This fantastic idea from CraftStylish.com in which you can dress up simple placemats and napkin rings for dinner with merely a silk neck tie or two and basic sewing skills.If you’re a little short on neckties, or feel bad about cutting up your husband’s, rummage around at thrift stores and flea markets. Keep in mind that each place setting need two ties, and the wide ones work the best.
Here are the simple instructions from craftstylish.com that will make your dining room table set for a successful dinner.
What You’ll Need:
• Bias-tape maker, 2-inch (Clover-USA.com)
• Decorative button, 3/4 inch
• Fusible web
• Hand-sewing needle
• Iron
• Lightweight fusible interfacing, 1/4 yard (CreateForLess.com)
• Linen/cotton blend fabric for place mats, 1/4 yard (RobertKaufman.com)
• Neckties, two
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Seam ripper
• Sewing machine
• Thread to match fabric and neckties
Prep the tie and place-mat fabric
Before you cut the pocket and napkin-ring pieces, you have to remove the material from inside the tie.
1. Deconstruct the ties. Use a seam ripper to remove any labels sewn on the back of the tie. Then, remove the seam along the center back, and pull out the padded material from the inside of the tie.
2. Cut the pocket and napkin ring. For the flatware pocket, cut 6 inches o ff one tie’s wide end, measuring from the tip. From the other necktie cut 8 1?2 inches off of the skinny end for the napkin ring.
3. Prepare the place-mat fabric. Cut two, 13 1/2-inch by 18 1/2-inch rectangles from the linen/cotton blend fabric. Cut two, 12 1/2-inch x 17 1/2-inch rectangles of lightweight fusible interfacing. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, fuse the interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric pieces, leaving 1/2 inch of extra fabric on all four sides.
Sew the place mat and napkin ring
Fuse and sew on the pocket; then create and attach the border pieces for the finished place mat. Then, complete the napkin rings.
1. Fuse and attach the pocket. Open the back of the fl atware pocket, and place a small piece of fusible web in the center. It should be just large enough to cover the area where the sides overlap. Fold the sides back over the webbing, and press the pocket to fuse the layers together. Fold over a 1/2 inch double hem on the cut edge, and hand-stitch the hem in place. Arrange, pin, and then edgestitch the finished pocket on one of the fabric rectangles.
TIP – Neckties are constructed from several bias-cut pieces sewn together, so if your ties have diagonal seams somewhere in them, ignore them; they aren’t that noticeable
2. Create a bias tape. Press the remaining necktie fabric flat. Trim the edges to create two, 3 7/8-inch-wide strips, at least 33 inches long. Sew the strips together end to end with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Feed the strip through the bias-tape maker, following the package directions. Press the fabric flat as it emerges from the bias tape maker. Next, fold the finished tape in half lengthwise, and press it again.
3. Attach the bias tape. Wrap the bias tape over the placemat edge at the center top. Pin the tape around the edges of the place mat, mitering the corners. Start and end at center bottom. When the ends meet, fold the raw edges under 1 inch, and trim o ff any excess tape. Stitch along the bias tape edge to attach it to the place mat. Hand-stitch the bias tape ends together at the bottom where they meet.
4. Fuse the napkin-ring fabric. Open the sides on the back of the napkin-ring piece, and place a small strip of fusible web in the center. Fold the sides back over, and press to fuse the layers together. Machine-stitch a 1/2-inch hem at the cut end.
5. Attach the button. Make a 1-inch buttonhole in the pointed end of the napkin ring. Sew a button to the squared end. Fold the piece into a ring, and button to secure it.
