How to make a purse out of a placemat

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Inside: Learn how to make a purse/bag out of a placemat in just a few easy steps. Simple DIY sewing project to create a useful placemat purse.

How to make a purse from a placemat tutorial

I picked up this fun placemat at hobby lobby in a seasonal clearance section. It wasn’t very much.. I think around a dollar, and I had visions of a purse made from a placemat for months. This week I sat down and sewed it up and I’m so pleased with the result. I’ve been wanting to downsize a bit from a big bag I carry and now I can!

How to make a placemat purse –

The placemat that I had was so fuzzy and fun, it makes and adorable placemat bag. It’s a simple design, I didn’t add any additional pockets inside, but it would also be easy to add a few internal pockets as well.

I was thinking about what kind of strap to add, when I saw this fuzzy blue yarn in my stash.. I think it works pretty well to go with the bag! I was going to make it one row wider, but then I ran out of yarn, so this is what I have {haha}

I used a simple magnetic clasp on the bag, but you could also use hook and loop or a zipper for a top closure. Okay! Let’s dive into the details of how I made this bag.

Other amazing bags to sew –

How to make a placemat bag –

Let’s first talk about the supplies.. In my case it was very simple…

1 placemat {look at clearance and sale items!}
yarn scraps crocheted into a strap {details below} Youc an also use a piece of bought strapping for this.
magnetic clasp

First let’s talk about the strap.. You can purchase woven strapping by the yard – and one yard is plenty. Or you can look to create one like I did. I chained stitches until it was around 26″ long.

I finished the strap with two rows of double crochet. Like I said I would have made it one row thicker, but I was out of yarn.

From here you will sew up the sides of the bag. I thought I took a photo, but it seems not. I folded my placemat with the wrong sides together and sewed up the sides. I had to use a heave duty needle after breaking two others as the fibers on this placemat were really thick. I sewed about 1/2″ from the side. Depending on your placemat you may want to sew right sides together and turn or wrong sides together like I did.

I used a hand needle and thread to sew the straps to the sides seams on either side of the bag. I stitched up and down both sides and across the top and bottom.

Because my placemat was lined I think adding the magnet is a good option. If your mat is unlined I think I would go with a zipper. I picked open the stitching at the top center of both sides.

I added a layer of fleece interfacing, then cut slits in the lining and installed the magnetic clasp. I was able to fold back the prongs and they are hidden in the lining.

Here is the magnet on the bag lining. Repeat with the other side. Then use a needle and thread to stitch up the top that you opened before.

I then took my needle and thread and put a few stitching around the magnet. The lining was pretty thin, so I wanted to secure all the layers together. I sewed close to the magnet so you don’t really see the stitches.