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Quilted Placemat

Completed Quilted Placemat project, featuring Northwoods Plaid Moose, Loon, and Bear designs

Create a colorful quilted placemat using your favorite fabrics and embroidery designs! Coordinating napkins and coasters will complete your table.


Read below for these free project instructions!

Supplies & Materials:

Supplies Needed:


  • 1/2 yard of solid colored quilter's cotton
  • 1/4 yard of solid colored quilter's cotton
  • 1/2 yard (total) of print quilter's cotton (1/4 yard each - two different prints)
  • Low-loft batting
  • Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
  • Temporary spray adhesive
  • Air-erase pen or dress maker's pencil
  • Nylon monofilament thread

Gather Materials:

First, we will prepare the fabric for the left side of the front of the placemat. On the solid colored quilter's cotton, mark a 12 1/2 inch wide by 14 1/2 inch high rectangle.

Light green fabric square with a smaller stitched square inside, placed on a wooden surface. A hand holds a pen near the edge, with a clear ruler beneath.

Next, using an air-erase pen, mark the center of each side by measuring and dividing by two. Draw lines connecting the marks. Where the lines meet is the exact center of the shape. Create paper templates of the designs by printing them at full size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design to help with placement and centering.


Poke a hole in the center of the template and align it with the center point on the fabric. Make sure the design fits well within the shape - there should be at least 2 inches of space between the edges of the design and the edges of the shape.

Green fabric square with drawn grid and a black and white plaid silhouette of a moose pinned in the center, placed on a dark wood surface.

Start Embroidering:

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Then, hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is aligned with the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

Light green fabric with black grid lines and a rectangular embroidery hoop in the center, held by a hand with a silver ring, on a wooden surface.

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery.

Hand holding orange scissors cutting around a plaid deer appliqué on white fabric with green fabric underneath on a wooden surface.

Cut out the shape. Also, to prepare the upper right side of the front of the placemat, draw a 7 1/2 inch by 7 1/2 inch square on the solid colored fabric. Then, mark the center, hoop the fabric, and embroider the fabric just as you did with the first piece. When the embroidery is complete, trim away the stabilizer and cut out the shape.

Two pieces of fabric on a wooden surface: a green square with a plaid moose embroidery and a smaller pink square with plaid hummingbird embroidery, with orange scissors nearby.

Now we will prepare the fabric for the lower right side of the front of the placemat. Cut four squares of fabric to 4 inches by 4 inches each. We chose to alternate two different print fabrics.

Four fabric squares—two green with a checkered pattern and two beige with a yellow and white plaid—are laid out on a brown surface. An orange-handled pair of scissors rests nearby.

First, align the inner sides of the squares, right sides together, pin in place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edges only. We are using a walking foot to prevent the layers of fabric from sliding.

Hand holding two layered fabric squares pinned together on a wooden table; one side green with a houndstooth pattern, the other yellow with a plaid pattern.

Turn the fabric pieces over to the wrong sides and press the back seams open with an iron.

Iron pressing two fabric squares, one green with a diamond pattern and one beige with a brown plaid pattern, on a blue surface.

Align the two assembled pieces, right sides together, pin in place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edge. Again, press the back seam open.

Hand holding corner of two square fabric pieces, one yellow with brown plaid, one green with small check pattern, pinned together on a wood surface.

Align the bottom edge of the embroidered upper right piece with the top edge of the lower right piece (the four squared piece) right sides together, pin in place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edge. Press the back seam.

Hand holding raised pink fabric layer above two sewn fabric squares, one green with houndstooth pattern and one yellow plaid, on a dark wood surface.

Align the right edge of the embroidered left side piece with the left edge of the right side pieces, right sides together, pin in place, and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edge. Press the back seam.

Hand holding quilted fabric with patchwork and horse embroidery on green cloth, showing layers of pink, green, and yellow plaid squares on dark brown table.

To prepare the border fabric, cut two 19 1/2 inch long by 1 1/2 inch wide pieces of print fabric. Align the pieces, right sides together with the top and bottom edges of the assembled front piece (the border fabric lays to the inside of the front piece). Pin in place and sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edges. Press the seams.

Quilted placemat with green, pink, yellow, and teal patchwork sections featuring plaid moose and duck appliqués; hand lifting corner on wood table.

Cut two 16 1/2 inch long by 1 1/2 inch wide pieces of print fabric and align them with the side edges of the front piece. Pin and then sew a 1/4 inch seam along the pinned edges, and press the seams.

Handmade quilted placemat with green, pink, and yellow patchwork; embroidered plaid moose and fish appliqués; blue patterned border; hand holding corner.

To prepare the back fabric piece, cut a piece of fabric the same size as the front piece by laying the front piece on top of the fabric, tracing around it, and cutting out the shape.

Green quilted placemat with a stitched dog in plaid fabric, partially folded to show yellow checkered backing, placed on a brown wood surface with orange scissors and white fabric underneath.

Cut a piece of low-loft batting a bit smaller than the front piece. Layer the pieces together with the batting first, the front piece on top with the right side facing up, and the back piece last with the wrong side facing up. Pin the layers together and sew a 1/4 inch seam along one of the sides and along the top and bottom - leave one side open for turning.

Quilt block pinned to a dark wood table, featuring pastel pink, cream checked, white, green patterned fabrics, with batting and backing partially folded.

Turn the placemat right side out between the front and back layers (the batting will end up in between the front and back layers). Press the seams. Also, turn the open end in 1/4 inch, press, and pin in place. Sew a 1/8 inch seam around the entire outer edge of the placemat.

Quilted placemat with teal, pink, and plaid fabric blocks. Embroidered design of an airplane on the pink block. Hand with ring on bottom right.

Next, using nylon monofilament thread, quilt all the layers together by sewing seams along all of the existing seams (this is called "stitching in the ditch").

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a quilted placemat with green, yellow plaid, and solid color fabric pieces.

We also chose to quilt inside the shapes. To do this, measure and mark (in one inch intervals) in from the edges of the shapes. Then, draw lines connecting the marks. Quilt over the lines.

Close-up of a green square fabric with a plaid moose applique in the center, a ruler, and a hand holding a pen marking edges for quilting.

Get Inspired:

Complete your table with coordinating napkins and coasters!

Two quilted placemats, one green with a patchwork moose, the other divided into three patterned sections with a plaid stocking, and a pink napkin with a patchwork bear.