6 Reasons

For You To Design A Placemat

Designing quilts is fun; it's something every quilter aspires to. But, if you've never designed a quilt, it's hard to know where to start. I suggest you start small, with a placemat.

Designing placemats is a great way to get re-acquainted with your creative self. Here's why.

A Placemat is Manageable

Sewing a placemat isn't a lot of work; neither is designing one. There is no room, or need, to do anything elaborate. Designing a placemat is like playing checkers, not chess; it is pleasantly challenging but not intimidating.

You Can Use Scraps

When you design, you need to test your designs by sewing them. Placemats use very little fabric. You can go to your stash and use the bits and pieces left over from other projects. That saves you money and puts the left-over fabric to good use.

You'll Learn Faster

A placemat doesn't take long to design; so you can get a lot of practice in a short period of time. A placemat isn't complicated; so you quickly spot problems and solutions. Working small is an efficient way to gain experience.

You Can Try New Skills

You can use a placemat you've designed to try out new techniques. Maybe you want to experiment with free motion quilting, or a different method of applique. Practise on a placemat first before you do a larger quilt.

A Placemat Is Practical

Placemats make nice gifts for all ocassions. When you design them yourself they are special gifts because they are both unique and very personal.

You Are Creative

Everyone is born creative; but after a few years of school we quit using our natural creativity. The ability is still there; it just takes pactice to bring it out again.  I suggest you practise by designing placemats.


If you can think of other reasons to design placemats, let me know and I'll revise this post and add them to the list.

If you want to see other placemat designs go to My Posts by Subject in the sidebar on the right and click on Placemat.