Flamingo Toes

Thanksgiving Chalk Cloth Placemats

77 Comments

We have been enjoying writing down the things we are thankful for on our Write On Frame – and surprisingly they are not all cured meats. ;)

But it got me thinking about my little nieces – they are really too young for something like that. I thought these fun Chalk cloth placemats would be perfect for them. You’ve probably seen Chalk cloth Fabric Placemats around – this is similar but with a Thanksgiving twist!

The placemat says, “I am thankful for” and they can draw out what they’re thankful for, and easily erase it and draw something new.

(No laughing at my stick figure family. I’m no Roo. :)

If you are not familiar with Chalk cloth – it’s a black leather-like fabric designed to be used just like a chalkboard, but you can sew it. Sweet huh?
I ordered mine from Fabric.com, but I believe that is is available at Joann’s now. You can’t wash it – it just wipes clean with a cloth.

Here’s what you need if you’d like to make a placemat or two for your little ones!

Materials:

  • Chalk cloth – 14 1/2″ x 18″ per placemat
  • Fabric for backing – same size
  • bias tape or similar binding
  • paint pen
  • chalk

Cut your placemat pieces out.

Place your pieces together, wrong sides together. If you pin the pieces together, pin them very close to the edge so the binding will cover the holes.

Sew your binding around the edges of the placemat. I used two rows of straight stitching. One placemat takes most of a package of double fold quilt binding.

Using a paint pen, write out what you’d like to say across the top of the placemat. I wrote, “I am thankful for . . .” across the top and then some of the leaves from the fabric in the bottom right corner. I am going to add each girl’s name in front of the leaves because you know it’s always easier when things are marked with names. ;)

To prepare the chalk cloth for writing on, rub a piece of chalk over the whole placemat.

Wipe all the chalk off with a damp cloth and you’re ready to start coloring!

I also decorated a small jar to keep chalk in. I cut a strip of fabric, hemmed the ends, and sewed it in half.

Sew two stitching lines along the piece – so that the lines divide the rectangle into thirds.

Cut a small piece of ribbon that is long enough to tie around the rim of your chalk holder. Thread the ribbon through the center casing – between the two stitching lines.

Do not watch t.v. while threading the ribbon through the casing and pull it all the way completely through to the other side. Twice.

Tie the ruffle around your chalk holder – I used a little ball canning jar. So cute.

All done!! Time to start getting creative with your kids!!

I think these would be a really fun way to help your little ones focus on Thanksgiving – you could use it at home or it would be perfect to take out to a restaurant too! It would definitely help keep everyone entertained while you’re waiting for your food. You just erase the chalk with a damp paper towel.

It would be fun on Thanksgiving Day too – keeping the kids entertained while they’re waiting not so patiently for Thanksgiving dinner. Hmmmm.

I think I might make one for Mr. F.T.

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Comments

  1. Um this is just too adorable. Thanksgiving is going to be way fun at your house. And I was just tickled by your coordinating ruffly chalk holder. Love it all!

    Reply

  5. I had no idea there was such a thing as chalk board cloth. That is amazing!! I love this project. Maybe I should make two for me and the hubs. On his I will write with a permanent marker, “I’m thankful for my amazing wife” so he’ll never forget. ;)

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  7. I think that you will make Roo proud with your stick figures! ;) I love these placements- they are pretty, functional, AND meaningful… What threw me over the edge was your awesomely cute ruffle for the jar. LOVE that!

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  17. Thanks for visiting my blog! I thought it was funny you said here in CA you don’t have much color in the leaves. I’m in CA, too, although MUCH further north. We’re in the SF Bay area.

    Reply

  18. What a great idea! I love it. . I didn’t know they had chalk fabric. I must copy this one. My grandkids will love it. Thank for stopping by my blog and leaving such a sweet comment. I so appreciate it. And thanks again for sharing your great idea.

    Reply

  34. What a fabulous idea. I have never heard of chalk cloth before. I need to head on over to JoAnns and see if they have any in stock. Probably not now that you have this great project on line. You have great handwriting too. Mine would never look that good.

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  37. LOVE LOVE this! Not only would it be good for the kiddos, but I’m thinking it’d be a cool idea for the adults too! Our family is fun enough that they would enjoy it too! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  38. VERY COOL! You did a great job on this tute. I love it. Thanks.

    I’m trying to come up with a way these could be used for dinner/cocktail parties. lol Surely these could come in handy for some sort of drinking game. I don’t drink but have friends that have alot of parties.

    Reply

  44. Chalkboard placemats, really cute idea! I’ve never worked with that fabric before, it’s something new since I had a kid I guess. Congrats on being picked in the top 10!

    Reply

  46. This is terrific timing. I just bought some of this cloth at the International Quilt Festival (because I knew I could do SOMETHING with it), but wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. Ta-daa! Your blog to the rescue. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply

  49. I only heard of chalkboard FABRIC a few days ago — now I see your post. This is a fantastic idea to use with the kids at Thanksgiving — or year-round! Thanks for stopping by to see me and leaving a comment. YES, you definitely want to stop by my Etsy shop and pick up some Restoration linen cleaner. It’s saved so many old linens and gotten them back into service!

    Reply

  51. Great idea! Adorable to look at and interactive too!

    I’d love to have you and your Thanksgiving placemats join my meme Seasonal Sundays. The link is open until late Monday night. Hope to see you!

    – The Tablescaper

    Reply

  55. How cute! I have had the idea to make something similar only instead of using chalk cloth, spray paint those plastic type placemats with chalkboard paint. I am hoping that works out just as well and then there is no sewing involved… I just need to find some of those cheapo plastic placemats!

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  58. Seriously! How do you do it? Is there a week I haven’t featured you! Simply amazing. Thanks for linking up again and I’m totally featuring you yet AGAIN!

    Reply

  61. This is a wonderful idea! I saw it on Oopsey Daisy and had to head right over to see it all. I am definitely add it to my list of things to do for next year! I even have that same leaf fabric–can’t wait to use it!!

    Reply

  67. This is such a neat idea! We use to make place mats every year in grade school. We had a Thanksgiving meal where we would always sit as the whole entire school. This is a great idea! It would be a lot better than the construction paper style that we did back then.

    Reply

  68. Bev I have a question. When I went to several sites to look into purchasing it had low ratings. Most were that it had a very strong odor that would not go away no matter how hard they tried, the reason for the concern is that my preschoolers are between 3-4 years old and I don’t want to get them sick. It is a little pricey and I don’t want to spend money on something that they won’t use. Also a few said that it did not write and the kids got frustrated but as I can see on your site it looks amazing. Is it washable and will it be same after? Can you please help and calm some of my concerns. Thank you and God Bless. Mrs. Valerie

    Reply

    • Hi Valerie!
      I did not notice a strong odor with my chalk cloth. It smells a little like vinyl, but not bad at all. I gave my nieces the mats and we have had a blast with them, reusing them often. I do use regular chalk with them, not the markers so I’m not sure if that was the problem or not. I have had mine for a while now, so I can’t vouch for the lots they are selling now, but I didn’t have any problem with odor or permanent marks.
      I have seen it in my local Jo-Ann’s – you might try heading in there to see if they carry it and if you notice an odor there? Then you’d be able to check it out in person instead of just ordering it online. Hope that helps!

      Bev

  69. I LOVE this. Thanks for helping me figure out what everyone is getting for Christmas this year! I love that I can do one family gift that is great for kids and adults.

    Reply

  71. I love this idea and will attempt to make these for next Thanksgiving. This one if I can find the time to get the materials. Thanks for sharing on Sunday’s Best Linkup. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

    Reply

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