Plastic Canvas Challenge: Raffia DIY Placemats

If “plastic canvas” makes you think of yarn and tissue box covers, then get ready for something different.  When the design team was challenged to create a project with plastic canvas, I started looking for alternate materials to use with the canvas.  It turns out that raffia and plastic canvas work beautifully together! My end result was natural artisan style DIY placemats!

As you can tell, I opted to make plastic canvas place mats with raffia.  I stuck with a simple chevron design, but you could easily adapt this for other designs.  You could dye the raffia for more color, too.  I liked the natural tones so I left mine as is.  I love how it looks with my tiki party glasses!

Supplies needed to make your own plastic canvas DIY placemats:

• Plastic Canvas Shape – Oval
• Natural Raffia
• Plastic Canvas Hole Scaler

Step 1:  Wrap the edges of the plastic canvas oval with raffia.  I wrapped a small piece of washi tape around the end of the raffia to keep it from fraying.

Step 2:  Starting in the center, begin creating lines on the canvas to create a chevron pattern.  The scaler really helps with this part!  Make the pattern as large as you want.  One of my placemat’s lines are 17 holes long.  The other’s lines are 25 holes long.

Tip:  When starting and ending a string of raffia, leave a “tail” that you can tuck in.  Tying the raffia is unsightly, and this helps create a more seamless appearance.

Step 3:  When the center zigzag row is complete, start on the row above or below it.  Continue until the mat is full.

I’m thrilled with the end result.  I’ve finished 2 1/2 mats so far…my goal is to make 6 and have a complete set!  It’s time consuming but well worth the effort, I think.  If you want to start with a smaller project, I think raffia coasters would look awesome.  Or, maybe a bracelet?

What would you create with raffia and plastic canvas?

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Morena

Morena Hockley is the crafty mind behind the tutorials at morenascorner.com. Morena is a stay at home mom to four young children, and crafting is what helps her maintain her sanity. It’s a wonderful outlet and it’s how she gets her “me” time. In a past life, Morena was an elementary school teacher and an assistant principal. She misses teaching, so her blog is in a sense a virtual classroom. Swing by and check out Morena’s Corner!