Handmade Monthly-Reversible Valentine/Christmas Placemats

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     Welcome to our new monthly feature, Handmade Monthly!  

    Every year, after the holidays, I think to myself that in the coming year I will make and prepare things all year to be ready for next Christmas and that will help me to take the hustle and bustle away a bit and leave time for all of the sweet, beautiful moments.  
     I love giving handmade gifts.  I grew up with a mom who sewed, knitted and crocheted and gave a lot of handmade gifts so if I don't make a few things to give, Christmas just doesn't feel right.  Afterall, handmade gifts require time, thought and effort, especially if you want them to be something that the receiver will love and use.  So, because of these reasons, I talked to my girls and told them that I wanted to do a feature each month about things we can make that would make excellent gifts.  They were all on board and have some great ideas for future projects! Get excited! 

January's Project

     January's project still has a strong Christmasy influence because we were influenced by the after Christmas sales!  But, it is definitely something you could give at any time of year.  I think these would make adorable bridal shower gifts. 
     When we were perusing the after Christmas aisles, one of the things we saw were snowflake stamped placemats.  It was one of those, "How cute! I could make those for less!" moments. Then we went to the fabric store and found fabric on sale and it came to me that instead of just Christmas placemats, we could make reversible Valentine's Day/Christmas placemats instead!  Double duty things are always awesome! 

Christmas Side

Valentine's Side

I especially loved this plaid fabric that we found.

    One thing I learned as I started to cut out the placemats is that while I purchased the same amount of yards of fabric, I forgot that the red was 60" wide and the plaid was 45" wide.  The red was the end of a bolt, so I purchased all of it which was 1-3/4 yards.  So, I purchased the same amount of the plaid.  But, when I started cutting, I was able to get 10 red sections but only 6 plaid because of the difference in width.  So, If I wanted to give 4 placemats as a gift, I will need to get more of the plaid fabric to make 2 gifts. If I make 10, that will leave 2 left over for me and my husband to use for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner! Ha Ha! 
      I had seen some really cute fabric napkin rings being sold online and I decided that I could do something similar on the Valentine's Day side of the placemats. But, I was concerned about a bulky button making a lump or scratching my table when I used the Christmas side. Then, I found these felt buttons, which were the perfect answer!  I love how these built in napkin rings turned out! 

     Click "Read More" to go to the directions of how I made these! Let the gift making begin! (I am so excited!)

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Hover over the pictures and click to get the directions! 

I used a placemat I already have as a pattern. The dimensions of the mat are 18" x 12". I cut around the mat, giving a 1/2 " seam allowance.

I used the red as the Christmas side. I used a snowflake stamp and a white ink pad to stamp snowflakes where I wanted them. I made a cluster in one corner and a row along the bottom. Turn the stamp as you stamp each time so they aren't all too lined up.

The corner cluster. Of course, you can use any type of stamp you would like. Just be sure to stamp away from the seam allowance.

For the Valentine's side, I used the plaid fabric. Then, I used a strip of the red fabric, some gray ribbon and felt buttons to make the utensil holder!

Cut a 3" x 5" piece of red fabric for each placemat.

With right sides together, take a small seam down the long side of the red rectangle to form a tube. Flip it right side out.

Use the iron to press the tube flat with the seam on the inside middle. Tuck the ends in and finish them as you top stitch all around the red strip.

Pin the gray ribbon onto the strip on the right side with the ends just past center. 5/8 of an inch from the ends of the ribbon, stitch them down. Then 5/8 of an inch farther up, stitch them again.

Pin the middle of the strip 3" away from the edge of the side of the placemat and centered 6" from the top. Stitch down the middle, catching the ends of the ribbon. This is how it will look on the ribbon side.

On the other end of the strip, sew on the felt button. To fasten, lap the button end over the end with the ribbon. Loop the ribbon around the button.

Put the red placemat right side against the right side of the plaid side. Pin all around to match and then stitch around, but leave an opening for turning. Be sure the napkin ring is buttoned so you won't catch it in the seam. When finished stitching, flip right side out and press well, pushing out the corner points.

Top stitch all around the placemat, closing the opening as you go.

Now you have this adorable placemat!

You can roll the utensils in a napkin and fit them in the napkin ring.

I love how the snowflakes add to the snowy feeling on my Christmas plates. Be sure that the napkin ring is open and flat on the other side when you are using the Christmas side.

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