27 Free Crochet Placemat Patterns That Actually Lay Flat
Below are 27 free patterns, grouped by shape, with the yarn weight, finished size and stitch technique listed for every single one — so you can match a pattern to the yarn already in your stash instead of clicking through fifteen tabs. There is a size chart, a yarn guide and a fix for curling edges further down.
Short on time? Beginners should start with Jo to the World's Easy Placemat — moss stitch, one colour, and it is specifically designed to lie flat. For a round mat, Stitching Together's spider stitch is the most forgiving. For a showpiece, Placemat Sanna in filet crochet.
Pick Your Pattern in 30 Seconds
| If you want… | Go to | Shape | Yarn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your first placemat ever | #15 Easy Placemat | Rectangle | Worsted |
| A weekend stash-buster | #10 Color Block | Rectangle | Worsted |
| Modern colourwork | #11 Mosaic Placemat | Rectangle | Sport |
| A round mat that lies flat | #19 Spider Stitch Round | Round | Worsted |
| Something lacy and formal | #4 Table Lace | Rectangle | Worsted |
| An unusual shape | #22 Cotton Hexagon | Hexagon | Worsted |
| A full set with coasters | #20 Table Placemat Set | Rectangle | DK |
| Fine thread work | #8 Autumn Leaf | Leaf | Thread |
Rectangle & Square Crochet Placemat Patterns
Rectangles are the easiest shape to get right because you work in rows — no increase maths, no risk of a rippling edge. Standard rectangular placemats run roughly 18 × 12 inches, which most of these patterns hit or let you adjust.
1. Nutmeg Nibbles Fall Placemat — Heart Hook Home
- Yarn: DK — Yarn Bee Nutmeg Nibbles Sugarwheel Cotton
- Shape: Rectangle · Level: Advanced beginner
A self-striping sugarwheel cotton does the colour work for you, so a simple textured stitch reads as far more complex than it is. The best feature is scalability: keep going past placemat length and the same pattern becomes a matching table runner, which is how you get a coordinated table from one skein family.
Get the free pattern at Heart Hook Home →
2. Nordic Style Placemat — Norica S.P.
- Yarn: Aran — Garnstudio DROPS Bomull-Lin
- Shape: Rectangle · Extras: Video tutorial included
Fully reversible, which matters more than people expect — a reversible mat has no wrong side to hide, so a slightly uneven edge never shows. The cotton-linen blend gives it a dry, matte finish that does not go limp after washing, and the included video removes the guesswork from the stitch pattern.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
3. Red Heart Table Lace Placemat — Yarnspirations
- Yarn: Worsted — Lion Brand Pima Cotton
- Finished size: 14″ × 21″ · Level: Beginner
Unusually generous at 21 inches wide, so it comfortably holds a full place setting with cutlery either side — most free patterns run short here. It reads as vintage lace but is built from basic stitches, making it the rare formal-looking mat a beginner can genuinely finish.
Get the free pattern at Yarnspirations →
4. Lily Mosaic Crochet Placemat — Yarnspirations
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream
- Finished size: 12.5″ × 18″ · Level: Intermediate
Mosaic crochet gets you two-colour geometry without ever carrying yarn across the back — you work one colour per row and skip stitches to reveal the row below. That means no floats, no tangling, and a dense double-sided fabric that is genuinely well suited to a placemat.
Get the free pattern at Yarnspirations →
5. Checkerboard Placemats — Yarnspirations
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream
- Shape: Rectangle · Level: Advanced beginner
A two-colour block grid that hides stains better than any plain mat on this list — useful if these will live on the table daily rather than come out for guests. Pair a dark base with a neutral border and they stay presentable far longer between washes.
Get the free pattern at Yarnspirations →
6. Mad For Plaid Crochet Placemat — Yarnspirations
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream
- Shape: Rectangle · Best for: Using up oddments
The thin plaid striping means no single colour needs much yardage, so this is the pattern to reach for when you have eight half-balls and no plan. Because the stripes are narrow, mismatched dye lots simply disappear into the design.
Get the free pattern at Yarnspirations →
7. Color Block Placemat — Yarn + Chai
- Yarn: Worsted — Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton
- Shape: Rectangle · Level: Beginner
Thick blocks mean very few colour changes, which is the real beginner win — every ends-weaving session is short. Lion Brand 24/7 is mercerised, so it has a subtle sheen and holds its shape better than standard kitchen cotton after repeated washing.
