Thursday, October 8, 2009

Fun and Easy Coasters – A Tutorial

I really love how the bookmarks came out that I made just a couple days ago, and it occurred to me that I could use the same technique to make coasters.  So, here it is (the pattern makes up six at a time):

Supplies:

  • 16 different fabrics: 3" by 4 1/2"
  • Backing fabric: 8 1/2" by 12 1/4"
  • Light weight fabric cut 8 1/2" by 12 1/4" (I used batiste, but a lightweight muslin would also work)
  • Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite: 16 pieces cut 3" by 4 1/2"
  • Fast2Fuse (a stiff double-sided fusible interfacing: 8 1/4" by 12"
  • Decorative thread

Directions:

  1. Fuse the Steam-a-Seam onto the backs of the sixteen fabric rectangles.
  2. Peel off the paper and slice the rectangle into little pieces. (Tip: I used my rotary cutter and did them one by one with the fusible side up).
  3. When you have a pile of little pieces, begin to randomly position them, fusible side facing down, on the lightweight 8 1/2"  by 12 1/4"  fabric.
  4. Keep going until the entire underlying fabric is covered. Tip: Hold it up in front of a light source to find "holes" you may have missed.
  5. Press.
  6. Using a decorative thread, stitch the fused pieces down using random swirling stitch lines.
  7. Iron both the fused section and the backing fabric onto the Fast2Fuse. (It's okay if the front and back fabrics slightly overlap the interfacing).
  8. Trim to 7 1/2" by 11 1/4".
  9. Slice in half to create two 3 3/4” by 11 1/4” rectangles.
  10. Cut three 3 3/4” squares from each of the rectangles.
  11. I use a quarter to slightly round off the corners.
  12. Satin stitch the edges.  (Tip: Using an overlock foot – a #2 for my Bernina 1530 – creates a nice, clean edge).

And that’s it!  All done!  I’m afraid I had a terrible time with color in these photos (the actual colors are yellow, orange, and a deep pink/fuchsia – no purple), and I have to say, they look much cooler in person.

Meanwhile, I’m loving the effect I’m getting with this technique – and Christmas is coming up.  I think my next take using this technique will be to make a trivet.

15 comments:

  1. What a neat technique, and another great reason to horde scraps!

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  2. oh how fun! cant wait to see the trivet!!
    and darn i was just at joanns! i dont have any fast2fuse
    i will have to practice some satin stitching to get it pretty like yours, but i will def be making some
    do you know what you set your lengths at for it? (the satin stitch)
    thanks for the tute

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  3. I love them. It is a great idea.

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  4. wau great idea for small stash :-) Thank you for the nice tutorial.

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  5. It looks very nice! Thanks for the tutorial! :)

    Tatyana from Russia

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  6. Hi Terrie,
    These are great and you used my favorite color combination! I just wanted to let you know that I linked to this tutorial on my website, FaveQuilts.com. You can see the link here:
    http://www.favequilts.com/Table-and-Placemats/Scrap-Collage-Coasters
    Please send me an e-mail when you get the chance to let me know if this is alright. You can get in touch with me through the contact form on the site.
    Thanks!
    Jessica

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  7. Just what I was looking for in doing a cookbook cover for my niece. Thank you for the idea and getting my creative juices going.

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  8. How do I satin stitch the edges of the finished project? I am not too experienced with binding.
    Thanks!
    joannevoth@yahoo.com

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  9. Great project.I hate to throw even the littlest scraps out!

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  10. I can't wait to make mine!

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  11. I just found this through FaveQuilts and love the idea. 3 friends and I just opened a recycled quilt shop in Ballinger TX and we save every little bit of fabric. We use the scraps to fill beds for shelter animals but this is a great project to utilize our scraps also. I also make bookmarks for the library PALS program for homebound people. This is going to be a big hit with them too! Thanks, BritKnits

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  12. Love this!! I love to do collage projects! I am sending this link to a couple of my quilting friends!

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  13. I knew there was a reason for keeping every little scrap. I love this idea and want to make them. We could make them bigger and make hot pads for the table. Thank you for sharing.

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  14. I love this look. Are the coasters moisture resistant?

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