An Easy DIY: Weave This Colorful Placemat Today

Add some color to your tabletop with this woven circular placemat.

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We're obsessed with all things weaving, so today (it's almost Spring!), we're weaving a placemat. Here's how to brighten up your table in a snap.

By Roxy Taghavian for Brit + Co.

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What You'll Need:

  • Cardboard
  • Charger plate
  • Yarn
  • Rope
  • Pom poms
  • Ruler or straight edge
  • Scissors
  • Pen
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Step 1: Trace your charger onto a large piece of cardboard. If you want a larger placemat, you can trace any circular template you have at home. Or summon your inner math genius and use a compass. Then, divide your circle into 32 parts using your straight edge and pen. It's easiest to start by splitting the circle into quarters, then splitting those into eighths, and so on.

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Step 2: Now cut the circle out, leaving a margin around the edge. Cut into the cardboard along each line, stopping at the edge of your drawn circle. Time to prepare the loom! Take a piece of rope and file it through one of your slits. Pull it across the circle following the line and then wedge it into the slit opposite the first. Bring it along the backside of the cardboard and then pull it through the slit right next to the first one. Drag it across and place it in the slit on the other side. Keep following the lines and you'll be set.

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Step 3: Once you've completed the circle, tie the loose ends on the back side of the cardboard. Turn your loom over and cut a your first piece of yarn. We made ours about a foot long. Tie the yarn to one of the pieces of rope as close to the center of the circle as you can.

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You've been waiting so long, and now it's finally time to weave! File your yarn under and over the rope continuing around the circle and pulling it tight along the way.

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Tip: To add a second color, cut a piece of yarn and tie it to the end of the first. Trim the ends and tuck them in so that they are on the bottom side of your weaving. Continue threading the yarn under and over the rope. Every once in a while, you can go under two pieces and that will vary where the rope shows.

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Step 4: Continue adding layers of yarn using the under/over pattern. Remember to pull your material tight as you move around the loom! This is not a quick project, so we recommend you weave while watching your favorite new show. When you finish, tie your last piece of yarn to a section of the weaving.

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Looking good!

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Step 5: Removing it from the cardboard is really simple. First untie the knot you made at the beginning of the project. Then cut all of the rope and pull it off of the cardboard.

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Step 6: You can add tassels or pom poms to the edge of your mat, but we decided to keep ours clean. To do so, take two loose ends that are next to each other and tie them together. Flip the placemat over and then thread the same ends through a piece of yarn. Tie a second knot and trim the ends.

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All your hard work paid off! This placemat is so vibrant and beautiful. It's not just a quick DIY, it's really a work of art. Here are a few place settings we styled with our new favorite placemat.

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We love how it peeks out the sides of the plate.

This placemat also works well as a serving mat for tea or a centerpiece with flowers.

This story originally appeared on Brit + Co.

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