Sew a square placemat with a neat mitred border

TARBET is the bordered placemat in our table range: a central panel framed by a contrasting border, with proper mitred corners that look far more difficult than they actually are. The corners are formed by folding what the instructions cheerfully call 'bunny ears' and stitching across them — a genuinely satisfying technique to learn.

For a simpler placemat with no border, see TADWICK.

What you'll learn

  • Marking centre lines on both fabrics so the border sits evenly
  • Sewing a 1cm border line partway along each side rather than edge to edge
  • Forming mitred corners from the folded 'bunny ears'
  • Snipping into the corners so they turn out square
  • Sewing in the ditch where the border meets the centre panel

Finished size

Approximately 27.5cm square

What you'll need (for each placemat)

2 fat quarters in contrasting fabrics, 1 piece of fusible fleece interfacing, a heat-erasable pen and a quilting or standard ruler.

Skill level

Beginner. Full-colour step-by-step photographs, our trademark 'Easy to Follow Instructions', and full-size reusable A4 templates — no enlarging required. A free video tutorial is available on our YouTube channel.

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