Diamond Placemat

July 14, 2018

The charity that the Central Ohio Modern Quilt Guild is working with this year is Meals on Wheels.  We are making placemats that are distributed to recipients along with their meals to brighten things up.  Our Charity Chair has been issuing challenges this year to encourage participation and encourage members to use these projects to stretch their quilting skills.  This placemat is from one of these challenges.

Diamond Placemat

We were each given a line drawing of a traditional quilt block that we reinterpreted into a placemat.  I received a block called “Diamond Quilt Block.”

Diamond Block

My reinterpretation is fairly straightforward.  I stretched the traditionally square block into a rectangle, but then I had some fun with the quilting.  I matched the quilting thread to the pink, green, and white sections of the block, and extended the stitching out to the edges of the block.  Each stitching line pivots to create a triangular form.

Diamond Placemat detail

The pink and green stitching is done in 28wt thread and the white is 12wt, but the bobbins thread is always 50wt thread in the color matching the top thread.  This still allows the design to show up nicely, even on the tone on tone print that I used on the back of the placemat.

Diamond Placemat Quilting detail back

I have several bias bindings that I keep made up and ready to go for small projects, and I chose this one because it enhances the energy of the diagonal quilting lines.

Diamond Placemat back

The labels for our guild quilts are Spoonflower Prints with our guild name and Logo.  We each sign the label so the recipients know who made their placemat.

Placemat Label

 

I won’t be writing a full pattern for this project, but if you would like to make your own, you can download the templates below.  This file is templates only, and the template on the final page needs to be assembled prior to cutting your fabric.

Diamond Placemat Templates

Placemat Stats

Title:  Diamond Placemat

Size: 12″ x 18″

Techniques:  Machine Piecing

Quilting:  Machine echo quilting using a walking foot on a Bernina 1008 domestic machine

Fabric:  Kona Cotton Solids on the front, print backing and binding

Batting:  Warm and White

Thread: Quilted with 50wt, 28wt, and 12wt cotton Aurifil in pink, green, and white

Binding:  Striped bias binding, cut 2″ wide, machine stitched to the front and hand finished on the back

3 Comments

  • Reply
    Marla Varner
    July 15, 2018 at 10:23 am

    What a wonderful giving project by your guild. I’m sure the placemats will brighten someone’s meals. I love the way you use the heavier weights of threads in your quilting.

  • Reply
    Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
    July 15, 2018 at 10:53 am

    The diagonal bias binding is definitely a great finish for the energy of the placemat. What a great charity and way to contribute, too.

  • Reply
    Rochelle Summers
    July 15, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    A wonderful idea to brighten up the meals for people that can’t make it out of the homes easily. I love the colors you chose and the quilting. Your work is always eye-catching and I’m sure the recipient will love this one.

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