Warmer weather is finally here! Spring is my favorite season of the year. I love to watch everything shake itself off and awaken after it's long winter nap. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the days are getting longer and hotter. Here in Colorado it is dry, dry, dry. It's really easy to get dehydrated, especially in the summertime. I thought this would be a great time to make some really simple drink coasters.
Here is what you need:
1. Two 5 x 5 inch squares of cotton fabric.
2. One square of felt. I used white since my fabric is light colored.
3. *Optional: A Rotary cutter. This pizza cutter looking device is really great for cutting fabric. If you sew a lot, it is a great thing to have.
4. * Optional: Clear plastic sewing ruler. This is also another tool that makes measuring and cutting so much easier!
5. Sewing Machine
6. Coordinating Thread
Lay your felt down first, then one of the cotton fabric squares right side up (printed side facing up). Lastly, place your second piece of cotton fabric printed side down.
These are what your little 'sandwich' should look like: Felt at the bottom, first cotton square with the print side up, second cotton square with the print side down.
Get a pencil and mark a guide line for sewing. I used a 1/2 inch border around for a seam allowance and a 3 inch opening to turn the coaster inside out after sewing. This is where the see through ruler is very handy.
Start by sewing at the beginning of one of the openings. When you reach the corner, put your needle down into the fabric, lift the presser foot, and pivot the fabric around the corner. Continue this until you reach the other marking for the opening you made.
Here is how it looks after sewing.
Carefully snip the corners. This makes them less bulky and more defined once it is turned inside out. Now you are ready to turn it inside out through the opening.
A chopstick is really helpful here to poke out the corners.
Now press the whole thing together (It helps to press the opening closed) and topstitch very close to the edge. The corners are quite thick so go nice and slow. I had to kind of pull the fabric through a little to get over the thickest parts.
As a finishing touch, I made diagonal lines to form an 'x' over the top of the coaster.
Trim off all the excess little threads to neaten them up. I pressed them with an iron to finish them off.
That's all there is to it. I love having these on hand for those cold extra drippy drinks with condensation running down the sides onto my wood table! They are also padded for hot drinks like coffee and tea. These would be a great hostess gift for a summer bbq or housewarming, as well.
These would be paired so nicely with the FANCY DISH GLOVES, and FABRIC DISH TOWELS, too!
If you like the citrus fabric, you can find it HERE at my Spoonflower shop.
Thanks for visiting!
Pam