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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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").

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.

Complete your table with coordinating napkins and coasters!