How to Make Quilted Placemats: A Beginner-Friendly Tutorial

Quilted placemats are one of those projects that quietly do a lot of work.

They protect your table, they make dinner feel a little more pulled together, and they give you an excuse to use cute fabric without committing to an entire quilt. Honestly, that last part might be the real selling point.

This quilted placemat tutorial is beginner-friendly, quick to finish, and a great way to practice making a mini quilt sandwich, straight-line quilting, and binding without wrestling a full-size quilt through your machine. Tiny quilt energy. Big useful reward.

I originally made this tutorial on my old Modern Moon Quilt Studio website, and the companion YouTube video has become my most-watched tutorial ever. So if you’re a visual learner, you are in good company. Apparently we are all out here trying to make our tables cuter, one quilted rectangle at a time.

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Watch the Quilted Placemat Video Tutorial

The written tutorial below walks you through the same basic process, so you can follow along at your own pace, pause the video when needed, or do that very specific maker thing where you watch the whole tutorial once and then immediately ignore half of it because you’re confident now. Been there.

What Size Are Quilted Placemats?

Placemats come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but a standard rectangular placemat is usually around 12" to 14" wide by 18" to 20" long.

For this tutorial, we’ll make placemats that finish at:

14" x 19"

That size works well for most dining tables, but you can adjust the measurements if you want yours a little smaller, larger, or more dramatic. Dining table main character moment.

You can also use this same method to make a coordinating table runner. A good starting point for a table runner is the length of your table plus about 12", so it hangs over each end by roughly 6". For example, if your table is 60" long, a 72" runner is a good target length.

Best Fabric for Quilted Placemats

Quilted placemats are a great fat quarter project, but yardage works beautifully too.

For everyday placemats, I like using high-quality quilting cotton. It’s easy to sew, easy to quilt, and comes in basically every print your fabric-loving heart could possibly side quest into.

For something a little sturdier, you can use canvas or duck cloth for the top fabric. That gives the placemats a little more structure and makes them feel more durable for heavy use.

You can use the same fabric on both sides, or choose one print for the front and a coordinating solid for the back. If you use two fabrics you love, congratulations, you just made reversible placemats. Very efficient. Very smug in the best way.

Should You Pre-Wash Fabric for Placemats?

For placemats, yes, I recommend pre-washing your fabric.

These are going to live near food, drinks, kids, spaghetti sauce, and whatever else dinner decides to throw at them. Pre-washing helps reduce shrinkage later, especially since placemats will likely be washed more often than a quilt.

A quick note: pre-washing yardage is easier than pre-washing smaller cuts like fat quarters because smaller pieces can fray in the wash. If you do pre-wash fat quarters, just know you might lose a little fabric around the edges.

After washing and drying, press your fabric well with a hot iron. Steam or a little mist of water can help with stubborn creases.

What Kind of Batting Should I Use?

Cotton batting is my favorite choice for quilted placemats.

You can also use bamboo or wool batting if that’s what you have on hand. This is a perfect project for using up leftover batting scraps from other quilts. You can even piece batting scraps together with a wide zig-zag stitch if you’re feeling practical and slightly triumphant.

Because placemats may come into contact with warm dishes, I would avoid polyester or poly-blend batting, since synthetic fibers can be more heat-sensitive.

Tools and Supplies

Here’s what you’ll need to make quilted placemats:

• Top fabric
• Backing fabric
• Quilt batting
• Coordinating thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting mat
• Quilting ruler, ideally 24"
• Basting spray or curved basting pins
• Hera marker or air-soluble marker
• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Binding fabric
• Wonder Clips or pins

Fabric Requirements

These fabric requirements are based on placemats that finish at 14" x 19".

Number of Placemats	Top Fabric	Backing Fabric	Batting
2	2 fat quarters or 1/2 yard	2 fat quarters or 1/2 yard	1/2 yard
4	4 fat quarters or 1 yard	4 fat quarters or 1 yard	1/2 yard
6	6 fat quarters or 1 1/2 yards	6 fat quarters or 1 1/2 yards	1 yard
8	8 fat quarters or 2 yards	8 fat quarters or 2 yards	1 yard
10	10 fat quarters or 2 1/2 yards	10 fat quarters or 2 1/2 yards	1 1/2 yards
12	12 fat quarters or 3 yards	12 fat quarters or 3 yards	1 1/2 yards

How to Make Quilted Placemats

Step 1: Cut the Fabric and Batting

For each placemat, cut:

• Top fabric: 14 1/2" x 19 1/2"
• Backing fabric: 14 1/2" x 19 1/2"
• Batting: 14 1/2" x 19 1/2"

The extra 1/2" gives you a little wiggle room while quilting. After quilting, we’ll trim the placemat down to the finished size before adding binding.

