Promenade Placemats - Free Knitting Pattern For Home in Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran

Promenade Placemats – Free Knitting Pattern for Home by Paintbox Yarns

The Promenade Placemats is a free, downloadable knitting pattern from Paintbox Yarns that produces a coordinating set of home accessories: a generously sized placemat and a set of three coasters. The placemat measures 38 cm (15 in) wide by 28 cm (11 in) high, while each coaster is a neat 12 cm (4¾ in) square — perfectly proportioned for everyday table settings or as a thoughtful handmade gift.

What Is Being Made

This pattern covers two distinct home accessories worked in the same design family:

• One placemat – a rectangular table mat sized to comfortably accommodate a dinner plate and cutlery.
• A set of three coasters – small square mats ideal for protecting surfaces from cups and glasses, each worked in a different colour combination for a cheerful, mismatched look.

Together, the placemat and coasters create a cohesive, colour-blocked table accessory set that is both practical and decorative. The finished pieces are worked flat and are seamless, making them straightforward to finish with no sewing up required.

Techniques Used

• Worked flat – all pieces are knitted back and forth in rows on straight needles, making this an ideal project for knitters who prefer flat construction over circular knitting.
• Bottom-up construction – each piece is begun at the lower edge and worked upward to the cast-off edge.
• Seamless finishing – because the pieces are worked flat without seams, finishing is minimal and clean.
• Colour work – the pattern uses multiple yarn colours across the placemat and coasters, introducing simple colour-change techniques that are well suited to a beginner-to-intermediate skill level.
• Tension (gauge) swatching – the pattern strongly emphasises checking tension before beginning, as accuracy directly affects the finished dimensions of each piece.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch) – the primary stitch pattern, formed by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows. This creates a smooth, flat fabric ideal for a placemat surface. Tension is measured over stocking stitch at 20 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 in) using 4mm needles.
• Garter stitch – formed by knitting every row on both right and wrong sides. Garter stitch is commonly used in this type of pattern for borders and edgings, as it lies flat naturally without curling — a particularly useful property for table accessories that need to sit neatly on a surface.
• Knit (K) and Purl (P) – the two fundamental knitting stitches that underpin both stocking stitch and garter stitch sections throughout the pattern.

Materials Required

The pattern is designed specifically for Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran, a 100% cotton yarn sold in 50g balls. Cotton Aran weight yarn is an excellent choice for home accessories: it is durable, washable, and has a smooth finish that shows stitch definition clearly. The following colours are specified:

• Placemat: 1 × Champagne White (Colour A) and 1 × Dolphin Blue (Colour B)
• Coasters (set of three): 1 × Champagne White (Colour A), 1 × Dolphin Blue (Colour B), 1 × Sailor Blue (Colour C), and 1 × Daffodil Yellow (Colour D)

Two sizes of straight knitting needles are required:

• 3¾mm needles (UK 9 / US 5) – typically used for borders or edging sections where a tighter fabric is desirable.
• 4mm needles (UK 8 / US 6) – the primary needle size