Finishing Up

We are ready to sew everything together. Make sure each coaster "sandwich" is stacked like this:

Now, with an 1/8 seam allowance, sew around the edges leaving 1.5 in opening for turning. Turn right side out and press each coaster and you are ready to whip stitch the openings closed.

All you need to do now is "stitch in the ditch" or stitch around the edges. Here's what I did...

So cute and so very easy...thanks for sewing along with me this week. If you completed any coasters I've love to see them. Post a link to your blog in the comments so I can check them out. I'd love to see what you've made!

Thanks again Kelli and Rian.

cheers,

crissy

Piecing it together

This is the fun part, sewing these little strips together. It didn't specify in the pattern what the seam allowances for this part were, so I just used 1/8 in since we are working with such small pieces. When you place your pieces together make sure that the seam lines are what line up, not the edges of the fabric. If that doesn't make sense take a look at the picture below.

Just make sure everything is lined up correctly and keep sewing...

Yay! You're done with the tricky part!

Press the seams and then trim those squares down to 4.5 in x 4.5 in. Go ahead and cut out your cotton batting to the same size now too.

We'll sew everything together in my next post.

cheers!

crissy

Guestblogger Crissy : Cutting them out

Hey everyone! I am Crissy the guest blogger for this week. Thanks to Rian and Kelli for this opportunity. Can you believe Thanksgiving is just days away? It's hard to believe that Christmas has snuck up on us once again. That means it's time to start Christmas shopping or sewing, if you haven't already! The ladies here at Presser Foot have done a great job of picking out a few very easy handmade gift ideas. There's nothing better than unwrapping a gift that you know was made especially for you. This week I will be making these - a cute set of coasters designed by Denyse Schmidt.

Let's get started...

I don't know about you but if you are anything like me, time can be precious. Sewing time can be even more precious. These coasters are super easy, super quick and super cute. You can customize them a million different ways and they can be made to match any decor. So first step, pick your fabric. You'll need 6 different prints/solids. Here is what Rian and Kelli sent me:

The colors look great together! You'll need to decide what you want to use for the back of your coaster. I could have used a different back for each coaster but I chose the use only the green print for this set.

Now you've got to cut out 6 squares for the back of the coasters. The squares are 4.5 in x 4.5 in.

Next we will be cutting out the pattern pieces for the front of the coasters. This can be semi tricky, the pattern pieces are small and you have to cut out 6 total of each piece. Like the patterns says, stack three layers of fabric together and cut out the pieces. Repeat this for your other three pieces of fabric and you are done!

Now, the fun part...arranging those pieces. Here's what I came up with.

Easy so far? I thought so too. Stay tuned for sewing...

November giveaway/guestblogger #3

Here is our third giveaway for our month of small handmade gifts - Mix it up Cocktail Toasters by Sew Mama Sew




use this:


to make this:



What you get:

assorted fall fabrics - enough to make 6 matching coasters
batting for the inside of the coasters

This should be everything that you need to make these coasters.

What you do for us:

Make the coasters and post about the process and any other sewing tips as our guestblogger during the week of November 22nd.

If you want to enter this giveaway just leave a comment on this post telling us who you are making this gift for (even if it is yourself). It closes Saturday at midnight.

p.s. don't forget about our other two giveaways currently going on - week #1 and week #2