More than likely, many of you have bins overflowing with excess craft supplies. Pretty paper scraps, fabric scraps, ribbons and more, that you just can seem to part ways with. I'm quilty of hoarding all of these supplies and more. For my next GHU52 project, I decided to target one of my many scrap fabric bins and my scrap ribbon jar.
In search of project inspiration on Pinterest, I came across these lovely magnets by Tara Anderson, which are made from paper scraps. Intrigued by the randomness of the pieced pattern, I decided to create something similar – only in coaster form, using fabric and ribbon scraps.
TOOLS & MATERIALS | The Tool & Material list for this project is pretty short and simple - much of it you may have on-hand.
Material List:
- Fabric & Ribbon scraps
- Fabric Tack (optional) I used Dritz Spray Adhesive
- Sewing Machine and various thread colors
- Stiffened Felt
- Circle die or a circle template between 3-4 inches in size (an old coaster would be the perfect template)
- Scissors
- Pinking Shears (optional)
STEP ONE | Cut a square from the stiffened felt, slightly larger than the circle size you plan on using.
STEP TWO | Gather scrap fabrics and ribbons and begin to layer into an random pattern. I found that I like to lay my pattern out before I started to sew the pieces into place, but if you’re feeling wild and crazy you can just build your pattern as you go. As I compiled my patterns, I randomly trimmed and shaped fabric scraps, often times using pinking shears to add an interesting touch.
STEP THREE | One-by-one, spray each fabric strip with fabric tack, place onto the felt and sew into place. Continue to layer and stitch each fabric strip until you have covered your piece of felt. Your sewing can be messy or neat. You can use all one color thread, or you can vary the colors with each fabric strip. The choice is yours!
STEP FOUR | From your finished piece, die cut a circle (I used a Spellbinders die in my Sizzex Big Shot). If you don’t have a die cut machine, you can use a circle template and scissors. I tried both methods and prefered the clean edges the die cut provided.
STEP FIVE | Cut an additional circle of the same size from the stiffened felt. This piece will be used as backing to add additional support and to cover the stitching on the fabric covered felt. Spray fabric tack onto the felt circle and adhere to the back of the fabric covered felt circle.
STEP SIX | Sew around the edge of the stacked circles to hold into place. On some coasters I chose to sew just one row, on others I decided to sew two rows.
STEP SEVEN | Pour a drink and enjoy!
PROJECT NOTES & ADDITONAL OPTIONS | As with any project, there are a hundred and one ways you could go about making felt and fabric coasters. Here are a few things I learned and ideas to make this project your own:
- If you prefer, you can start with a circle as opposed to a square, and trim the excess fabrics off as you layer and stitch. I found I preferred the look of the coasters that were die cut from the square piece. The edges were cleaner and I really liked the look of the stitching that goes clear to the edge.
- Spray tack is optional, but I found it very helpful in holding the small (often wrinkly) scrap fabric strips into place while I sewed them into place.
- For additional support (and extra protection to your tabletops), add sticky-backed cork to the bottom of the finished coaster.
I'd love to hear what you think about the coasters and I'd also love to hear about any fun project you've made using fabric and ribbon scraps. Thanks for stopping by!
The Green Horned Unicorn Project 52 (GHU52) is a personal challenge to create, photograph & post 52 craft projects in 2012. You can read more about in this post.
