DIY Monogramed Placemats
Over the holidays we had pretty Christmas placemats on the table and once they were put away the table looked a little bare. So the only practical thing to do was to make some. Now, I have never made placemats, but that never stopped me before. I have made table runners from drop cloths (CanadianTire.ca Bennett Canvas Drop Sheets #049-4818-8) so same steps apply, just a different size. I only have a few pieces of drop cloth left over from when I made drapes with painted stripes, and did a quick measurement to make sure there was enough. Eureka!
Since I had previously washed and ironed I got to work. First I measured a placemat I had on hand and decided the finished size would be 16 x 12 inches. So I cut the material into four 18 x 14 pieces. That would leave an inch all the way around for a hem.
I took each one to the ironing board and folded one inch all the way around and ironed it really crisp.
Since they are going to be painted, and they can’t be washed, I decided to use hot glue for the hem instead of sewing it. Here is a picture of the back with the hem turned and glued. I also cut the corners on an angle so they wouldn’t be so bulky.
With all four placemats “hemmed”, it was time for paint. For this I used my trusty old painters tape. I used the edge of the placemat for placement of the tape. Then a second piece of tape about 1/4 inch in. I didn’t measure, just eyeballed it.
Then it was time for paint…
With the top and bottom lines painted black and after they dried, I did the same thing to the sides.
Once all of the tape was removed this is what I had…
Now it was time for the monogram. I went online and found a website that allows you to enter the initials you wish to use and select the design. Then I printed out a couple of copies.
Using a small square of tracing paper, I again eyeballed the center of the placemat and placed the tracing paper and my monogram pattern in place.
Here is the result.
I had planned to use a paint brush for the lettering but after a few minutes I switched to the black paint pen. I think it only took about an hour to trace out the pattern and paint all four placemats.
And here they are…
Jim said he really liked them and was wondering if we would be moving them off the table to eat. Ha. No. These are our new everyday placemats. Well except for spaghetti night.
While I was at it, I had painted this piece of material earlier in the year and planned to use it for a pillow covering, but I don’t really need another pillow covering. I decided to use the “hemming” process like for the placemats and make it into a table runner.
There you have it. The possibilities are endless using these painters drop cloths. So far…drapes, Christmas stockings, 2 pillow covers, 3 table runners, stool covers, and now placemats.
Later