What Is The Standard Placemat Size? How Big Should Mine Be? – Our Ultimate Size Guide
If you’re looking to make some new placemats for your table at home, you might be curious as to what size you should make them fit your table.
The standard placemat size tends to be 12 x 14 inches or 12 x 18 inches depending on your table size, for a round placemat your looking at a standard size of 12 inch or 15 inch.
We’ve composed an informational guide below which will take you through what placemats are made out of, how to pick the right size, materials, and styles and a DIY step-by-step to making your own.
| Placemat Size | Fabric Cutting Size |
| 13 x 13″ (33 x 33cm) | 14.5 x 14.5″ (37 x 37cm) |
| 12 x 18″ (30.5 x 46cm) | 13.5 x 19.5″ (34 x 49.5cm) |
| 14 x 18″ (35.5 x 46cm) | 15.5 x 19.5″ (39 x 49.5cm) |
| 14 x 20″ (35.5 x 51cm) | 15.5 x 21.5″ (39 x 54.5cm) |
What Are Placemats Made Out Of?
Before we begin our guide into sizing your placemat and how to make your own, let’s start with what placemats are made out of so that we can see what different fabrics we are dealing with.
In terms of fabric for placemats, most will be made out of cotton or linen, these are chosen thanks to the fact they can absorb spills, protect your table and be washed easily.
You can also find plastic placemats, cork or straws which are often woven together and can also be made DIY.
How Do You Pick A Placemat Size?
Now we know what kind of material you will need for your placemat, let’s move on to the sizing part.
As we mentioned above, you will find most rectangular placemats measure around 12 x 16 inches and 15 inches for round size of placemats. However, you might need a larger or smaller placemat for your dining room table according to its size.
We’ve listed some important factors to consider when choosing your size placemat below.
- Make sure there is 4-inch space in between mats – When deciding on the size of your placemats, make sure you consider the sizes in between them, you should have at least 4 inches in between your placemats.
- Think kids – Kids often make more mess and spills when eating, it might be better to go for larger placemats if you have children in your family to help protect the table.
- Match shapes – Round tables need round placemats while square tables need square placemats, matching gives a more aesthetic look.
- Charge placemats need more space – Charge placemats are slightly different to regular placemats and will need more space in between them, they will need to have 2 feet in between them.
- Placemats should not be smaller – Your placemats should not be smaller than your plates, always account for an extra inch or two.
Standard Placemat Sizes
To give you a rough idea of what a large, medium and small placemat size should be, we’ve listed some different sizes below to help you out.
Rectangular
- Small – 12 inch x 12 inch
- Medium – 12 x 14 inch up to 14 inch x 14 inch
- Large – 15 inch x 17 inch.
Circular
- Small – 12 inch diameter.
- Medium – 15 inch diameter.
- Large – 16 inch diameter.
Do I Need Batting For Placemats?
When it’s time to sew your dinner table placemats, you will also need to consider adding some batting to the material to help protect your table.
Batting is like another layer of material on the bottom of your placemat to prevent bumps and also to provide insulation to the table when placing hot dishes down.
We’ve listed some different batting materials you can put on to the back of your placemats for added protection below, this is optional, however, and you can just use the placemats with the material they have if you wish.
- Fleece – Fleece can work nicely as backing on larger placements, this material is however not heatproof, so take care when bringing plates straight from the oven, if your having problems sewing fleece, we have a solution here.
- Old towels – Old towels can be sewn onto the back of a simple placemat, they might shed when sewing so take care to be gentle.
- Felt – Same as fleece, felt can be easily sewn onto placemats for padding, it is not resistant to hot food, however.
- Interfacing – Interfacing might not be able to give great padding to your placemat but it can provide stiffness to make it more durable.
- Flannel – Old flannels can work great for sturdy placements, you might need around two to achieve a good thickness.
Common Placemat Styles
Before you start sewing your placemat, you also need to consider the style as well as the size.
We’ve listed some different placemat styles to choose from below.
- Rectangle – The most common kind of placements are rectangular ones, this is because they cover a large surface area under the plate.
- Square – You will often find square placemats with a size of 13 inches, they work well on modern dining tables and small tables.
- Oval – These work well especially if you have a round table.
