Hi, I’m Susan from Sewfeet.com and this post is about a product from RNK Distributing. It’s called Sew-Fab-Foam and I’m using it today to make quilted placemats. I use it in place of batting, and it makes the placemat sturdy plus when I quilt through it, the stitching is more defined than stitching with a low-loft batting. The “wrap-around” binding technique makes it easy to finish these placemats.
Supplies for One Placemat – Finished size: 17” x 13”
· Front of placemat: Twelve 5” squares of quilting cotton
· Backing/Binding of placemat: 20” x 17” rectangle of quilting cotton
· Sew-Fab-Foam: 17” x 13” rectangle
· Temporary spray adhesive or Quilters Select Free Fuse
· Quarter Inch Presser Foot
· Open Embroidery Presser Foot
· Quilting/Seam Guide
· Fabric Marker – I used the Quilters Select Self Erase Marker. It has a strong mark that disappears in 1-3 days.
Piecing the Placemat Front
Using a quarter inch seam allowance, stitch three rows of four 5” squares together. Press the seams open. Stitch the three rows together to form the front of the placemat.
Sew-Fab-Foam
This foam stabilizer is sandwiched two pieces of natural color tricot fabric. One side is fusible so you can fuse the fabric to it and then quilt with no shifting or puckering. It can be machine washed and dried, so it is perfect for these placemats. Fuse the pieced fabric to the Sew-Fab-Foam by placing the fabric wrong side down on the fusible side of the foam. Set the iron on a medium setting (Wool) with steam. Hold the iron in place on the fabric for at least 5 seconds to bond the fabric to the foam.
Crosshatch Quilting
Draw a diagonal line in each direction on the placemat, using the diagram as a guide. Attach the quilting guide to the presser foot, 1” from the center of the foot. Stitch along one drawn line. Place the quilting guide on the first line and stitch a second line. Continue stitching lines 1” apart until the placemat is covered in one direction. Repeat the process with diagonal lines in the opposite directions. Trim the edges slightly if needed to square up the placemat.
Backing
Place the backing fabric on the non-fusible side of the foam. Center the exposed side of the foam on the wrong side of the backing fabric with 1 ½” of the backing extending beyond the foam on all sides. This will result in a ¾”binding on the placemat. Use temporary spray adhesive or pins to hold the placemat and the backing together.
Wraparound Binding
The excess backing extending from each side of the placemat will wrap around the raw edges of the placemat and become the binding with block corners. This fast binding method is simple to learn and an easy way to bind a quilt. On one side fold the excess fabric in half so the raw edge of the backing meets the raw edge of the placemat; press. Fold the binding up more time, folding it over the edges of the placemat so it is on the front of it. Use sewing clips to hold it in place. Repeat with the opposite side.
Stitch the binding using the open embroidery foot. Guide the edge of the binding along the inside toe and adjusting the needle to stitch about 1/8” from the folded edge of the binding.
Repeat this same process for the upper and lower edges of the placemat folding and stitching the corners as shown in the photo below.
Napkin Tip
Make coordinating napkins by cutting 18” squares of the backing fabric and stitching a narrow hem on all four sides of each one.
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