With a few straight seams, a piece of fabric becomes a portable case for picnic cutlery. Unrolled, it doubles as a place mat. We used Japanese hemp yardage with a narrow selvage-to-selvage width (about 17 inches), so the sides didn't need to be hemmed. Other sturdy fabrics will work as well.

Tools and Materials

• Square of fabric
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing supplies
• and sewing machine
• Straightedge
• Disappearing-ink fabric pen
• Napkin and utensils
• Twill tape

Portable Picnic-Utensil Roll How-To 
1. Lay fabric with selvage edges on the left and right sides. Fold up the bottom 1/2 inch; press with iron. Then fold up the bottom 5 inches to make a deep pocket; press with iron. 

2. Pin along the left and right sides of pocket. Stitch sides with an 1/8-inch seam allowance. 

3. Using straightedge and fabric pen, draw a few vertical lines on 1 side of pocket, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Leave a space on the other side of pocket wide enough to fit a folded napkin. Stitch along marked lines. 

4. Cut an 18-inch length of twill tape. Tuck 1 end under, and sew it to the right side of fabric at its midpoint. 

5. Fringe the top unfinished edge of fabric by pulling out a few threads. 

6. Insert utensils and napkin into slots. Roll fabric from the left, and tie with twill tape. 

Resources
Woven hemp fabric, from Kiteya Soho, kiteya.com. Polyester herringbone tape, 9 mm width,www.shindo.com.