Plastic canvas gets a cool new look with this DIY raffia placemat project.
If “plastic canvas” makes you think of yarn and tissue box covers, then get ready for something different. When the Crafts Unleashed design team was challenged to create a project with plastic canvas a few years ago, I started looking for alternate materials to use with the canvas. It turned out that raffia works beautifully with this type of crafting, and the end result is a natural, artisan style finished product!
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.
DIY Raffia Placemat Supplies
To make your own DIY raffia place mats:
Wrap the edges of the placemat with raffia. I wrapped a small piece of washi tape around the end of the raffia to keep it from fraying.
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 place mat’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.
When the center zig zag 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. Oh, maybe a bracelet? What would you create with raffia and plastic canvas?
