Criss-Cross Coasters

Hi gang! Long time between posts, this should be remedied soon, as my mondo project is winding down. December 1st, baby!

Before being swallowed up in Thanksgiving activities, I thought I'd slap up a tutorial for the coolest thing I learned the other day. The woman sitting next to me in a sewing class at Bernina showed us how to make these:

She didn't have a name for them so for lack of something better I'm calling them Criss-Cross Coasters. They make great stocking stuffers, hostess or teacher gifts, whatever. You can whip up a set in no time, especially if you use a rotary cutter, because there is no hand finishing. I probably could have spent more time on photographing them, they look much snazzier in person. You can choose fabrics to suit the recipient, or your own (ahem) decor (see above).

And for a change of pace, I thought I'd try an illustrated tutorial! Hey, why not? So here we go....

So there you have it! I hope that's clear enough, and that you can think of many uses for this little project. I know I already have! This set is for Carolyn, who I hope doesn't see this before tomorrow!

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Drive carefully, and hug the ones you love!

Cheers,

Jenny

Comments

[Heather]

Great tutorial! Thank you!

[mimi k]

fantastic! I will have to give it a try!

[Debra Roby]

Perfect timing for those quick holiday presents.

[Pam]

Cute cute tutorial. Super cute, darling presentation and I love the fabric choices.

[~Vicki]

Well my-my, isn't that just one of the coolest little things? Thank you for sharing this wonderful little project with us! It looks like something my girls can do together too. What fun! Your graphics are super too!!

Happy Thanksgiving dear friend! xox

[denice]

These are awesome! Girl, you keep blogland SO inspired!!

[strikkelise]

That's so clever! Thanks for sharing.

[meg]

Well, that is just fabulous! Thank you for the beautiful tutorial, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[carolyn]

What a great tutorial, thanks, I think I'll have a go at these.

[Megan]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I think that I could definitely handle this, and I'm a total sewing novice.

[Carrie S.]

Sweet idea - thanks for the tute! And Happy Thanksgiving! XO

[beki]

Thanks! This is awesome!!

[Lauri]

I've been making coasters for a while, and people love them! I'm actually surprised that they work, and the condensation doesn't leak through the fabric.

I've never seen them done this way though, but I may have to try it. Great tutorial!

[Elizabeth K]

I love these! You have the best tutorials.

[Dori]

What a great little project! Thank you!

[Regina]

Awesome tutorial! So colorful, easy to understand and very well put together! Thanks!

[Susan]

That's cool. Pictures helped a lot! Thanks for sharing the idea.

[SNowflake]

Very cool! I was just thinking how do you turn the edges out after you've sewed all the sides (step 8)...

[Sharon]

A friend makes these and she tucks a wrapped tea bag into one of the pockets! Quite a nice little gift. Yours are very bright and cheery.

[geek+nerd]

Thank you for the tutorial! Those are extremely cute!

[Leslie]

Thanks for sharing. So clever, so cute, and so excited to make some myself.

[sara]

I LOVE your blog- you are a very creative lady! Everything is just so CUTE!!

[Terri Pollhein]

Those are nice! Thanks for sharing. I'll have to get started on them when I get home.
Hope your holiday was wonderful!
God bless
Terri

[terry grant]

Did you know that you can tuck the base of your wine glass into the center of the coaster and then you have a coaster attached to the glass? (base covered by the four fabrics, stem coming out the center) I'm not sure why you need to do that, but I made a bunch of these for gifts one year and one of the recipients showed me this trick and assured me that was what they were made to do!

[Pieces]

Thanks for the great tutorial! I'm looking forward to making these!

[violetismycolor]

You always have the most clever things to show us. My sister-in-law, who is a wonderful quilter, would love this!

[Sarah]

Fantastic tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

[Rebecca]

This looks like great fun, and so brilliantly illustrated, very swish. Thank you.

