Lovely (can you still call it new if you’ve had it for 9 months?) dining room table deserving of pretty coasters!
In May we bought a new dining room table so we can finally seat 8 people comfortably instead of 4 rather tightly (even though we still only have 4 dining room chairs, but that’s a different story). The top of this table is a lovely piece of thick oak and we would like to keep it looking lovely for as long as possible. So, no water stains please! We already had coasters, but these are pretty old. There used to be a picture on top that has long since disappeared, leaving only glue residues. Not pretty, although still functional.
boring old coaster
As I was pondering pretty coasters I thought of the fabric postcards that I make and realised that something similar might also work as a coaster so I adapted the postcard method to make coasters. The main difference is the type of interfacing and how it is used.
You will need:
- Fabric for the top and bottom of the coaster, I used quilting cotton, but I think other cotton fabrics should work as well.
- Decovil I Light interfacing (this is sturdy but still flexible and machine washable)
- Thread
Method
Step 1: Fuse Decovil I Light to 2 pieces of fabric large enough to make the number of coasters that you want to make. I realise there are 3 pieces in my picture, the piece of cream fabric was a bit oddly shaped so I couldn’t cut a single piece that was large enough.
Step 2: Place 2 pieces of fabric on top of each other, the Decovil I Light sides should be touching.
Step 3: Use a quilting ruler and rotary cutter to cut fabric in 10×10 cm (4×4 inch) squares. Cut both layers of fabric at the same time.
Step 4: I like to use quilting clips to keep the squares in place when sewing around the edges. Pins don’t really work.
Step 5: Use the zig zag stitch (stitch width 5, stitch length 0.4 or 0.5) on your sewing machine to stitch around the edges. I usually use a Schmetz quilting needle size 90/14 and walking foot or open toed embroidery foot. I didn’t take a picture of this step but it is explained in step 7 of the postcards tutorial.
Step 6: Use your coasters!
We have been using these coasters since May and I like them a lot. We’ve washed one that became stained. After washing I gave it a light press with my iron on both sides and now I can’t tell which one was washed. Huge success all around.
Love the fabric colour, one of my favourite shades of green – and I also love your table!
Thank you! This colour was chosen because it matches a wall in our living room so it is a subtle accessory. The table is fantastic, am still super pleased we got it.
Lovely table – very Scandinavian looking. I suppose you have oiled the top and aren’t just relying on coasters. Having said that, our kitchen worktops are oak and oiled and they have started to stain – but we have neglected the maintenance a bit lately – they need lightly sanding and re-oiling and we’ll get round to it one of these days. I see you have coasters now that will eventually match your F2F quilt 😉
What can I say? I simply like green. 😉 The quilt will probably end up in a different room though.
The top of the table is lacquered so it’s protected but I still like to use coasters to be on the safe side.
They look very nice!
If you ever tire of them you could try crochet. I personally like these http://lululoves.co.uk/item/crochet-coasters.html
Thank you! I haven’t done a lot of crochet lately but a coaster might be a good small project to get started again.