Get the free pattern at Yarn + Chai →
8. Mosaic Crochet Placemat — Made by Gootie
- Yarn: Sport — KnitPicks Shine Sport
- Finished size: 15.3″ × 12.2″ · Level: Intermediate
Sport weight on a mosaic design gives finer, tighter geometry than the worsted mosaic patterns here — closer to a woven textile than a crocheted one. Worth the extra rows if you want something that does not read as obviously handmade.
Get the free pattern at Made by Gootie →
9. Spike Stitch Placemats — Schachenmayr
- Yarn: Sport — Schachenmayr Catania
- Shape: Rectangle · Stitch: Spike stitch
Spike stitches drop down into rows below to create long vertical dashes of colour, producing a 1970s geometric look with none of the colourwork complexity. Catania comes in a very large shade range, so this is the pattern to use if you are matching an existing colour scheme exactly.
Get the free pattern at Schachenmayr →
10. Moss Stitch Table Mat — Nordic Hook
- Yarn: DK — Cascade Ultra Pima
- Finished size: 25 × 33 cm · Level: Beginner
Smaller than a standard placemat at 25 × 33 cm, which makes it ideal as a mug-and-plate mat for a coffee table or a side table rather than a full dinner setting. Moss stitch is the single most reliably flat stitch in crochet, so this one needs almost no blocking.
Get the free pattern at Nordic Hook →
11. Easy Placemat — Jo to the World
- Yarn: Worsted — Loops & Threads Impeccable, approx. 240 yds per mat
- Hook: G/6 (4.25 mm) · Finished size: 18″ × 12″ (excl. tassels)
- Gauge: 9 sc and 16 rows = 4″ · Level: Easy
The most thoroughly documented pattern in this roundup and my pick for a first placemat. It starts with a chain of 77 and runs about 48 rows of moss stitch, and the designer is explicit that the stitch choice is what makes it lie flat. Width adjusts in multiples of 2 + 1 chains, so resizing is genuinely simple rather than trial and error. A video covers the tassel fringe, including how to trim the ends evenly.
Get the free pattern at Jo to the World →
12. Farmhouse Crochet Place Mat — Lulo Stitch Co.
- Yarn: Worsted — Bernat Handicrafter Cotton
- Finished size: 12″ × 18″ · Level: Advanced beginner
Same flat moss-stitch body as #11 but framed with a puff stitch border, which adds weight to the edges — and weighted edges are the cheapest insurance against curling. If you have made a placemat before and been annoyed by lifting corners, this construction solves it structurally rather than with blocking.
Get the free pattern at Lulo Stitch Co. →
13. Seashore Bliss Placemat — Made by Gootie
- Yarn: Worsted — Knit Picks Dishie
- Technique: C2C with mini bean stitch · Level: Advanced beginner
Worked corner to corner, so the stripes run on the diagonal and the fabric has a woven texture rather than a stitched one. Because C2C grows on the bias, you can stop whenever the mat reaches the size you want instead of counting rows — handy if your table is an odd size.
Get the free pattern at Made by Gootie →
Round Crochet Placemat Patterns
Round mats are where curling usually happens. The fix is arithmetic: each round needs the correct number of increases spaced evenly, or the mat either cups (too few) or ruffles (too many). Every pattern below has that worked out already. Standard round placemats are 13–15 inches across.
14. Mandala Placemats — Knitting with Chopsticks
- Yarn: Sport — Schachenmayr Catania
- Shape: Round · Best for: Stash busting
Each round is a different colour, so this eats small quantities of many shades — the classic stash-buster structure. Make all four identical for a formal set, or vary the colour order on each for a deliberately mismatched look that still reads as a set.
Get the free pattern at Knitting with Chopsticks →
15. Whit’s Knits Granny Circle Placemats — Purl Soho
- Yarn: DK — Cascade Ultra Pima
- Finished size: 14″ diameter · Level: Beginner
Granny clusters worked in the round, which is about as repetitive and low-concentration as crochet gets — the right project for stitching while watching something. The open fabric means it doubles as a trivet-style mat under a serving bowl without trapping heat.
Get the free pattern at Purl Soho →
16. Simple Boho Placemat & Coaster — This Pixie Creates
- Yarn: Worsted — Yarn Bee Comfy Classic
- Shape: Round · Time: A couple of hours
Two hours start to finish, with a matching coaster pattern included — the fastest complete place setting here. There is a video tutorial specifically for the pom pom border, which is the part most people get wrong by spacing them unevenly.