[Shelley Jo]

I got the link to this from Mrs. Wilt over at the Sparrow's Nest. This is so CUTE. I'll have to give them a try next week.
Blessings,
Shelley Jo

[Karla Fabiola]

Great tutorial, I am pretty new at sewing but I will try it! :D Thanks

[pauline]

thanks a lot!!
but I use it as a pincushion, see it in my site !!

[Cherry Menlove]

Jenny thanks so much for this tutorial. I have bunches of smaller pieces of fabric that I have been trying to put to good use and now I have found a new one.

Cherry x

[Lisa]

That is so sweet of you to share again. Thanks so much.
Lisa

[Alicia P.]

Very cool!

[Mary]

If you use fleece for the inner fabric and enlarge the fabric pieces you can use these for pot holders. I would double the layer of fleece.

[Blair]

Hi Jenny, just popping in for a quick hello. This tutorial looks so great, you've been so generous with all the printables and makeables.

[Dan]

Ooh....these are so cute! Thanks for the tutorial, I can hardly wait to try these!

[Berta]

Beautiful tutorial! I'll be picking up some fusible web next trip to town.

[mary]

these are wonderful! thank you so much for sharing, jenny.

[Geninne]

This tutorial is FABULOSO!
Love it! Thanks for taking the time to make such loveliness :-)

[Monica]

HOW WONDERFUL! What I love best is the continuous stitch and you don't have to leave an opening for turning and then whipped or topped stitching. I love, love, love it! Thank you sharing Jenny! You gave me the gift of an idea I needed for "neighbor gifts"!

I just had a warm tingle run through my entire body... what ANOTHER awesome use for charm packs! Hi my name is Monica and I'm addicted to charm packs.

PS... even your tutorial is a work of art!

[Mia]

These are great. And a great little tut to go with them. I would like to link to it. Can I take one of the photos of the finished product - pretty please.
Cheers
Mia

[Julie Thompson]

My mother-in-law just gave me a couple of these for my birthday...as always, the choice of fabric on something like this makes all the difference...love your version!

[Tabby]

I love these and the instructions are great! Thank you :)

[susie]

Super cute! I might just have to try these for some quick gifts, too!

[lauradodson]

made'em! woohoo...i see a whole slew o' these being pumped out for gifties. hee, thanks for sharing.

[Shelly]

This is a great project for using charms with. I had a pack lying around with no idea what I was going to do with it. Now it is a Christmas present for my sister.

Thanks for sharing.

[Joni-MI]

Just one question, a friend of mine is making these today (I haven't had a chance to try them yet) and she wants to know if you remove the backing from the wonder under or not. I think you do need to remove it but she wonders if you need to leave the backing on for water repellant purposes; I have never used wonder under; so I don't know what to tell her!

You can reply to me or directly to her at
Grammapossum at A O L dot com

Thanks for sharing this idea, I hope to be able to get to these this weekend, Sunday night seems to be my only sewing opportunity for the week.

Love your blog, and admire so much all your varied talents!

Joni-from Michigan, where it's snowing and blowing today!

[elizabeth]

Thanks so much for this awesome idea! I've already made tons!
http://superstitch.typepad.com/superstitch/2006/12/crafting_for_ch.html

[Anna Maria]

I will be doing this! My husband's grandma wanted to see my line of fabrics, so this is a great way to share a little piece of all of them with her!!!
Thank you!!, xo, AM

[Mika]

Thank you so much for your tutorial! I made tons of coasters for my friends in Japan. I recently found your blog and have been enjoying reading it.

[Melly]

Hi there! Thanks for posting this tutorial. I have just wipped up 8 of these coasters in an hour - what a blast. I made them easier by using charm squares of some 30's that I had which meant I didnt even need to do any cutting! I am going to link to this post on my blog tonight when I show my coasters. -Thanks again!

[meg]

I just made my first set and LOVE them. Thank you so much for the excellent tutorial. Now I'm off to crank out a few more sets; they're a little addictive!

Merry Christmas!

[jessie]

Thanks for a great tutorial. I've got a bunch all pinned and ready to be sewn up tomorrow!

