DIY: Wedding Cake Mat

By Samina Mirza @seweverything

Hi Masalamommas! Your Aunty back again to show you a DIY “Wedding Cake Mat” you can make very quickly. I made a version myself, in a hurry, for my daughter’s “Wedding French Macaron Tower” using red/gold fabric and metallic gold flower trim. The version featured for you here, has a very feminine, soft, summery, bridal veil look!

NOTE: you can absolutely turn this into a square or rectangular shape, depending on the cake. The instructions are based on a 14” cake displayed on a 30” table.

Here is what you’ll need:

1 yard tulle fabric in white, off white, ecru or color of your choice. More if your table is larger, or if you want the mat to flow further down the table.

1 yard of flower trim (this depends on the circumference of your cake base and the table) as shown, or trim of your choice. You may need more for a larger cake. The bigger and more 3 dimensional the trim, the better the impact.

Rotary cutter or fabric scissors.

Sewing machine (with smallest size machine needle installed. Usually it’s a size 8)

(or hand sewing needles if you would rather do hand sewing)

“Invisible” thread (don’t panic, I’ll explain below) OR thread to match your trim.

Pins (preferable with colored heads for visibility), pencil, marker, ruler, measuring tape

Paper to make the pattern. Feel free to use old newspaper, but be mindful of the printing ink smudging the fabric.

Let’s make this:

Determine the diameter of the widest part of the cake, which is usually the bottom.

Determine the diameter of the bar table (those tall narrow round tables used in hotel receptions during cocktail hour). Your cake may be displayed at a different kind of table. That’s all right; you can use this mat anyway, as long as the cake will fit inside the flower print circle.

Create the paper pattern according to the two diameter measurements above: add at least 12 inches to the bar table diameter to account for a 6-inch “drop” on all sides. Use this total to trace a circle on paper. Cut out the paper circle. Use the cake diameter plus at least 6” to trace an inner circle on the paper; remember to use a marker or easily visible pencil for the inner circle. This is where the trim will be attached.

Spread tulle fabric on the paper pattern. Use pins or weights to keep fabric steady on the pattern surface.

Cut out tulle on the outer circle. I used a zig zag rotary cutter for speed, but fabric scissors are great to use. Do not separate paper and tulle just yet.

Pin fabric and paper together on the inner circle line to keep everything together. Lay out the trim on top of the inner circle and pin down, not including the paper this time. Remove pins from underneath the previous step as you go along. Now the pattern can be separated from the tulle/trim combo.

Thread sewing machine and bobbin with invisible thread. Yes, this is real thread which is made with the most transparent, thinnest strand of polyester. Between the tulle and the invisible thread you’ll now feel like you’re sewing the Emperor’s new clothes. Set the machine to a zigzag stitch; a straight stitch works, too. You may want to try a little test sewing on scraps of leftover tulle and the trim.

Sew the circle of flowers down, right through the center of the flower. You can’t even see the stitches! That is why it’s called the “invisible” thread.

And, you are done! Have fun using this at any festive occasion – a wedding, an engagement, a birthday, Eid, Diwali and so on. Where there’s cake, there should be this cake mat. You can make several versions of this to suit the occasion; just change the style of the trim.

Go forth and sew this up! Please feel free to ask questions!

Love and best regards from Your DIY Aunty,

Samina

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