 13 squares. So you will want to take your lining fabric and cut out your guide for your place mats you can fold it in fours and trim it to make it symmetrical. This is where a rotatory mat and cutter would come in handy...to make your cuts precise. However you don't really need one it is just helpful. So cut out all your pieces. I made a set of four so you will need 4 place mat liners and 4 of the fabric you want. then a total of 8 13 by 13 squares for your napkins. My napkins came out a little small I would have made them bigger but I did not have enough fabric to make them any bigger.

Step Two: Pin your place mat liner to the top part of the place mat right sides facing. Then sew all the way around leaving about a 4 inch gap. Before you turn it right side out trim the corner, this will make them sharper. Once you have it turned you will want to pin the opening closed and sew a top stitch or two all the way around. I decided to do two to make it look more professional. Continue until you are done with all of them. You do the same with the napkins!