Tiny bit of margin. Huge emotional support.

Step 2: Baste the Layers

Now we’ll make a mini quilt sandwich.

Lay your backing fabric on a flat surface with the wrong side facing up. Add your batting on top, then place the top fabric right side up.

If you’re using basting spray, lightly spray the wrong side of the backing fabric, smooth the batting over it, then spray the batting and smooth the top fabric in place.

If you prefer pins, curved basting pins or large safety pins work too. Since placemats are small, basting spray is quick and easy, but use what you like best.

The goal is simple: smooth layers, no weird ripples, no mystery fabric bubbles waiting to betray you later.

Step 3: Quilt the Placemat

You can quilt your placemats however you like.

Straight-line quilting is a great option, especially if you’re newer to machine quilting. You can also try free motion quilting, hand quilting, or a simple grid.

For the original placemats, I quilted diagonal lines at a 45-degree angle, spaced 2" apart. Then I added a second set of lines perpendicular to the first, spaced 4" apart. The result is a clean, modern design that looks more complicated than it actually is, which is always a win.

A walking foot can be helpful for quilting through the layers, but don’t panic if you don’t have one. For a small project like this, you can still get nice results with your regular presser foot.

Step 4: Trim the Placemat

Once the placemat is quilted, trim it down to the finished size:

14" x 19"

Use a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and quilting ruler to square up the edges. This step makes the placemat look polished and helps the binding go on more smoothly.

This is also the moment where the project suddenly looks official. Very satisfying.

Step 5: Make the Binding

For each placemat, make binding using 2 1/4" wide strips.

Sew your binding strips together end-to-end, then fold the long strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. Press well.

Line up the raw edge of the binding with the raw edge of the placemat. Sew the binding to the front of the placemat using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Step 6: Miter the Corners

When you get close to a corner, stop sewing 1/4" from the edge and backstitch.

Fold the binding away from the placemat at a 45-degree angle. Then fold it back down along the next side, lining up the raw edges. Start sewing again at the edge and continue around the placemat.

Mitered corners can feel fussy the first time, but once your hands understand the fold, it clicks. Like binding muscle memory, but with snacks nearby.

Step 7: Join the Binding Ends

When you get close to where you started, leave yourself room to join the two binding ends.

Trim the binding tails so they overlap by the same width as your binding strip. For example, if your binding is 2 1/4" wide, the ends should overlap by 2 1/4".

Place the ends right sides together at a 90-degree angle. Sew diagonally from corner to corner, then trim the excess fabric, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. Press the seam open if you’d like to reduce bulk.

Finish sewing the binding to the front of the placemat.

Step 8: Finish the Binding

Fold the binding over to the back of the placemat, making sure it covers the stitching line from the front. Clip or pin it in place.

To machine-finish the binding, sew from the front of the placemat, stitching in the ditch right beside the binding. This catches the folded edge of the binding on the back.

And that’s it. You made a quilted placemat.

A small quilt for your table. Honestly, adorable.

How to Wash Quilted Placemats

Wash quilted placemats the same way you’d wash a quilt.

Spot treat first if needed. Then machine wash on cold and tumble dry on low. For the first wash, I recommend adding one or two color catchers, especially if you used bold colors or skipped pre-washing.

You can also hang dry your placemats if you’re worried about shrinkage. If they come out a little rumpled, give them a quick press with a hot iron.

Make Matching Cloth Napkins

If you want to go full coordinated table moment, quilted placemats pair beautifully with handmade cloth napkins.

This is a great next project because napkins are quick, useful, and very giftable. A set of quilted placemats and matching napkins makes a sweet housewarming gift, holiday gift, or “I made this because I wanted an excuse to buy seasonal fabric” gift.