"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says...."Oh crap! She's up!" Unknown

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Coiled Placemats

 I have a drawer in my hidey hole with several bins
that hold different size scrap cuts.
I've tried to get into the habit of cutting the scraps into these
sizes when I'm done with a project.

One of the bins has the skinny strings and it was
overflowing to the point where it was getting
difficult to close the drawer.


 
 
Out came the hank of clothesline and the wrapping began.


 
 
I use 50 feet of clothesline for each placemat.
Over a couple of evenings,
I wrapped the clothesline with the strings
and then was ready to sew.
 

 
 
These go together so quickly! 
I love the randomness of the fabric scraps, too.



 
 
These will be put aside to gift to someone since
I have a set for myself already.

I do not know how they wash yet.
Mine have been used,
but have not needed laundering.



 
 
The bin now fits into the drawer and the strings don't get in the way of closing. 


Happy Quilting!

13 comments:

Andra Ridout said...

These are lovely! And they are so much fun to make! I have done a few baskets and started a rug a while back that I need to get back to.

Dirt Road Quilter said...

Oh, what fun! Those are the happiest placemats ever! I see Christmas gifts in my future - thank you for the inspiration!

Libby in TN said...

So pretty! But more than I want to handle.

Vicki W said...

I love making coiled projects but I stop at coasters and little bowls. I haven't attempted something so large. It would be interesting to see how they wash. I might stick a coaster in the next laundry cycle.

Astrid said...

Bright and cheerful fun placemats! Such great idea using up scraps. Coiled coasters or placemats to make are on my bucket list. What size clothesline do you use?

Vicki in MN said...

I think they are so cool! The first rope project was going to be a big oval for my coffee table. It got to a small placemat size and I quit. Now I use it as a hot trivite in the camper. Bowls are fun to make with it.

Anonymous said...

Such fun scraps but then they would be from all your bright quilts. My scraps are not as organized as yours they get shoved in a bag on the floor….

Rebecca Grace said...

I ADORE your place mats — and I desperately need some because I threw out our store-bought ones in disgust recently when I realized they were scratching the table instead of protecting it. What do you mean by “wrapping the clothesline?” Do you sew the strips around the clothes line first the same way you’d make a jumbo welt cord for home dec, with a lip sticking out to attach them together? Is there a tutorial or a pattern available anywhere? I need to make these!

Kathleen said...

Love the placemats!

Kathleen said...

Love the placemats!

Anonymous said...

They wash beautifully on the top shelf of the dishwasher. I then lay them out flat to dry.

Ms. L said...

These are the prettiest I’ve seen! I’d love to try making some to use as chair pads for my metal ice cream parlor style chairs. A placemat size looks like it would be perfect.
I’d really appreciate knowing the size and type of piping used (100% cotton for easy sewing?), approximate length of piping or rope needed, size of fabric strips and if any special sewing needle was needed. I’m just trying to get my baring.
Thank you for sharing! Beautiful & can’t wait to try this.

Ramona said...

This comment is for Ms. L. I can't reply to you personally because you are a no-reply commenter. Hopefully you'll see my response. I use 100% cotton clothesline that I think is 3/16". Anything close will work fine. The fabric strips I use are roughly 3/4" wide, but I'll add narrower or wider strips if that's what the scrap is. I usually don't go much wider than an inch. For one placemat, I use 50 feet of clothesline. I use glue sticks to start and wrap the strip around the end of the clothesline and then start wrapping down the length. When I come to the end of a strip, I glue the next one to it, wrap it a bit and use a sewing clip to hold it in place. I use a denim needle and regular sewing thread with the widest zigzag stitch I have. I'm not sure what the stitch length is, but it isn't too long. You will have to play with this. Start with a tight circle and pin it in place. Start sewing with the cord coming off to the right. (The placemat is turning counter-clockwise.) You'll want to make sure the sew with the cord in the right direction so the bulk of the placemat is to the left of the needle. It's very important to keep the piece flat as you sew or you will end up with a bowl. If you have any other questions, please include your email and I'll respond to you personally.