Get the free pattern at This Pixie Creates →
17. Spider Stitch Round Placemat — Stitching Together
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream
- Shape: Round · Stitch: Spider stitch in the round
Spider stitch produces a slightly open, springy fabric that absorbs small tension inconsistencies — which is exactly why it is the most forgiving round pattern on this list. You need to be comfortable increasing in the round, but the stitch itself hides beginner wobble better than plain double crochet ever will.
Get the free pattern at Stitching Together →
18. Säde Placemats — Heidi Heinrichs
- Yarn: DK — Garnstudio DROPS Muskat
- Finished size: approx. 12″ diameter
Finished with crab stitch — reverse single crochet — which creates a firm corded edge that resists stretching. On a round mat that edge is doing real structural work, not just decoration, and it is the reason these hold their circle shape through washing.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
19. Lacy Mandala Placemats — Fille Wegler
- Yarn: Fingering — Cotton Kings Cotton 8/4
- Level: Intermediate · Extras: Written and photo instructions
Fingering weight takes this out of placemat territory and into modern doily — delicate enough for a formal table, and the only pattern here that genuinely benefits from starching rather than just blocking. Both written and photographed instructions are provided, which matters at this stitch size.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
20. Mandala Placemats in Four Sizes — Paula Heckathorn
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar’n Cream Solids & Denim
- Special stitches: Spike dc, 3tr cluster, 2dc cluster, picot
Four sizes from one pattern means you can crochet a coaster, a mug mat, a placemat and a centrepiece that all match exactly — the most efficient route to a fully coordinated table in this roundup. The stitch list is varied enough to keep it interesting across all four.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
Oval, Hexagon & Novelty Shapes
21. Crochet Oval Placemat — Crafting Each Day
- Yarn: Worsted — Lion Brand Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling
- Shape: Oval · Level: Advanced beginner
Ovals suit narrow tables better than circles because they follow the table’s length rather than fighting it. The anti-pilling yarn choice is deliberate and worth copying — placemats get abraded by plates and cutlery more than almost any other home item.
Get the free pattern at Crafting Each Day →
22. Picot Fan Placemat — Jennifer Edwards
- Yarn: Worsted — Peaches & Creme Original Solids
- Finished size: 13.5″ × 18″ · Stitches: sc, hdc, dc
A vintage fan-and-picot edge built from only three basic stitches — proof that an ornate look does not require difficult technique. At 13.5 × 18 inches it is a true full-size mat rather than a decorative doily.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
23. Autumn Leaf Placemat — Sylwia SzB
- Yarn: Crochet thread — Ariadna Kaja
- Shape: Leaf · Level: Intermediate
The only genuinely novelty shape here, and it scales with your yarn: work it in thread for a doily, or size up to worsted and it becomes a full seasonal placemat. Also works as an appliqué on a plain mat if you want the leaf without the whole project.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
24. The Cotton Hexagon Placemats — Only As Brave
- Yarn: Worsted — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream
- Shape: Hexagon · Level: Beginner
A hexagon is far easier than a circle — six fixed corners instead of continuous increasing, so there is no ruffling to manage. It also tessellates, meaning six of these can be pushed together into a table runner. The most quietly clever pattern in this collection.
Get the free pattern at Only As Brave →
Placemat Sets & Matching Pieces
25. Easy Crochet Placemats with Fringe — For the Frills
- Yarn: Worsted — WeCrochet Dishie
- Sizes: Three — coaster, bowl mat, full place setting
One pattern written in three sizes, so a single afternoon produces a coordinated coaster, a mat for a serving bowl and a full place setting. The fringe adds visual weight at the short ends, which also helps the mat sit flat under a plate.
Get the free pattern at For the Frills →
26. Table Placemat Set — Cream of the Crop Crochet
- Yarn: DK — Cascade Ultra Pima
- Includes: Placemat plus matching coasters
- Stitches: sc, dc, tr
Looks considerably harder than it is — the lacy effect comes from combining single, double and treble crochet at different heights rather than from any specialised technique. If you want a set that photographs well for gifting, this is the one.
Get the free pattern at Cream of the Crop →
27. Crochet Placemat Sanna — Saskia Paulich
- Yarn: Aran — Garnstudio DROPS Paris
- Technique: Filet crochet, diamond motif
Filet crochet in aran weight is an unusual and very effective combination — the technique is normally worked in fine thread, so at this scale the diamond grid becomes bold and graphic rather than delicate. The best-looking finished piece on this list, and worth the extra concentration.
