Recycling Old Placemats – Doing Your Part To Reduce Waste

At home, I have eight ugly, crackly, and wavy old-looking vinyl placemats that I keep using every day. Sadly, they have become an eyesore in my kitchen. However, as you all know, I hate throwing things away –so I thought I'd breathe new life into them. In this article, I thought I'd show you how to go about recycling old placemats.

So here is my way of using that hideous pile of placemats without throwing them out (with the bonus of reducing my out-of-control fabric stash). I have used cotton and linen canvas fabric. It is the perfect hardy textile for the kitchen. 

Materials

• Old placemats
• Fabric (canvas, cotton twill, upholstery, waxed cotton or any fabric that is used to make cushions or cover a sofa) depending on how many are you planning to cover. You can estimate about 1/2 yard per placemat but best to measure as detailed below.
• Thread to match

Tools

• Rotary cutter
• Cutting mat
• Sewing machine

For more recycling projects, you might want to check these 101 Creative Ideas to Recycle Denim Jeans.