YOU WILL NEED:
2 x pieces of cotton or linen fabric: 50cm x 60cm (20in x 23½in)
(I used 2 x tea towels)
Heavy-weight iron-on interfacing: 50cm x 60cm (20in x 23½ in)
Cotton ribbon or herringbone tape: 2cm (¾in) width x 150cm (60in) length
Thread
Tape measure
Iron
Tailors chalk or erasable fabric pen
Scissors
Pins
Sewing Machine
Needle
PREPARE THE FABRIC
1. Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of one of the pieces of fabric, following the
manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Measure, mark and cut out a 9cm x 9cm (3¾in x 3¾in) square from each corner. Repeat with the second piece of fabric.
3. Cut the tape into eight equal-length pieces and pin each piece of tape to the centre of one of the raw edges on the right side of the interfaced fabric. Pin the trailing ends in toward the centre, so they won’t accidentally get caught in a seam.
SEW THE PLATTER
1. Place the second piece of fabric on top, right side down and matching the raw edges. Pin in place. With your machine set to straight stitch, sew round the edges with a 1cm (¼in) seam allowance, leaving a 15cm (6in) gap on one of the long edges. Make sure you don’t accidentally catch any of the pieces of webbing in your stitches.
2. Clip all the corners, then turn the platter right side out, making sure you push fully into all the corners. Iron flat.
3. Turn in the raw edges of the 15cm (6in) gap. Pin in place, then iron flat. Use ladder stitch to hand-sew the gap closed.
FINISHING TOUCHES
1. To neaten each of the ends of the tape, make a double hem: turn the tape in by 0.5cm (1/8 in) and then 1cm (¼in). Machine stitch the hem through all the layers. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end to secure.
2. Topstitch where you will fold up the platter right side out. This will help the platter to sit neatly.
3. Fold each of the four side pieces toward the centre and iron in place – this will ensure a neater finish and give the shape a helping hand. When you want to use the platter, simply tie up the tapes.
