Michael Miller | CoopCrafts

Hopefully I’ll get this off in the mail after work, on it’s way to my friend Jacqui in England. Years ago we used to send each other decorating magazines, so they were the first thing to pop into my head when I felt the urge to send her a little gift. Then I remembered that I can sew now, a skill I didn’t have back then, and thought I’d make her a little something, too. My “little something” morphed into this roomy Tote of Many Colors made with part of a Michael Miller Cotton Couture charm pack and a yard of fabric I bought while shopping with my Mom in Tennessee. (That’s the lining and straps.)

The little tag was so much fun to make, I’m sure I’ll end up making more!

Diego watched me turn the bag right-side-out when I was done sewing, and I swear his eyes lit up when he realized that was something he could crawl inside. He followed me around until I set it down for a picture and he tried to see if it might be a good place for a nap. Yep, I’ll be packing it up right away. (I’m trying to keep the cat fur off it, Jacqui!)

He is such a quilter’s cat.

I LOVE these placemats! At first glance they might look like a lot of work, but the construction is just simple patchwork. They’re also less expensive that you might think, thanks to the use of just one pack of Michael Miller’s Cotton Couture charm squares, which makes it easy to have this gorgeous range of colors without the huge investment of multiple yardage cuts. The charm pack contains 85 five inch squares in an absolutely beautiful spectrum of color. (For more with Cotton Couture, check out this Spectrum baby quilt I made with one charm pack of Cotton Couture and two packs of white charm squares! I think it’s my favorite quilt so far.)

To make six placemats, you’ll also need backing fabric (about a yard and a quarter), batting (crib size) and if you decide to use binding, one yard of fabric for that as well. (Note: you may want to read the entire tutorial before beginning, because there are a couple alternative methods offered. All seams are a quarter inch.)

First, separate your colors into six stacks, one for each placemat, with at least 14 charm squares in each. Think about the way you want the colors to blend from one side of the placemat to the other when dividing them. Then cut each charm square into four equal 2.5″ squares.

Line your squares up into nine rows of six squares each. I added a square of white or cream for just a bit of “sparkle”, as if light were being reflected. Be sure to blend the colors a bit, but not too much, so the hues shift as your eyes move across the placemat. Pretty!

Sew each row of six together, taking care to keep them in order. It helps to pretend the points of the pinked edges are the top of a flat edge, like this:

Then press the seams open.

Pin the rows together, carefully matching and pinning at the seams.

Sew the rows together.

And press the seams open.

If you are new to piecing patchwork, you may want to take a look at Ayumi’s basket tutorial on Pink Penguin, a legend of internet sewing tutorials, which shows another method of lining up patchwork seams. This is actually the way I learned to do patchwork and would work nicely for these placemats as well. I chose the open seams method to make the seams just a little smoother and flatter since drinking glasses will be used on these, and I hoped to lessen the chance of any spills.

After finishing the tops, it’s time to quilt the placemats. You have a couple choices here as well. If you’d prefer to make the placemats without binding the edges, quilt only the top and batting together, then put the backing fabric face down on the top, pin in place and sew around the edges, leaving a few inches open to turn. Carefully trim the corners close to the seam (but do NOT cut your stitches) so that the corners will be less bulky. Then turn right side out and sew a finishing seam around the edges of the placemat. (I apologize for not having photos of this method. I like the way binding frames each placemat and went with that.)

If you are using binding, layer your backing fabric face down on the bottom, then stack batting on top of that and your finished placemat top face up on top. Your backing fabric and batting should be slightly larger than the placemat top.

I use a quilting spray to keep everything in place while I sew, but you could also pin the layers to keep them from shifting.

Using a walking foot (which helps pull the layers of fabric evenly), stitch about a quarter inch from the horizontal seams.

And do the same for the vertical seams.

Trim closely around the placemat.

And now you’re ready to bind! If you’ve never made or used binding before, I think the best tutorial is by Heather Bailey. I like to cut my binding strips three inches wide. The fabric I used is “Weave” in Coal from the Summersville collection by Lucie Summers for Moda. I wanted to keep going with that grid vibe, but a solid black or something with a dark texture would be beautiful.