Handmade Holidays. . .Quilted Coasters

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Between now and Christmas I am hoping to have a little series called "Handmade Holidays".  I'm  planning on posting ideas for simple, handmade gifts and decor.  November and December are always busy so I'm not sure how much I will be able to fit in, but I'm going to try my best!

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First up are these cute, quilted coasters.  These are really simple - if you are a beginner sewer these are a perfect project to try.

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The idea for these came form the October 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living.  And yes, I still have the issue!  MSL is the only one of my magazine subscriptions that I save...the issue are so beautiful and I just can not bring myself to throw them out.  At some point it's going to become a problem but for now - I'm keeping them!

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{Click here for the original article and directions from MSL)

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Supplies:

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- fabric (all the fabric I used was scraps from other projects!)

- batting

- rotary cutter & straightedge or scissors

- thread

- sewing machine

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1. Pre-wash and iron fabric.

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2.  Use your rotary cutter to cut fabric.  For each coaster you will need a strip of fabric 4-1/2" wide x 10" long.  If you are using scraps and don't have pieces 10" long, just cut two pieces 4-1/2" x 5"

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3. Cut batting to 4" squares.

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4. Fold 4-1/2" x 10" strips in half, right sides together.  Sew up each side using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Leave the top open.

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5.  Here's how it will look after the two sides are sewn.  Clip the two bottom corners.  It will make the finished corners neater.

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If you are using two pieces instead of the long strip, just sew along three sides.  It will look like this:

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6.  Now, you need to get the batting in.  This is the easiest way I've found.  Lay the batting on top of the fabric, hold batting in place with one hand, and turn right side out with your other hand.  I found this to be much easier than turning the fabric right side out and then trying to squeeze the batting in.

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Use a pencil to push out the corners completely.

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Now it looks like this:

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And the batting is all nice and snug on the inside:

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7.  Fold the open edges of fabric in so your coaster looks like this:

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8.  Starting at the open edge, start sewing all along the edges, creating a square.  Make sure to back stitch a few stitches when you get to the end. 

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When you are finished with the first square the coaster will look like this:

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9.  Keep sewing concentric squares until you near the middle.

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That's it!

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Here is the finished coaster along with a few others I made:

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Tie up four or six of the coasters with ribbon, add a tag, and you have a cute little gift.  Wouldn't these make nice stocking stuffers, hostesses gifts, or teacher gifts?

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Linking to:

Just a Girl: Handmade Holidays