Upcycle your recycle: newspaper patterns

I'm in the process of making a set of placemats. Before I could start, I wanted to make a paper pattern so my placemats would fit my small table correctly.

I thought about taping a bunch of pieces of 8-1/2 x 11 printer paper together, but who wants to do that? I figured I could pick up a roll of craft paper the next time I was out, but I hated to have to wait and to spend money on one more thing. So I looked around my house to see if I had something that would work...

And voila! The newspaper that was heading to the recycle bin was big enough and would work perfectly for this project. Why hadn't I thought of it before?

Of course newsprint wouldn't be a good option for light colored fabric, at the risk of getting it dirty, but for darker colors, it's working out just great!

Other options that work: tissue paper, wrapping paper, craft paper, packing paper