We know it’s not the same in every household, but when we were growing up, we used placemats at every single meal. Even if we were all eating separately and too busy for a family dinner, our parents had us trained to put a placemat down under our plate no matter what! At friend’s houses, however, some people didn’t use placemats at all, and we were always shocked. Our shock didn’t solely come from concern for the tabletop, but rather the fact that placemats are such a great opportunity for crafting and DIY and we couldn’t imagine passing that up!
Just in case you think the idea of making your own placemats is as cool as we do, here are 15 of the most creative DIY placemat designs, ideas, and tutorials that we’ve come across so far!
1. Pebble placemat
Have you taken care to build yourself a calm, natural looking home aesthetic that resembles that of a nice spa, so you’re always on the lookout for DIY projects that will help you enhance that decor scheme? Well, matching your placemats to the rest of your house might seem like a lot, but we think it’s important not to skip the details! Bliss Bloom is on our same wavelength, which is what makes their tutorial for a DIY river pebble placemat so cool. Check out their step by step guide to making one of your very own.
2. Spiralled rope placemat
Perhaps the decor scheme in your kitchen is actually a little more rustic chic than what we showed you above, so you’re looking for something that would suit somewhere more along the lines of a farmhouse kitchen? Well, we’ve actually always loved the way obviously handmade pieces look, which is why this awesomely rustic rope spiralled placemat from City Farmhouse caught our eye! Their tutorial shows you how to start in the middle and wind the rope around itself to make a larger flat circle, as well as how to fasten the end.
3. Burlap and ribbon placemats
Did we really catch your attention when we started talking about rustic chic aesthetics and crafts but you’re pretty girly in your personal style, so you’d rather make something that has a little extra flare to it? In that case, perhaps you’d prefer this adorable burlap and ribbon idea instead! We love the way More With less Today wove a slightly sheer chiffon ribbon through their burlap’s holes, but we also think it would look pretty with a silk ribbon or a colourfully patterned strip of scrap fabric cut like a ribbon.
4. Sliced birch branch mats
Perhaps your home is quite natural looking and old fashioned, but you’re looking for an aesthetic that’s a little more woodsy and a little less chicly rustic? Then we think perhaps we’ve found the perfect down home, cottage-fit placemat design for you! We can’t get over how awesome (both in terms of the technique and in terms of how the finished product looks) this cut branch tutorial outlined on eHow is. They show you step by step how to cut the pieces, arrange them, and attach them carefully so your dishes will sit flat and even while you eat.
5. Painted pinwheel placemats
Perhaps you’ve been looking for simple crafts that will help you inject a little bit of colour into your kitchen’s decor scheme to bright the place up a little bit? Well, creating a pin wheel pattern on a braided placemat is a great opportunity to create whatever colour scheme you like best and lat it out for all to see without making it a permanent fixture. Whether you start with some wicker braiding of your own or simply paint your pattern on a store bought placemat you already had, you’ll find all the tips your need for painting your pin wheel pattern on The Crafted Life.
6. Fabric scrap quilted placemats
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Are you actually an avid sewing enthusiast who is used to working primarily with fabrics? Well, making placemats might not be the first thing that comes to your mind, but we can assure you it’s actually a great way to use up fabric scraps! We’d definitely suggest taking a look at the way Little House Living used quilting and patchwork techniques to create a fun, multi-patterned placemat complete with loops to hook everyone’s cutlery into while you set up for a cute picnic dinner.
7. Colour block crocheted placemat
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Perhaps your best DIY and crafting skills actually lie in the fact that you know how to work with yarn very well? We’re on your same page then, because we’ve been avid knitters and crochet enthusiasts since we were very young! We started teaching our kids how to crochet recently as well, so we were more than pleased to find this simple colour blocked crocheted placemat idea from Little Monkeys Crochet. Besides being great because it’s a project you can actually use when you’re done, this is a nice, simple way to teach your kids how to change colours in the middle of a crochet project!
8. Pom pom trimmed placemats
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We’ve shown you some pretty cute designs so far, but what if you’re looking for something that has a little but more flare or unique personality to it? In that case, we absolutely think you should take a look at this hilarious pom pom placemat idea featured on Rue Mag! Their tutorial walks you through the surprisingly simple process of affixing a piece of cute, colourful pom pom trim all around the outer edge of the placemat or even simply along one side; whatever you prefer!
9. Denim pocket placemats
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We’re you a huge fan of the quilted placemat design we showed you above but you actually mostly liked it for the way it kept the cutlery on the mat and in place, rather than for the actually quilting pattern itself? In that case, here’s another alternative cutlery pocket idea for your consideration! This design from Today’s Nest shows you how to make an adorably country inspired placemat out of denim in surprisingly few steps. Just make sure you follow their tips about sewing with denim since it’s thicker than usual, so you don’t break your sewing machine needle!
10. Woven felt strips placemat
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Perhaps you have a set of fabric placemats lying around already that work just find but that you’ve grown to find boring in colour or style? Well, we certainly don’t think you should throw them out by any means, but there’s also no reason for you to keep using boring placemats if you don’t want to! Check out how DIY Home Staging Tips jazzed theirs up quite simply by making a few quick, evenly spaced cuts and weaving strips of brightly coloured felt through to make a checkerboard pattern.
11. Tied fabric fringe placemats
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Did we really catch your attention when we started talking about upcycling plain old placemats because you have plenty you could use for a project like that, but you think you’d rather give them some kind of border than venture into cutting the mats up? In that case, maybe you’d prefer this tied fabric fringe design featured on Crafthubs! They show you how to create little fringe pieces out of strips of fabric tied into knots. We love that this idea is no-sew even though it involves fabric in some way!
12. Dyed bamboo stick placemat
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Were you actually looking for a DIY placemat design that would let you get a little more crafty and hands-on than just tying a few knots? Don’t get us wrong; we love crafting if all kinds, but we’ll admit there’s definitely something extra fun about projects that are a little more messy. That’s why we thought this dyed bamboo stick placemat idea was so cool! Find out how it’s done step by step (and with minimal mess) on Craftbnb.
13. Custom stencilled placemat
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We’re not sure what it is about stenciling specifically, it’s simply a technique that we’ve absolutely always loved. Whether you’re using a stencil that you bought at a store or one that you made yourself, the finished product will be equally impressive looking and fun to use. Sure, stenciling is easy, but just in case you do need a few tips or want at least some kind of guideline, here’s a great tutorial from Cutting Edge Stencils that will help you keep your repeating pattern neat and even all around the edges!
14. Rustic pine branch placemats
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We’re you pretty intrigued by the awesomely creative look when we showed you the dyed bamboo stick placemat idea but you’re just not sure that adding colour to the mix like that would quite suit your decor scheme? Then perhaps a version made of actual branches would look better! We literally can’t get enough of how wonderfully rustic and unique these placemats created by Lifeforia look by the time they’re finished. Check out their tutorial to see how they made working with actual sticks so easy!
15. Coloured chalkboard placemats
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Because it’s trending so hard in the DIY world lately, you’ve probably already tried out, or at least heard about, how fantastic crafting with chalkboard paint can be! Did you know, though, that you can actually get it in more colours than just black? We love the idea of adding fun with chalk to our kids’ morning but we’re not so sure we want to put their cereal on dark black squares, so this adorable mint version of a message placemat, outlined on DIY Network, is right up our alley. You could, however, make these in any colour you can find the right paint in!
Have you made other awesome DIY placemats before that you were very happy with and that you use all the time but that you don’t see anything similar to on our list? Tell us all about how you did it or link us to pictures in the comments section!
