Monday, February 3, 2014

Valentine Coaster Tutorial Part 1

So I am really excited today because I'm going to share my first tutorial with you!

Now, it is my first time writing a tutorial, so let me know if anything is confusing. :)

Valentine's day is just around the corner, so I thought it would be fun to make some cute little coasters for some folks. 


Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hear some of you. It's a Hallmark holiday, blah blah blah. 

But I like it.

And I like the chance to show a little love for some people around me. 

But if you must hate on V-day, then you can make these coasters in whatever theme you want. ;)

You can put whatever embroidered design you want. In fact, later on I'm going to show you a completely different design I've done.

I am going to break this into two parts, just for ease and clarity, so join me tomorrow for the second half. 



Supplies:

You're going to want the following:
  • A sewing machine
  • Embroidery floss in a variety of colors 
  • Hand sewing needle
  • White or light-colored fabric
  • Backing fabric 
  • Strips of colored fabric (this might be a great time to raid your scraps stash; the strips are as thin as 1.25 inches wide)
  • Machine sewing thread in a color of your fancy (I used some metallic thread from Gutermann)
  • An iron-on transfer pencil
  • A seam ripper
  • An iron
  • Pins
  • Batting
Optional: 
  • Fabric paint/ink
  • Paintbrush or stencil brush
Directions:

  1. Cut your white fabric into 2.5" squares. You'll need one square per coaster, so cut out the number you need based on how many coasters you plan to make.
  2. Cut your colored fabric into 1.25" x 3.75" strips. You'll need four per coaster. 
   
 3.  Pin your first strip to the white square. The left edge of the colored strip should be flush with the edge of the square.  There should be overhang.


4. Sew the strip to the square using a 1/4" seam allowance. (Excuse the fact that I'm clearly sewing later in the process here.) You can backstitch the end that is flush with the square, but do not backstitch on the side with the overhang.


5. Press the fabric open. You can either press your seams open or to the side; it doesn't matter. I pressed mine to the side with the colored fabric so the seams wouldn't show through the white. Your preference.


6. Pin on your next strip. Again, you want one edge to be flush with the square and one to overhang just a little bit. The overhang should be over the edge that was flush with the square in the last step.


7. Sew with a 1/4" seam allowance. You can backstitch at both ends this time.


8. Press open.


9. Pin down the third strip. Same process as before. One end should be flush; the other should have a little overhang. The side with the overhang should overlap with the side that was flush in the last step.


10. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Again, you can backstitch at both ends.


11. Press open.


12. This is what it should look like at this point in the process. One side is left overhanging. Get out your handy dandy seam ripper. 


13. Rip down about halfway. Pin the strip out of the way.


14. Pin your final strip down. Same process as before. One end should be flush with the side that is still intact. The other should overhang about a 1/4" or so on the side that you just pinned down. 


15. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Backstitch at both ends. Press open. 


16. I forgot to get a picture here; my apologies. Remove the pin from the side you pinned down. Fold it back down over the side you just completed. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Backstitch at both ends. Press.


17. You'll end up with a coaster top that looks like this. (We'll square them up later.)


18. Make as many as you need. 

19. Join me tomorrow where I'll show you how we'll make a fun back and an embroidered design on the front, as well as sew the coaster. 

20. Breathe! You've just completed the hardest part! :)



Thanks for joining me! Hope to see you tomorrow!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Join me for Funday Monday at Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons

still being [molly]







1 comment:

  1. Thanks for linking up with Funday Monday. I love these. Do you do the embroidery work yourself? I'd love to see a tutorial on that.

    Your guest host,
    Steph
    www.newlymynted.com

    ReplyDelete