Flower Head or Leaf, A New Twist to Holiday Placemats

Before we all know it the holidays will be upon us. We all look forward to having family and friends celebrate the holidays together. We work hard to make the festivities just right but it's work, sometimes-hard work. It seems like decorating the house is easy but when it comes to the table décor, what do we do? It's usually the same thing over and over again, with place settings and centerpiece. If you are like me I was tired of this so I came up with something different, a new kick to placemats. These placemats will hold your napkin by a leaf or flower head. These placemats are one of the newest items to my line of home décor items that I make and sell.

If you would like a beautiful table plus receive lots of complements then here's how you can make them.

First you will need holiday material. Decide if you want your placemats for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I will us my Thanksgiving placemats for explaining.
There are all kinds of Thanksgiving material and this being the end of July it's already starting to enter the fabric stores.

You will need material for the front and back of your placemats or just use the same for both; double fold bias tapes for the edges, contrasting color, stiff interfacing, a fall leaf or flower head (fake) and a little circle or square of Velcro plus a sewing machine and matching thread.

Now you'll want to cut a square 13 ½ x 19 inches from the Thanksgiving material and the material for the backing, if different. Next cut the same size of the stiff interfacing.

Lay the backing material down with the wrong side facing you. Next lay the stiff interfacing on top of that. Then lay the Thanksgiving material on top with the right side facing you; pin these layers together. It's like making a sandwich; you should have the bottom layer, the middle layer and the top layer.

Now you are going to use your sewing machine and stitch all the way around the edges using a ¼ seam allowance.

Next you are going to use the double fold bias tape to cover the edges of your placemat. Take the bias tape and open the fold. Then insert the raw edges of the placemat into the fold. Close the bias tape over the edge; now sew the bias tape onto the placemat. You want to sew as close to the edge of the bias tape as you can; a ¼ inch is the norm. This is an easier way of finishing off the raw edges plus you have a contrasting color to your placemat.

Next you want your leaf or flower head that you have chosen and the Velcro. You are going to position the leaf or flower head on the right or left side of your placemat. I put my flower head on the right side about an inch from the bottom using the tip of the petal as my guide. Next put your finger where the center of the flower head is and put the back piece of the Velcro in that spot. The other side of the Velcro goes on the back of the flower head in the center of the flower.

If you have chosen a leaf then position the leaf where you want it. If the stem extends past the placemat, cut it to the right length you want. Apply the Velcro to the stem; you will probably have to cut the Velcro down because you don't want to see the Velcro. Attach your flower head or leaf to the Velcro on the placemat.

When it comes time to wash your placemats, just take off the leaf or flower head before washing. You will probably have to take an iron to the placemat after drying, just be careful and not touch the Velcro with your iron.

That's it; you now have a beautiful and original Holiday table setting. You can either place your napkin or silverware underneath the flower head or leaf.

In choosing your flower head or leaf, there are some beautiful ones on the market but my advice is to not choose the expensive ones or the very cheep ones (they look fake) but somewhere in between. The reason being is that you never know if your guest or even yourself will spill something on them that will stain. If this happens you simply replace the flower head or leaf with a new one.