There I was, on a thrifting adventure. I had walked around the store and didn’t find a single treasure for my cart. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Anyway, I hit the last corner of the store when my eyes spied some cane placemats. With Valentine’s Day decor on my mind, I was certain that a cross stitch heart would look darling on each one.
After all, I had already done a cross stitch project on a broken cane table that I found on the side of the road! And I had been itching to work on another large scale cross stitch project.
My thrifting adventure had been vindicated! Not only had I found a fun treasure with this cane webbing, but I already had a project in mind.
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Cane Placemats for Valentine’s Day Decor
The cane placemats were, admittedly, a little gross. Collecting food debris and God-knows-what over the years…
A little wipe down and some spray paint would take care of that, though. So, I gathered a few paint colors in Valentine’s Day colors.
A cross stitch heart on each one would be pretty simple and straightforward to do. Plus, I already had plenty of chunky yarn from my tennis racket project and my American flag project!
Once the paint on the cane placemats dried, I could get started on the cross stitch heart. But, I needed to design a cross stitch heart pattern that would fit the woven cane.
First, I sketched out the cane webbing on some standard graph paper, counting out the number of “holes” in the cane to match up with the boxes on the graph paper. Then, I sketched out a cross stitch heart pattern that used up as much of the rattan cane as possible.
And like I’ve done before, I cut a long strand of chunky yarn, wrapped one end in painter’s tape, and began stitching.
A note to cross stitch purists- and don’t get mad at me- but with large scale projects like this, I find it makes more sense to complete each “x” individually, instead of going row by row.
The beauty of oversized cross stitch? I was done with the outline of my cross stitch heart in just a few minutes!
From there, I just kept going, filling in my cane placemats with yarn x-stitches until I was satisfied with the results.
Cross Stitch Heart on Cane Placemats
Ready to see how each decoration turned out?
On the placemat that I had spray painted white, I alternated red and pink yarn to fill in my cross stitch heart.
And on the cane that I had painted pink, I used the chunky yarn in white and red. But I also left some of the pink cane showing through.
Now, I thought about hanging my cross stitch hearts on the door or walls, because it would be easy to hang.
But instead, I ended using them in Valentine’s Day vignettes. But either way, I just think they turned out so cute and really breathed fresh life into those sticky cane mats from Goodwill.
Cross stitch, both the dainty kind and this oversized variety, is such a great activity on cold days, too. All I needed was my cane webbing, some chunky yarn, and a favorite show on on TV.
Ok- NOW I’m done with Valentine’s Day decor…I promise!
But the real question….what should I do with the remaining pieces of cane webbing?
If you enjoyed this upcycling idea for Valentine’s Day decor, then you’ll love this vintage valentine decoration with a carpet beater!
And for the easiest Valentine’s Day wreath idea ever, this upcycled chocolate heart box is just perfect!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
How clever, as usual you take something a little sad and make it into something great. Perhaps one of the remaining ones could have clover shape in green for March? And one could get a decorated egg!
LOVE those ideas!
Great upcycle. I’m a big fan of super sized cross stitch. Normal cross stitch is too slow for me. The pink heart is my favourite.
Thanks, Claire! Any time I’ve tried regular cross stitch, I’ve gotten frustrated…so I definitely agree!
Gah, this is so clever, you really have a gift!
Thank you so much, Lisa!
A shamrock!
A DEFINITE possibility!!
so dang cute, i love your cross stitch projects xx
Thank you so much, as always!
I’ve been cross-stitching for years and never even thought of doing this – that is adorable!!! Definitely going to pin and try something like this myself. 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks, Jamie!
Such a unique idea!!!! Love it
Thanks, Rose!
So that’s what you did with those cane mats – very clever and oh so pretty! Something tells me we’ll be seeing the others at Easter *wink* *wink*
Hahaha, you just never know!! 😉
The perfect use for these cane mats, can’t wait to see what you do to the other two! They are perfect for cross stitches and the heart looks fabulous!
Thank you so much, Katrin!
Do I see shamrocks, white and green for St. Patrick’s Day?
That seems to be the front runner idea!!
Your vision always amazes me! What an incredible transformation from yuck to wow! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle! Pinned to share.
~Laurie
Thank you so much, Laurie!!
These are great – You have such an eye!! thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
These are so adorable. Are they placemats? I shall never shy away from them at the thrift store again now that I see their full potential. Love.
Thanks, Jen! I think they were spare inserts for cane-backed and seated chairs, but Goodwill definitely thought they were placemats!
Sarah, you are so smart and clever. I would have never thought to transform the cane seats the way you did. What a cute idea for any holiday. Thanks for sharing at Your Inspired Design.
Thank you so much!!
How clever! You always have such a good eye for how you can use things!
Thank you so much, Chloe!
This is so cute!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Such a cute cross stitch. Thanks for sharing it with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week. So glad you joined us.
Adorable! Thank you for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Create~Bake~Make link party!
Adorable!! I might have to “borrow” this idea! Lucky you found something at the thrift store after all. I hate it when I go & don’t find a thing.
Thanks so much, Florence!
What a clever idea! Wouldn’t have thought of reusing these in any way shape or form! These are so adorable… By the way my sister would love these! Thank You! Adorable!