To continue with my ideas for my all women’s campout that I am going to, I decided to make placemats. I created them using a small inch in diameter all cotton clothesline rope that I found at Walmart. Initially I could not decide how I wanted to make them. I could cover the rope with fabric that looks country. I could dye the clothesline a color. I could paint them, the ideas go on and on. What I finally decided on was just the plain white. This allows me to change the colors of the table cloth at any time. I also ended up liking the plain rope look.
To start this project I had to hand stitch the first curve in order to have enough of the rope to go under my needle on my sewing machine. Before you start you should have an idea of just how large you want to go. I went a little smaller than a normal placemat due to the fact that the dishes I use camping are smaller than a dinner plate. Once I started sewing a zig zag stitch I used the point where the two ropes come together as a guide under my presser foot.
To end the placemat I looped the end around so that I could hang the placemats up to dry if they got dirty and needed cleaning. This being a cotton rope you cannot burn the ends like you can with nylon rope. I used a dap of fabric glue to help keep the ends from fraying.
The next project I did was to make weights for my table cloth so the wind won’t blow away my table cloth and knock everything over. I went to the hardware store and bought four large brass washers, they are fairly heavy. I then covered the washers with strips of fabric. To attach them to the table cloth I sewed ribbons on the corners of the table cloth to tie on the weights. I have changed my mind on what table cloth I want to use so I did not include a picture of the table cloth with the weights on them. This camping trip I am going on is something I have been excited about. It has been so long since my last campout that all this planning and preparing for the trip is great.