Create a festive Christmas placemat with a scalloped fir-and-holly border, red berries and snowflakes around a clear center for a plate. The finished piece has a white and red satin edge and can become part of a coordinated holiday table setting.
This is a digital ITH machine embroidery design, not a finished placemat. Five prepared versions are included for mega hoops. The whole item is assembled in the hoop: choose a double-sided placemat with stabilizer enclosed inside, or a lighter single-layer version with no backing fabric.
Two In-the-Hoop Assembly Options
Double-sided placemat with stabilizer enclosed inside. Pre-shrink the front and backing using the same care method before cutting. Stitch the front through the placement outline. Without unhooping, turn the hoop over, apply temporary adhesive to the stabilizer and attach the backing with its wrong side against the stabilizer and its right side facing outward. The technical placement line secures the backing. Trim excess front and backing close to the outline without cutting the stitches or stabilizer. The final satin border covers both raw edges and the stabilizer remains between the fabrics.
Lightweight single-layer placemat. Do not attach backing fabric. After the placement outline, trim only the front fabric, stitch the satin edge, then tear the stabilizer away from the reverse after unhooping. Trim thread tails and clean the back. This produces a thinner placemat with no fabric backing and no stabilizer inside.
Technical File Information
| Product type | Digital ITH Machine Embroidery Design |
| Technique | In the hoop (ITH) — the placemat is assembled directly in the embroidery hoop |
| Finished item | Scalloped Christmas placemat with a fir border, holly, berries, snowflakes and satin edge |
| Sizes | 5 |
| Hoops | Mega hoops from 300x300 mm (12x12") |
| Thread colors | 8 Madeira Classic 40 color entries |
| Thread changes | 24 |
| Delivery | Instant digital download after purchase |
Sizes, Stitches and Hoops
| Exact design size and stitch count | Minimum compatible hoop |
|---|---|
| Size: 298.2x266.7 mm (11.74x10.50 "), Stitches: 45900 | 300x300 mm / 30x30 cm / 12x12" |
| Size: 328.0x293.3 mm (12.91x11.55 "), Stitches: 51200 | 360x360 mm / 36x36 cm / 14x14" |
| Size: 359.6x321.5 mm (14.16x12.66 "), Stitches: 55200 | 360x360 mm / 36x36 cm / 14x14" |
| Size: 395.1x353.2 mm (15.56x13.91 "), Stitches: 60600 | 360x500 mm / 36x50 cm / 14x20" |
| Size: 434.0x388.0 mm (17.09x15.28 "), Stitches: 67200 | 450x500 mm / 45x50 cm / 18x20" |
Formats: .dst, .jef, .pec, .vip, .hus, .pes, .exp, .sew, .dat, .vp3, .xxx
Before the first stitch, open the file that matches your hoop and run the machine trace. For large files, use the true embroidery field of your machine rather than the outside dimensions of the frame.
Download ITH Placemat Assembly Instructions (PDF)
Madeira Classic 40 Thread Chart
All five files use eight color entries and 24 thread changes. Follow the thread numbers and the saved order in the file, not the color appearance of a screen preview.
| Color | Swatch | Madeira Classic 40 | Used for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red |
|
1037 | Berries and the final red satin outline | |
| Olive gold |
|
1340 | Fine olive twigs | |
| Brown |
|
1257 | Stems and branches | |
| Green |
|
1369 | Fir needles | |
| Dark green |
|
1397 | Holly leaves | |
| Grey |
|
1010 | Snowflakes | |
| Bright green |
|
1249 | Technical placement line that secures the backing; stitch it in a thread matching your fabric | |
| Light |
|
1004 | Light satin edge |
Why the File Has 24 Thread Changes
The four wreath sections are stitched one after another. After each group of fir needles, twigs, berries and leaves, the machine moves to the next section; the last blocks add snowflakes, the technical backing-placement line, the light edge and the red outline. On a large placemat, stitching every element of one color first can leave stitches visible beneath the satin branch bars. The planned thread order keeps the front clean and reduces long travels on the reverse, especially on a single-needle machine.
Matching Christmas Placemats
Four coordinating ITH placemats for a Christmas table setting.
Fabric, Stabilizer, Needle and Test Stitch
Linen and cotton. Choose stable woven fabric without elastane. Pre-shrink both front and backing before embroidery using the care method planned for the finished placemat. On loose or porous linen, stitch a full test first: fir needles and berries must sit on the surface rather than sink between the threads of the cloth.
Backing stabilizer. For firm linen, start with tear-away Madeira Cotton Soft. A working guide for total support is to divide the fabric weight by 3: in metric, g/m² ÷ 3 = total backing g/m²; in US units, oz/yd² ÷ 3 = total backing oz/yd². For example, 180 g/m² (5.3 oz/yd²) linen needs about 60 g/m² (1.8 oz/yd²) of total support. On open or shifting cloth, use two layers of tear-away stabilizer with temporary adhesive. Madeira Cotton Fix 9439 is useful for a prepared piece that is difficult to hoop.
Velour-like texture and pile. A stable non-pile material with a velour-like surface gives the placemat a more expensive look. On terry, fleece or velour, place Madeira Avalon Film or Sulky Solvy on top so fine branches and berries do not disappear into the pile. Make a test first and follow the manufacturer's guidance for shrinkage and care.
Needle and puckering. Start with a new 75/11 embroidery needle and 40-weight thread; after a test, 80/12 can suit coarse dense linen. Hoop the layers flat without stretching them. If the cloth ripples, first check stabilizer, needle and fixation — not upper-thread tension and not file scaling.
Questions and Answers
Why should I not stitch all berries first and all branches later by color?
Branches and berries overlap in this layout. The programmed order lets the satin branch bars cover the earlier stitches. Color sorting can expose stitches beneath overlap areas and adds unnecessary thread travels to the reverse.
What exactly is Madeira 1249 in this file?
It is a technical placement line that attaches the backing fabric, not a green decorative element. Use a thread that matches your fabric, even though 1249 is shown as a bright-green color entry in the chart.
When do I trim the fabric around the placemat?
Trim after the placement line and before the final satin border. In the double-sided version, trim both front and backing fabric; in the thin version, trim the front only. The final satin border closes the raw edge.
How do I keep a large placemat from shifting in a mega hoop?
Run the trace first, then secure stabilizer and cloth without diagonal tension. On loose linen, bond the layers with temporary adhesive. Do not unhoop between the front embroidery, attaching the backing, the placement line and the final satin border.
Which construction is better for a table placemat?
Choose the double-sided version for a denser, neater placemat with stabilizer enclosed inside. Choose the single-layer version for a lighter mat; after stitching, remove all stabilizer from the reverse.
Why is the satin edge uneven or pulling the cloth?
The usual causes are shrinkage, insufficient support or stretched fabric in the hoop. Pre-shrink the cloth, follow the stabilizer calculation, fit a new needle and test the full construction. Trim close to the placement line without nicking it.
May I resize one of the files?
No — do not resize the file. Do not enlarge or reduce it in the machine or in editing software; choose one of the five prepared versions. Royal Present is not responsible for stitch density, contour shape, satin edge or the result after independent resizing.
How do I open the files after purchase?
Download the ZIP archive to a computer, unzip it and choose the format your machine reads. Copy the individual format file to the USB drive — not the ZIP archive and not a folder containing every format.
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