Red Santa Claus Round Doily Placemat

The jolliest seat at the Christmas table. This round Santa placemat has it all — a red granny-mesh hat with a fluffy white pom-pom, a soft fur brim, a sweet pink face with twinkly eyes and a round red nose, and a deep lacy white beard that spills down into a cheerful red-and-white border. It looks like a lot is going on, and it is, but each part is worked in simple stages that come together beautifully.

About this design

Santa is built from the face outward. You begin with a flat pink circle for the face, add the eyes, nose and a mustache, then work the white beard downward in rows of open shells. The red hat is a granny-mesh crescent worked across the top with a white fur-trim band and a separate pom-pom sewn on. Finally the whole round is framed with a red-and-white granny-and-bobble border and a picot edge, so the placemat sits flat and reads as a perfect circle.

Pro tips for a flawless finish

Keep the pink face circle flat — if it ruffles you have too many increases, if it cups you have too few, so recount to a clean +增 per round. Work the eyes and nose first and pin everything before sewing so Santa’s expression is just right. Keep the beard shells loose and open for that soft, lacy look, and stuff the pom-pom full and trim it into a tight ball so it holds its shape in the wash.

Blocking & finishing

Press the whole placemat under a damp cloth so the circle lies perfectly flat and the beard shells open up. Do not flatten the pom-pom — fluff it after blocking. Sew all appliqué pieces (eyes, nose, mustache, pom-pom) with several secure passes so they survive repeated washing.

How to style it at home

Set one at each place with a sprig of pine, a red bauble and a candle, or use a single Santa as a centrepiece under a cake stand. A whole set around the table is pure Christmas joy.

Ready to make it?

The full written pattern — materials, round-by-round instructions, abbreviations, FAQ and troubleshooting — is all right here on this page, 100% free. This is an advanced make, so work it part by part — face, beard, hat, border — block it flat, and enjoy every stitch. When you finish you will have a cheerful Christmas heirloom you will reach for every December.

It's the placemat that makes everyone smile before the meal even starts — a proper handmade Christmas heirloom you'll bring out every single year.

Make the hat in green or buffalo-check colours, or work a whole family of them in different sizes for big and little plates.

Amigurumi (Japanese: ami = knitted/crocheted + nuigurumi = stuffed toy) is the craft of making small crocheted characters. You start with a magic ring, work in continuous spiral rounds of single crochet, and shape the piece through increases and decreases — no seams, no joins, no turning.

The magic ring creates a closable centre with no hole. Wrap yarn around two fingers, insert the hook, yarn over and pull through. Work your first round into this ring, then pull the tail to close tight. Practise a few times — it becomes effortless quickly.

The invisible decrease — insert your hook through the front loop only of the first stitch, then the front loop only of the second stitch. Yarn over, pull through both loops, then yarn over again and pull through the remaining two. Working through front loops only makes the decrease blend into the fabric instead of leaving a bump.

Tension matters most. Amigurumi needs tight, firm tension so stuffing can't show through. If you can see white fiberfill peeking between your stitches, go down one hook size. The fabric should feel dense and firm — like a tightly woven canvas, not a loose net.