Patio Rodeo Placemats

Set the table for a funky Fourth of July!

This Independence Day, round up your best buckaroos for a good old-fashioned Patio Rodeo. Set the scene with denim "back pocket" invites, mini hay bales, and rusty horseshoe candleholders. To make this get-together as American as apple pie, plan on serving barbecued spareribs, corn on the cob, and baked beans. (And a punchbowl spiked with Spirits of 76!) Sew it all up by making these one-of-a-kind fringed cowboy placemats. What better way to celebrate your independence!

For each placemat, you will need:
Cowboy fabric, 20 inches x 14 inches
Cream color fabric, 20 inches x 14 inches
2 pieces brown synthetic suede fringe, 13 inches long (4-inch width)
Cream color craft thread or embroidery floss
1 pair of second-hand blue jeans with 2 ½ inch belt loops
1 white bandana
Thread to match cowboy fabric
Gold thread
1 embroidery needle
1 sewing needle
Straight pins
Scissors
Tape measure
Spray starch
Sewing machine
Iron

Directions
Step 1
With the right side of the cowboy fabric face down, iron and starch the fabric. Fold the raw edges in ½ inch all the way around and iron the edges down. Repeat for the cream fabric backing.

Step 2
To make the blue jean napkin holder, cut a 2½ inch by 8½ inch piece of denim from the jeans. Remove three belt loops from the jeans and attach to the denim piece with gold thread.

Step 3
Whipstitch the blue jean napkin holder to the cowboy fabric with the craft thread.

Step 4
Pin the cowboy fabric to the cream backing with the good side facing out, sandwiching the fringe on the right and the left sides.

Step 5
Using a sewing machine and the matching thread, stitch the front and back of the placemat together ¼ inch from the edge. (A simple straight stitch will do.) Sew all the way around. Then roll the bandana and insert into the belt loops.

Guest Wrangling Tip: Show your favorite cowpokes to their seats with Sheriff’s Badge Place Cards. Just write each guest’s name on a party-store badge and pin it to the placemat. They’ll know where to git along little dogie!

No Stick Tip: If you want your placemats to be washable, pre-wash the fabric and attach the fringe with snaps. Or, the day before the stampede to the chuck wagon begins, spray them with Scotchgard.

Sew Easy Tip
To turn a square corner, keep the needle in the down position, raise the presser foot, and turn the fabric ninety degrees. Then giddy up and start sewing again.