Scrap sewing placemats

Several years ago, I went to a yard sale (probably fabric hunting!) and the person having the sale handed me a small piece of Mickey Mouse fabric. She wouldn't let me pay for it. Freebies rule! I washed it, folded it, and it's been on the shelf ever since. I also have way too many bandannas, red ones to be specific. It was time to do something with these. The Mickey fabric was too small to make even a child's garment, so I chose  to make kids' placemats

I cut the red bandannas and Mickey fabric into 2" strips. You can use any width strip you like, even varying widths for a fun look.

I used strip piecing, choosing to sew the strips on the diagonal. The diagonal for placemats is more forgiving if you happen to make a mistake in width of the strips themselves. I like forgiving projects!

I think the bandanna goes pretty well with the blue gingham look of the Mickey fabric! 

I used three styles of back - one of bandanna, one of the Mickey fabric, and two of half and half. This is what one back looks like before I trimmed most of the strips I had just sewn. Again, I was light on Mickey fabric, so I had to stretch it while still keeping everything coordinated. 

This is the back of one of the half and half placemats. 

And here's a completed placemat with red binding. I applied the binding with a zig-zag stitch, keeping with the scrappy and simple scheme of the placemats. All four are different and yet they match. 

I'll be putting these on Etsy when I finish the binding on all four. 

Next stop - summer dresses. I found a vintage pattern that I used many years ago to make a nice high waisted, longish summer dress. I have some lightweight fabrics in a variety of colors, and that should take care of my summer wardrobe. 

What kind of sewing do you have going on?