A Budget-Friendly Ikea Placemat Straw Bag Hack

Straw and raffia bags and baskets are all the rage this season. I had fantasized about making my own, but it seemed like too much of a learning curve for me. Until one day, inspiration struck at pretty unexpected place: Ikea.

I cannot remember what I was there for. Probably to feed my #homejungle fever (I still cannot get over the luxuriant monstera I got there). As I walked down the stairs, my eyes were drawn to the placemat selection, especially the ones made with natural fiber, such as palm leaf and water hyacinth.

I looked at them, selected a couple, and as I was piling them up, I realized I could use them to make something creative and surprising. Giddy with excitement, I got three different models.

To add to my luck, I also found natural ribbons to tie my placemats together. We might all have string and twine at home, but I figured I'd make this a complete Ikea hack!

Straw Bag DIY

Straw and raffia bags and baskets are all the rage this season. While vintage ones are rare finds, new models can be pricey. So I came up with this $10 Ikea hack.

Active time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min

Supplies

• 2 Ikea Samtliga placemats
• Ikea Givande Ribbon

Tools

• A pair of scissors

Instructions

• Cut 80 to 90 inches of ribbon.

• Align your place mats.

• Tie them together with a first knot.

Tie the knot at the top right or left corner of your bag. Don't tie it too high or the opening of your bag will be too small for you to be able to put larger items in your bag.

• Secure the knot by wrapping ribbon a couple times around it and tying another knot.

• Continue sewing your placemats together until you've reached the opposite corner of your bag.

• Tighten your work.

You want to make sure that smaller items will not fall off your bag between the 2 placemats.

• Tie a final knot at the opposite top corner and secure it.

• Cut six 12-inch-long pieces of ribbon.

You will use these to create your bag's handles.

• Braid 2 handles with three strands each.

• Tie each handle at the top of each placemat.

Tie one handle per mat. Make sure they align and are the same length.

• (optional) Tighten the knots with an additional piece of ribbon and trim the ends.

Notes

I like to put little pouches in my bag, to make sure I do not lose little items.

Do you have Ikea hacks to recommend? I'm on a DIY high and would love to try them.