Easy To Make Thanksgiving Placemat From A Throw

Make a beautiful Thanksgiving placemat from an old decorative throw. It’s easy and economical and you do not have to be crafty to make this beautiful home decor DIY.

This Thanksgiving placemat was a stroke of genius! Not that I am a genius but I was thumbing through a fall magazine and I stopped on a page because I loved the wool plaid placemat. And I thought, “I can make that”! So I did! And you can too, my friend!

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MY THANKSGIVING STORY

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the idea of our family gathering together to celebrate our blessing and voicing our thanks to God for His goodness and sustaining grace in our lives!

I love our family who gathers together to celebrate!

I love stories of Thanksgivings long ago!

I love making the turkey and the stuffing and the pies. And I love seeing and tasting the yummy dishes others will bring to our table too!

I love the crisp weather outside and taking walks after Thanksgiving dinner.

I just love everything about Thanksgiving!!!!

Our family has such rich Thanksgiving traditions! Each year we do the same things and pass these traditions down to the next generation! Memories make traditions and traditions make memories! They are an important part of what holds families together!

I’m sure your family has Thanksgiving traditions too!

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions does not actually happen on Thanksgiving day but on the day after Thanksgiving! And it’s not shopping!

When the girls in the family get up the day after Thanksgiving we pull out all the Thanksgiving leftovers and have coffee and a Thanksgiving leftover breakfast feast!

We only eat what we love! For most of us, it’s stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a side of pumpkin pie!

And we read decorating magazines… preferably Christmas ones and talk and laugh and reminisce! All this while lounging in our jammies till the afternoon!

No boys allowed. They take the kids to a local diner and then go hiking. It’s a family girl’s day!

No wonder Thanksgiving is so special to me,

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Please share it with us!

Okay, enough about traditions and back to the Thanksgiving placemats.

WHAT I’M USING TO MAKE THE PLACEMATS

Let’s make beautiful fall placemats perfect for a Thanksgiving table! And you might not have to buy a thing to make them!

I have a bunch of old wooly throws in my basement. I just don’t get rid of them. Some have holes or stains and I save them because someday I might find a use for them. Well, their someday has come!

Most of the throws are plaid. Some are neutral and some are colorful. But the one thing they have in common is that they are not too thick and when they are cut they won’t fray easily.

So I’m making them into charming and cozy placemats for my Thanksgiving table.

Making placemats is such a great use of these throws. And economical too!

Even if you are not crafty you can do this DIY.

WHY USE A PLACEMAT

Placemats are primarily used as a barrier to keep heat and food stains off a table.

I had a mahogany table years ago and if anything warm touched it, it would make a ghost and that white mark would stick around for weeks. I would baby the mark, rubbing it with furniture oil, and finally, it would go away. So I know the importance of using a placemat to keep the heat of the food from touching the table!

Today many of us have tables that are quite impervious to food’s heat and spills.

So, the primary reason most of us use placemats is more decorative! Oh, Yay! I love decorative! And this Thanksgiving placemat is quite decorative!

A placemat often reinforces your color palette and I’m all about color palettes!

Placemats add color and texture and style to a table!

And they also add a base for each place setting! And a boundary too!

These easy-to-make Thanksgiving placemats create such beauty on my table!

WHY CUT APART A THROW?

I know you might be a bit intimidated to cut a throw apart. Especially if it is still good.

I know, because I felt that way too.

I got very excited about this project when I saw a wool-ish placemat in the magazine I was thumbing through. Then after my bout of exuberance and I came back down to earth a bit I questioned cutting apart a throw apart.

However, when I thought about it, the throw I had in mind to cut was old and it was VERY inexpensive. And placemats like the ones in the magazine were very expensive.

So, it really made sense to cut apart an old throw to make beautiful placemats for my Thanksgiving table. It was a very brilliant idea (not bragging, but truth) after all! LOL!

Making fall placemats out of a throw is a great idea! Easy, economical, and pretty!

Repurposing things we already have is so smart!

CREATIVE WAYS TO USE A THROW ON YOUR TABLE

Build your fall or Thanksgiving table around the throw you choose!

If you don’t get enough placemats out of one throw, no problem. If you have another throw cut it apart and use the two patterned placemats alternating on your table. I love this look!

You can also alternate the DIY placemats with ones you already have, especially if they are jute, or made of grasses. So pretty, right?

If you don’t want to cut apart your throw you can lay it down askew on your table and use it as a Thanksgiving tablecloth!

Or you can make a beautiful table runner by cutting it 10-14 inches wide and letting the ends hang over the table. This is especially pretty if the throw has fringe!

If you are serving a buffet, put a Thanksgiving placemat over a hot pad and place hot food on it. So much prettier than the hot pad alone!

Be creative! There are so many ways to use an old throw!

MAKING A PLACEMAT FROM A THROW

This is such an easy project! You don’t have to be crafty you just need to know how to use a ruler and scissors.

Don’t you love DIY projects like that?

HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL NEED…

To make your Thanksgiving placemats here’s what you will need…

• a throws that won’t easily fray when cut
• ruler
• some kind of marker or pencil
• scissors
• Fray Check (optional- I did not use them but it will keep the edges of your placemat from fraying)
• Scotchguard (optional- I did not use this but it is a good idea to make the placemats stain resistant)

HOW BIG IS A PLACEMAT?

The average placemat is 18 x14, just the right size to put most plates and flatware on! And it is just the right size to show off its color, design, and texture.

However, you can customize your Thanksgiving placemat to work with your table and plates!

CUTTING THE PLACEMAT

This was the part that took a little bit of courage. But I took a deep breath and made a cut in my plaid decorative throw!

From there, it was easy! I just measured and cut! It was so easy!

Because I was using a plaid throw I used the lines in the fabric as guides for cutting so I did not need a marker.

CREATING A FRINGE

Making the fringe was my favorite part. I just love pulling those threads and seeing a pretty fringe appear!

Here’s what to do…

Starting at the corners, pull one or two of the threads away from the placemat. Continue pulling until the threads pull totally off.

Continue pulling threads until you get a fringe you like.

If the threads are stubborn and don’t want to pull away from the fabric use a pin to get between the weave and pull a thread away.

Continue pulling the threads until you get a fringe you like.

A fringe looks so pretty and keeps other threads from fraying. It also is easy to give the fringe a little haircut if the placemat edges are a bit uneven.

See the image above.

You can use Fray Check to keep the placemat from fraying more. Turn the placemat to the wrong side and run a bead of Fray Check where the material of the placemat and the fringe meet.

And you can Scotchguard the placemats so spills will be easy to clean up.

READY TO MAKE A THANKSGIVING PLACEMAT?

Are you ready? Honestly, this was such an easy and FUN little project!

Grab an old throw or buy one and make personalized and pretty Thanksgiving placemats!

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