The time has come to dive headfirst into your fabric scraps to create this boldly colorful candle mat. A great project for quilting beginners, this candle mat pattern is made with an assortment of color coordinating scraps in lovely jewel tones and neons. You can sew your own candle mat in just a few hours, so if you’re stuck indoors during freezing February weather, you can make a batch of these candle mats for yourself and your friends.
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 3 hours
Finished Size: 14” wide X 11” tall
Seam Allowances: 1/4”
Materials:
- An assortment of coordinating scraps
- 1 yard of quilting cotton for binding
- 1 yard of quilting cotton for solid color between scraps
- 1/2 yard of quilting cotton for the backing fabric
Tools:
- Iron
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Rotary cutter
- Acrylic quilting ruler
- A roll of adding machine paper 2 1/4” wide or cut pattern to 2 1/4” wide by 15” wide
Cutting Instructions:
- Cut (3) pieces of adding machine paper that are roughly 15” long.
- Trim your scraps to be roughly 5” tall and varying widths, the ones shown are roughly 1/2”- 3” wide.
- Cut (2) strips of binding fabric that are 2 1/4” wide X 30” long.
- Cut (4) strips of solid fabric that are 2” wide X 15” long.
- Cut (1) piece of backing fabric that is roughly 18” wide X 14” tall.
- Cut (1) piece of batting that is roughly 18” wide X 14” tall.
Piecing Instructions:
- Lay your first scrap down, right side up. Place your second scrap on top, right side down, and center on top of the adding machine paper, with roughly 1”+ overhang on top and bottom. Sew with 1/4” seam allowance.
- Open up the two pieces and iron, finger press, or seam roll the seam open.
- Place your third scrap right side down, on the second scrap, and sew with 1/4” seam allowance again. Repeat all the way down the strip until it’s fully covered.
- Iron the strip on the top and then flip the scrap strip over and use a ruler and rotary cutter to trim along the edges. Repeat Steps 1-4 to make 2 more scrap strips.
- Lay your solid strips in between your scrap strips and sew down the long sides, with 1/4” seam allowance. Press seams open.
- Rip all the paper out carefully from the back of the scrap strips and trim the short edges so everything aligns and the rectangle is 14” long.
Sandwich the candle mat top with the batting sheet in between and backing sheet wrong sides together, pin. Square up the top. Quilt and bind as desired!
