Having a coordinated dining table is a nice touch in any home. Linens, cushions, even coasters can be coordinated to complete a nice, put together look. Then, there’s the Lazy Susan on your table – that plain, utilitarian Lazy Susan. If you want to create a well thought out look in your dining room, here’s how to do it using your favorite things – fabric and quilting.
First of all, select fabric that you will use for placemats. You might stick with a simple placemat, using a piece of fabric for the front and back, or you might choose to piece together a placemat using a favorite quilt block design. The choice is yours.
Next, select a coordinating fabric to make coasters for your table. The coasters are as simple as making small quilted circles or squares. Make them 4 to 5 inches in diameter, finished size, or measure the bottom of your glasses to get a perfect dimension.
When making placemats and coasters, it’s important to keep in mind that the batting needs to be of a low loft. A thick coaster will likely make your glass tip over. No one wants to clean up spills because of a fluffy coaster. There’s a little more leniency with the loft of placemats, but keep them the same for a consistent look on your table.
Consider making extra sets for your table. Since the placemats and coasters are quilted, you will be able to wash and dry them. Have a spare set to display on your table as the other set is being laundered.
Speaking of laundry, when you wash your placemats and coasters, place them all in a pillow case to keep them together. Fold the open end of the pillowcase over a couple of times then pin with a safety pin. This will keep the small coasters together with the placemats through both the wash and dry cycles.
Now that you have coordinating placemats and coasters, it’s time to bring that Lazy Susan into the picture.
Lazy Susans are helpful because they keep many dining needs right at the family’s fingertips. Condiments, napkins, etc., are all available for the spinning. If you have a wooden Lazy Susan and want to dress it up to match the rest of your table, it is not hard to do.
You could quilt a circle mat to cover the top of your Lazy Susan, but it will spend most of its time in the laundry to clean up spills and drips. Instead, make a Lazy Susan top that is easy to clean.
To do this, measure the top of your Lazy Susan. If it is flat, you will trace it. If it has a small lip around the border, you will need to measure the area inside the lip. For discussion purposes here, let’s assume that your board is flat, no lip.
Flip the Lazy Susan upside down onto a piece of poster board. Trace the circle, then cut it out.
Spray adhesive onto one side of the poster board, then flatten the fabric of your choice onto it. Smooth out the fabric so that there are no wrinkles. Give the adhesive a few minutes to dry,
Cut the fabric to match the size of the poster board circle.
Now, you will need to laminate your fabric-poster board circle. Most copy centers offer large format laminating, which is what you will need if your circle is larger than about 10 inches.
Once the fabric circle is laminated, trim the extra lamination away. Use a thin, permanent glue like Super Glue to adhere the circle to the top of your Lazy Susan. Give it ample time to dry. Once it is dry, you can use spray cleaner on the surface any time you need to wipe up a spill or drip.
And now all your table needs coordinate using your two favorite things – quilting and fabric!
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
