An Introduction to How To Easily Embroider The Perfect Placemat

May 16, 2023

What’s a perfect compliment to a holiday table, family meals, or special occasion, big or small? An embroidered placemat!

Placemats are a versatile addition to your table and are easy, quick, and a great hostess gift. Let’s explore different shapes of placemats, what stabilizers to use, embroidery designs, and placement of them.

Placemats To Embroider

Placemats are quite easy to make from scratch.

Learn how to sew and embroider a quick placemat to spice up your kitchen table.

For those who don’t have access to a sewing machine, there is a large assortment of blanks on the internet.

We’ll concentrate on some you can make, including designs that work for pre-made blanks.

Remember that placemats don’t have to be rectangles; they can be square, round, oval, character shapes, lace, well… anything!

Wondering Where You Can Find Blank Placemats To Embroider?

Here are some places you can look for materials:

Online companies: many companies sell blank placemats online. Stabilize, hoop, and embroider!
Dollar stores: usually change their stock per season, so you can change your table seasonally! They are inexpensive and come in many colors.

Find a table runner? Grab 2! Cut the second one into three or four sections to make matching mats. Just turn under the raw edge and stitch shut.

Thrift stores: often, you will find beautiful linens, old and new, that can be repurposed.
Jeans: they’re fun, durable, and easygoing when embroidering. Use pockets to put your napkins or silverware, quilt them, and more.
Upholstery material: often, the material that looks horrible on a sofa could be successfully used for a placemat.
Terrycloth towels: soft, easy to clean, and fun for kids!

Want more embroidered kitchen ideas? Check out our kitchen embroidery project ideas to personalize your space!

How To Embroider Placemats

There are a few ways to create beautifully embroidered placemats with a pre-made blank.

Let’s look at two types.

Double layer placemats

These are just finished ” bags ” like sewing shut a pillowcase). You can open the edge of these and embroider on them and close them back up! This way, the back side of the embroidery is covered and not seen.

Single layer placemats

Sometimes it’s hard to open up a placemat but don’t worry! It is possible to embroider it.

Stabilizer/Hooping Embroidered Placemats

Placemats are more durable than clothing. Therefore, it’s not necessary to live by the “if you wear it, don’t tear it” motto.

Placemats covered with a backing: use tear-away stabilizer (so the back side of the embroidery doesn’t show).

For placemats that don’t have a back covering: use wash-away (so you don’t show any stabilizer left behind).

Hooping is easy; we’ll follow our regular rules—hoop with the smallest hoop available for the embroidery design you choose.

Lay the placemat on the hoop and hoop naturally without overstretching. Feel free to float your placemats (lay them on an already hooped stabilizer) since they are fairly small and not heavy.

Embroidery Design Placemat Placement

This is so subjective! Placement is truly up to you. The center, sides, and corners are all fair game. Before deciding on a placement, consider whether the embroidery will remain visible once the plate is set down.

You can also applique on a center rectangle for a lovely effect!

Machine Embroidery Designs For Placemats

Kitchen designs are perfect for placemats. From cocktail designs to dessert designs and everything in between, we have what you’re looking for!

Check out our collection of over 850+ kitchen embroidery designs.