In order to perk myself out of my summer knitting blues I decided to create something practical for summer. I knit these sampler placemats with the intention of giving them as host/hostess gifts at a summer BBQ (which, by the way, are my favorite part of summer, nothing like a backyard BBQ). Having finished them, I kind of want to keep them. I wanted a bit of fun colour and some different patterns to hold the interest. They are also a ridiculously quick knit as they are made with Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton held doubled on 8mm (US11) needles. One ball per placemat.

There are 4 different stitch patterns and each placemat is knit with a seed stitch border. If your friends are a little more subdued you could go with the undyed organic version of the same yarn. These placemats are a fun and practical little knit, perfect for a gift or to brighten your patio/kitchen table. Although the label says hand wash only, I have machine washed mine and they are a titch smaller but none the worse for wear. Alexa’s Sampler Placemats pattern is available for free here: Alexa’s Placemats