The minute I saw these coasters, I fell in love! They’re so pretty and cute and such a quick and fun way to use up fabric scraps to make something practical that everyone can use.
Presuming you’re not challenged in some way, that is.
Apparently I am. Oh, she makes it look so easy! And it probably IS easy! Just not for me.
I used strips from a “random” jelly roll purchased from an Ebay seller who puts them together from leftover fabrics for about a third the price of a “matchy-matchy” jelly roll. My first problem, which I did not realize right off the bat, is that the talented lady who makes these coasters used strips that are a yard long. My strips were only 22″. I wondered why my coasters were turning out so small! Hers are 5″ across; my first four measured just barely 4″.
While sewing the first coaster, I forgot her admonishment to keep everything loose so that the sides wouldn’t curl up. So of course the sides curled up, and I got what looks like a tiny sombrero. (Or, “cat bed,” as Dude called it.)
What a mess, right? Undaunted, I tried again, this time aiming for “loose,” and ended up with one that didn’t curl, but also wasn’t actually attached in several areas.
So small! So puffy! And why did I continue to use blue thread? It doesn’t go with those colors at all!
Apparently I instantly forgot about the blue thread thing, and continued on, making a third coaster that looked even worse with the blue thread. On the bright side, it wasn’t too tight and wasn’t too loose. Still too small. But ugh, that blue thread!
Alas, what I didn’t know was that this was to be the last coaster that ended up almost round. For, while I did wise up and put light pink thread in the machine for the last coaster, which helped the appearance considerably, the poor thing ended up looking like a puffy oval pancake.
Yikes.
Afterwards, I figured out the whole size thing and decided to attach strips together to make the coasters bigger. I just knew that would help with the whole “roundness” problem, too. Just knew it!
Alas, it did not.
Here’s my first attempt with the longer strips. A good size now, but again not loose enough and so it curled on the edges. Also, what the heck happened on the right there? It’s like the end pieces decided to make a run for it.
Bright side: If I ever get a 6″ cat, it will have the perfect place to nap.
Believe it or not, the second attempt was even worse. I managed to make it mostly flat, but it’s so lopsided it looks like someone chopped the edge off with a cleaver.
Also, I stooopidly thought I could skip trimming off the selvage edge because it would “disappear” into the coils. But no, there it is, waving like a little ingredients list, advising everyone that the coaster is made of “fabric.”
::sigh::
So that’s it. I was gonna make super awesome gifts for all my co-workers, using only a few strips of fabric, some thread, some time and someone else’s ingenuity! Now they’ll probably have to settle for something dumb, like a cheap coffee mug with Santa on it filled with chalky chocolate.
::cue sad trombone noise::
Studio Rose 