Thursday, August 17, 2017

Shopping Bag Placemat Tutorial

Earlier this Spring I picked up several Lilly Pulitzer reusable tote bags at Home Goods.   I really purchased them to use as gift bags and tote grocery items, but they were too pretty for the trunk of the car. 


My brain is a crafting "how to"  Pinterest page running 24/7.   One day (or middle of the night) it hit me that I could use these beautiful bags as placemats on a tablescape.  Now this meant cutting up these beauties so I was a bit apprehensive to destroy the bags.  

I was shopping for tabletop items in Ross (yes I do find some great buys on table linens and accessories in the dress store). While waiting in the checkout line I spotted theses beautiful flamingo and mint green striped bags that I used below.   They were .99 cents each so I pick up two to use in my test project.  If it failed I would only be out a couple of bucks and not cut up the pretty Lilly bags.   My first thought was to use a nice pink ball fringe on the edge of the bag, but I had no luck finding the perfect color of pink that would match the bag.  I decided to try a crochet a trim on the edge.   I originally tried a shell crochet trim, but it didn't pop enough for me so I searched crochet trims on Pinterest.  I loved the pattern I found and they way the placemats turned out.    If you cannot crochet you can also use the ball fringe trim, ric rac or ribbon on the edge.      

These placemats would also be great to use on your outdoor tables.   They also can be clean with a damp cloth if needed.  







Start with your shopping bag. 

Cut the bag in half. 


Use a regular size charger plate to draw off the pattern to cut out. You could also make them square or rectangular.  





You will need yarn, crochet hooks and a large upholstery needle. 


Carefully punch holes about 1/4 inch apart along the edge of the bag with the upholstery needle.  You will use a smaller gauge crochet hook to do the first stitching around the circle.  


I found the pom pom trim / popcorn stitch on Pinterest.  It was on the Once Upon a Pink Moon blog.   

The first round with a chain stitch. 






I also made napkin rings to match the placemats using the pom pom/popcorn stitch. 





Overhead view of the placemats. 

Overhead view of the completed tablescape. 



My Tropical Flamingos tablescape using the shopping bag placemats.   I purchased the flamingo plates at Home Goods earlier this Spring so I knew these bags would be perfect to use with these plates.  

I haven't completed the Lilly Pulitzer shopping bag placemats yet, but they will be coming soon.  I plan on using white pom pom ball fringe on those bags.   I have purchased several other shopping bags to make placemats and I'm going to attempt a table runner with a couple of the bags.  You could also make them square or rectangular shaped.  

I'm honoured to have this post featured on SNICKERDOODLE CREATE-BAKE-MAKE #196 over at The Blue Willow House . Hopefully this post will inspire you to take a second look at those beautiful shopping bags in your local department store checkout line.  




Catherine 

This post is linked to the following parties:
Thursday's Favorite Things - Katherines Corner
Home & Garden Thursday #278 - A Delightsome Life
Vintage Charm #96 - Our Hopeful Home
Grace at Home #262 - Imparting Grace
Home Sweet Home #336 - The Charm of Home
Home Matters Linky Party #149 - Life with Lorelai
"Anything Goes" Pink Saturday - How Sweet the Sound
Dishing It & Digging It Link Party #162 - Life and Linda
Inspire Me Monday - Week #294 - Create with Joy
The Scoop #290 - Stone Gable
Amaze Me Monday #228 - Dwellings- The Heart of Your Home
388th Inspire Me Tuesday - A Stroll Thru Life
Celebrate Your Story #91 - Celebrate & Decorate with Chloe Crabtree
Snickerdoodle Create-Bake-Make #195- My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies
Made By You Monday #68 - Skip To My Lou
Make it Pretty Monday #225 - The Dedicated House
Wow Us Wednesday #350 - Savvy Southern Style
Merry Monday Link Up Party #169 - Intelligent Domestications

14 comments:

  1. I love flamingos on anything; I try to confine them to the blue bathroom, caz if they get out, I know they'll just take over! Your placemats are adorable.

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    1. Thank you Kathy. I'm a flamingo lover too! I wear a lot of Lilly Pulitzer clothing so I always have a flamingo near me. :) Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

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  2. Love these! My daughter in love collects flamingoes, I might try this for her! I'm visiting from Pink Saturday...Have a great weekend!

    Barb

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    1. Thank you so much Barb and thanks for stopping by for a visit.

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  3. What a great idea! And I love flamingos! These are so beautiful and I love the tablescape.

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  4. These are gorgeous, and I'm impressed with your crochet skills! (I never could get the hang of it.) This is a really great idea, and I love Lilly Pulitzer as well. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
    xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home

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    1. Thanks Kathleen. I'm not that great at crochet either, but some how I wing it and make it happen. I was hopping to find the right color ball fringe for these, but pink was not easy to match up.

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  5. Your placemats from shopping bags are fabulous! What a fun pattern to use and the crochet fringe is just perfect for them. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. I'll be featuring these at tomorrow's party.

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    1. Oh, thank you so much Beverly! They were so much fun to create and I look forward to making several more as I find fabulous bags. Also, thank you for the feature. I'm truly honoured! :)

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  6. Oh Catherine these placemats are beautiful and so perfect in your tablescape. I am featuring your placemats at Snickerdoodle today.

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    1. Thank you so much Sharon. I hope it inspires others to take a second look at those beautiful bags in the checkout line.

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  7. Stopping by from Snickerdoodle party. Love these. So creative and I like that you can wipe them off too. That popcorn edge is adorable. We would love for you to stop by and share with us at the Merry Monday party.

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    1. Thank you Shirley and I'm happy you stopped by. I will jump over and check out the Merry Monday party. Have a lovely day! :)

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