- Quilted – Quilted placemats are very old school and are the best placemat choice if you are looking to insulate as well as protect your table from hot plates, they often have pretty stitching on top too!
- Wedge – These have a stylish modern look, with arched and tapered sides, they would suit a glass table for a contemporary design.
How Much Fabric Do I Need For 8 Placemats?
If you want to make placemats for a table of eight members, you need to make sure you have enough fabric.
For 8 placemats, you are looking at around four yards of fabric, two yards in each different fabric if you’re making reversible quilted placemats.
If you want to make four placemats you will need two yards and one yard for three placemats, it’s better to have more fabric than less if you are not sure, you can always make coasters or other DIY items!
Our Guide To Sewing Your DIY Placemat
Down below, we’ve put together a DIY guide which will take you through how to sew four different types of placemats according to the size and style you want; quilted, reversible, hemmed and self-binding.
Reversible Placemats
Reversible placemats are one of the easiest smoother style placemats to make and are great if your beginner sewer since messy stitching can be simply turned over!
To make a placemat with a 13×13 inch size you will need a 14×14 inch piece of fabric.
Method
- Depending on the kind of fabric you are using, you might need to make it thicker with interfacing, some quilting fabrics are already thick enough.
- Now place the two fabrics next to each other and pin then stitch around the edges leaving a 3 inch gap to the edges, and clip corners at a diagonal.
- Turn the placemat through the gap, give it a press and make sure the corners are pressed out well. Top stitch around the edge of the material to close up the gap.
Hemmed Placemats
These placemats are a simple-looking style with a double hem edge and mitred corners, which makes them neat and attractive.
You will need a 13.5×19.5″ fabric pieces to make 12 x 18 inch placemats.
Method
- Begin by pressing the edges of your fabric over by 1/4 inch to make the hem then again by another 3/4 inch.
- Now open up the pressed edges, cut a diagonal in the corner and press over the corner into the inner crease point. Fold the pressed edges back up and diagonally pin the corner.
- Stitch the hem and there you have it!
Self Binding Placemats
Self-binding placemats are sewn with an underneath material to make a border and are super easy to sew.
You need a 12×18 inch front fabric and a 16×22 inch back fabric to make a 12×18 inch placemat.
Method
- Patchwork the front fabric and finish off the quilting then use a rotary cutter to make the edges neat.
- Next put the front material on to the back, make sure to sandwich any batting between at this stage then quilt through all the layers.
- Cut the back fabric so it’s one inch larger than the front, fold the corners on the diagonal then trim to be 1cm in size.
- Fold the binding then fold again to cover the raw edges, hold with pins in place for a neat seam and sew all the way around to make crisp edges.
Quilted Placemats
You can use normal patchwork fabric or already quilted fabric for this, make sure you have one front piece for the fabric, batting and a back piece.
In order to make a placemat of a 13×13 inch size you need the same size fabrics and batting.
In connection to patchwork fabric, let us find out How To Sew On A Patch.
Method
- Make sure your batting is held in place by fusion or long tacking stitches then put the front and back wrong sides together.
- Quilt stitch all the layers, baste around the edges and bind the nice seam with some contrasting fabric to keep it all in place.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Standard Placemat Size
What size is a dinner plate?
Most standard dinner plates have a 10 inches in diameter size, there are some larger plates which go up to 12 inches in diameter, however. Remember larger dining plates need bigger placemats.
Should a circular dining room table have circular placemats?
Yes, in order to make sure the alignment of placemats looks neat we suggest matching the shapes of the placemats to the shape of the tables.
How many yards of fabric do I need to make four placemats?
Fabric placemats need different amounts of fabric according to the style and size you want to make, on average to make eight placemats you need four yards of fabric.
How many inches wide should my placemat be?
Your finished placemat for a standard size should be around 14 inches wide for a medium/large placemat size.
Final Words
Overall, the standard size of placemats is 12 x 14 inches or 12 x 18 inches, this is a medium-sized placemat. For round placemats, they are around 15 inches in diameter.
Placemat sizes will change according to the size of the plate and table you are sitting on, always make sure they have a 4 inch size in between them.
Read the Next Article: What To Look For In A Quilting Sewing Machine?