Get the free pattern on Ravelry →
How to Stop a Crochet Placemat From Curling
This is the problem that ruins more placemats than any other. Four causes, in the order they are worth checking:
- The stitch is wrong for the job. Rows of plain single crochet curl at the edges by nature. Moss stitch, linen stitch and mosaic crochet produce naturally flat fabric because the chain spaces release tension. Patterns #10, #11 and #12 above all use this to their advantage.
- Your increases are off. On a round mat, too few increases cup the fabric into a bowl; too many make the outer rounds ruffle. If your circle is cupping, add an increase round; if it ripples, work a plain round with no increases.
- The edges have no weight. A firm border — crab stitch, puff stitch, or a couple of rounds of single crochet — anchors the perimeter. Patterns #12 and #18 solve curling this way.
- You skipped blocking. Wet the finished mat, pin it to shape on a towel or blocking mat, and let it dry completely. Cotton holds a block very well. This step takes ten minutes of work and fixes most remaining problems.
Standard Placemat Sizes
| Type | Size | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rectangle | 18″ × 12″ | Everyday full place setting |
| Large rectangle | 20–21″ × 14″ | Holiday tables, extra cutlery |
| Standard round | 13–15″ diameter | Round tables, casual settings |
| Oval | 13.5″ × 18″ | Narrow or oval tables |
| Small / mug mat | 10″ × 13″ | Coffee tables, side tables |
| Coaster | 4–5″ | Matching sets |
Leave at least two inches between mats on the table. If your table seats six on a 72-inch top, standard 18-inch mats are the largest that will fit comfortably.
Best Yarn for Crochet Placemats
Cotton is the default, and for good reason. It is absorbent, washes repeatedly without felting, and holds a block. Worsted-weight cotton is the sweet spot for everyday mats — Lily Sugar ‘n Cream, Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, Knit Picks Dishie and Bernat Handicrafter all appear repeatedly in the patterns above.
- Worsted cotton — durable, fast, forgiving. Start here.
- DK and sport cotton — finer detail, better for mosaic and lace designs, more rows.
- Cotton-linen blends — crisp and matte, stay flat well, do not go limp with use.
- Acrylic — works, and is colourfast and washable. Less absorbent, so it handles spills poorly. Avoid under hot dishes.
One practical note: choose a mid-tone or variegated colour if these will be used daily. Pale solids show every coffee ring.
Crochet Placemat FAQ
What is the best stitch for a crochet placemat?
Moss stitch (also called linen or granite stitch) is the most reliable choice. The alternating single crochet and chain-one structure creates a dense, flat, reversible fabric with no curl. Mosaic crochet and C2C also produce flat results. Rows of plain single crochet are the most likely to curl.
How much yarn does one crochet placemat use?
Roughly 200–250 yards of worsted-weight cotton for a standard 18″ × 12″ mat. Jo to the World’s pattern above specifies approximately 240 yards per placemat, which is a good planning figure. A set of four needs about 1,000 yards, or four standard skeins.
How long does it take to crochet a placemat?
A simple round boho mat takes about two hours. A standard moss stitch rectangle takes four to six hours. Lacy and mosaic designs run longer — expect eight to ten hours for a detailed filet or fingering-weight mandala.
Should crochet placemats be washed?
Yes. Cotton mats can go in the machine on a gentle cycle in a mesh bag, then be laid flat to dry. Reshape while damp. Avoid the tumble dryer, which distorts the fabric and shrinks cotton.
Are crochet placemats heat resistant?
Cotton handles warm plates fine, but no single-layer crochet mat should be treated as a trivet. For hot pans, use a doubled or double-thick mat. Acrylic in particular can melt under high heat.
What size should a crochet placemat be?
Standard rectangular placemats are 18 inches wide by 12 inches tall. Round mats are 13 to 15 inches in diameter. Nearly every pattern above can be resized by adding or removing rows or rounds.
What to Make Next
Once you have a set of placemats, the natural follow-ons are a matching table runner and coasters worked in the same stitch — several of the designers above publish all three as a coordinated collection.
All patterns listed here are free and belong to the designers credited. Photographs are used with attribution and link back to each original pattern page. Pattern details verified September 2026 — if a link has moved, please let us know in the comments.
