Make pretty placemats

What you'll need

● Four 25cm x 35cm pieces of main fabric
● Four 25cm x 35cm pieces of backing fabric
● Four 25cm x 35cm pieces of lightweight washable wadding
● Pins
● Sewing machine
● Sewing thread
● Scissors
● Knitting needle
● Quilting thread
● Hand-sewing needle

Time required: 1.5 hours per mat, some sewing experience needed.

Before you begin

Search out remnants of fabric in the colours you want. A pattern on the front with a simpler design on the back works well. Decide how you will quilt the mat, either in lines or by following one or two of the motifs. Then pre-wash the fabrics and wadding, unless marked as non-shrink.

How it's done

1. Place one piece of the front fabric face up, one piece of the backing fabric face down on top and then one piece of the wadding fabric on top of both and pin together.

2. Sew all layers together 1cm from the edge, leaving a 10cm opening on a long edge. Trim the seam allowance to 5mm, except across the gap. Cut the wadding away from the gap, but leave the fabric.

3. Turn the mat the right way out and use the knitting needle to poke out the corners neatly. Press the mat.

4. Fold in the seam allowance across the gap and slip-stitch the fabrics together.

5. To hand-quilt, thread the needle with quilting thread and start near the middle of the placemat, working outwards.

6. Stitch into the top fabric, 2cm from your starting point, through the wadding and out where you will start. Tug the knot through so it anchors in the wadding and make a small back stitch to secure. Work so that your stitches go through the top fabric and into the wadding, but not through the backing fabric. Work around the shape in small, even running stitches.

7. To finish off, make a knot in the thread and make a back stitch, pulling the knot through the top fabric, as at the beginning. Cut excess threads. Repeat all steps for each placemat.