Woven Charger Plates

Woven charger or placemat: what is the difference?

A woven charger is a round base that sits under the dinner plate and frames the place setting. A placemat covers a wider job, and a rectangular one has room for more than the plate. The pieces on this page are round placemats that we also sell as charger plates, so each one can do either job, and the DOL LA VA listing describes it as both a placemat and a decorative charger plate. For every round design, including a smaller 25 cm (10 in) piece, see our round woven placemats.

Sizing a woven charger against your dinner plate

All ten chargers here are listed at 30 cm (12 in) across. Measure your dinner plate from rim to rim before you order. A plate narrower than the charger leaves a ring of weave showing around it, and the smaller the plate, the wider that ring. A plate of 30 cm (12 in) or more will cover the charger, so a 46 x 36 cm (18 x 14 in) rectangular placemat suits that plate better. Each piece is handmade, so the listings note slight variations in size, colour and weave. Each listing describes one round piece, so add one for every place setting.

Woven chargers in water hyacinth, sedge and rattan

JI RA PREE YA, KA RAN, KO RA WAT and THI PA NAN are water hyacinth chargers, and you can compare them with other designs in our water hyacinth placemats. Lavin is sedge with an open weave border, MON CHI TA is banana leaf sheath and DOL LA VA is rattan. The listings for KUL CHA, PI TI MON and NA RA DEE do not name a material, so check the photos on those product pages if the fibre matters to you. All ten are handwoven in Thailand.

Layering woven chargers on the table

Lay the charger first, centre the dinner plate on it, then add a side plate or bowl on top if the meal calls for one. Using the same design at every seat gives a tidy, matching table, while mixing two designs of the same size adds some variety without changing the spacing. For a wedding, a restaurant or another large table, placemats can be bought in bulk by enquiry: see our bulk placemats page.