How to Make Woven Place Mats

The 3-D tumbling-block effect on these beauties goes off the grid: It calls for three materials instead of two, but that doesn't mean it's more difficult.

woven place mats on a table
Photo: RYAN LIEBE

Weave your own place mats, then set the table with your favorite serveware.

What You'll Need

Materials

  • Cardboard
  • Cotton tape, 1 inch wide, in three colors
  • A piece of foam core, at least 16 by 20 inches
  • Sewing supplies
  • Fabric glue
  • Cotton felt

Instructions

  1. To make your cardboard "tapestry needle," cut out a 12-inch-by-1-inch strip of cardboard. Snip a 1/2-inch-wide slit parallel to the short side at one end, for the "eye." Cut off the corners at the other end, making it into an arrow shape.

  2. Cut and pin down twelve 20-inch-long strips of cotton tape in one color onto a piece of foam core, side-by-side vertically.

  3. step one of weaving tutorial illustration

    Weave a second set of cotton-tape strips in a new color through the pinned-down strips, as shown. You will need 22 strips of gradated lengths, from 3 inches at the corners to 20 inches at the middle. Thread the cardboard needle with one strip and, starting on the right-hand side near the middle, guide it over two vertical strips and under one vertical strip, working at an upward diagonal angle. Pin down both ends of the working strip when you reach the opposite edge. Repeat, alternating how you begin each row as shown, and working your way out toward the corners, until you've woven all 22 strips through.

  4. step two of weaving tutorial illustration

    Weave a third set of cotton tape strips in a new color through the first two sets of pinned-down strips, as shown. You will need 20 strips of varying lengths, from 3 inches at the corners to 20 inches at the middle. Thread the cardboard needle with one strip and, starting on the left-hand side near the top, guide it under four "triangles" and over two "triangles," working at a downward diagonal angle. Repeat, alternating how you begin each row as shown, and working your way out toward the corners, until you've woven all 20 strips through.

  5. step three of weaving tutorial illustration

    Tack down with glue, or sew the finished woven rectangle onto a piece of cotton felt. Trim the ends of the strips so they are even, as shown, and felt is 1/4 inch wider than the finished woven rectangle; our felt backing measured 13 1/2 inches by 19 inches. Glue or sew additional cotton tape around the edges of the rectangle as a border.

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