[HZConnie]

I loved your tutorial, very cute, and easy...I made several already..and perfect use of charm packs. Keep up the great job, you are marvelous.
HZConnie

[lindsey clare]

hello. i love your coasters! what a brilliant gift idea! however i'm still new-ish to sewing and i am another person who doesn't understand how to turn them out when they have been sewn the whole way around. would you please be able to explain this for me? thank you so much!

[VaxGirl]

Thanks so much for posting such clear instructions! They were almost impossible to screw up, even for me!

[Hedgehog]

Thanks for much for this awesome tutorial! I've made 16 so far and hope to make more!

[earthchick]

OMG, that is so utterly adorable. Thank you for sharing!!

[Jo-Ann]

I have made so many of these coasters and the recipients always love getting them. I have never seen the directions written out before.

[yanting]

this is just great!! i just made 3 batches for some last minute christmas gifts...haha..

[Debbie]

I had so much fun making these and I really appreciate the illustrated pictorial. Without it, I don't think I could have made them very well. I'm a new sewer, so the pictures helped a lot!

In my opinion, this was a great project for a beginner such as myself. Thanks for sharing your Criss-Cross Coasters.

[Barb]

These are so cute. I can't wait to make them. Do you happen to mean something like fusible interfacing to give some body? Fusible web is just a glue coating with a paper backing as far as I know. Thanks.

[Barb]

I don't think I'm being successful in posting. I was wondering if you use something more like fusible interfacing. Isn't fusible web just an iron glue with paper backing? These are so cute; I can't wait to make them.

[Lyn]

Is there a reason that I can't print this out? I get the page starting with Criss-Cross Coasters and the next page is Comments. I hate to keep running back and forth to the computer. This looks like a great idea and project! Thanks.

[Elaine]

Just found your tutlrial on the coasters. How lovely and easy with your pictures and instructions. Sorry it was too late for Christmas but I guess I can start stockpiling for next year! Thank you!

[Sharyn Beisaw]

Have made these criss cross coasters alot and find that after I get the fabrics all laid out ready to sew I use a round plate that just fits 1/4" inside the square of fabrics. I trace the shape with a fine permanent marker,sew on the drawn line and then trim 1/8" all around. No corners to turn and they make a pretty set too! Sometimes I even place a cute button in the center where the fabrics cross. Scrapbook buttons work well, they're thinner. Great site! Happy New Year!

[Sharyn Beisaw]

Just got your e-mail and no you don't have to clip at all. I do use cotton batting instead of iron on fusible though. A small tupperware bowl for my pattern and scrapbooking buttons are the same as sewing buttons but are generally thinner. Most scrapbook stores carry them. These make a great little tuck-in for birthday, get well and thinking of you cards.

[Kathy Nyman]

These were great.I made one and already am planning my next set. I think I would use batting instead of fusible web so they will resist the heat. Wonder if you could make them larger for a placemat?? Hmmmmmm might have to try that one.

[joy]

love it-thanks for sharing your inspiration with us.

[Rona]

Very nice of you to include the instructions too.

[Kaathy]

Thank you so much for the pattern I have been looking for this for my sister. She will be so happy that I have found this. Thanks again! I will make them this afternoon.

[Chickengirl]

Thank you so much! I made them yesterday and its the coolest little trick ever when I turned them inside out and it "worked." So generous for sharing this.

[SB]

A friend pointed me to your site & I'm now addicted to the coasters. What a great idea! Thanks for putting so much effort into the directions.

[memmu]

Great tutorial!!! I just have to try making these...

[Mary]

Brilliant tutorial. Thanks for sharing. Mary

[Ati]

Thank you so much for the tutorial and sharing with us. A great idea for a little gift.

[Ati]

Thank you so much for sharing this and for making the tutorial.
A great idea for a little gift.

[Monica Todd]

Thanks so much for this, I just made them on my "new" 1952 Featherweight and they turned out great!
Monica (Australia)

[Tracey Marquis]

ok, I don't get it. How do you turn it inside out when you've sewn all four sides shut?

[Lori]

Thank you so much for the tutorial! I am going to try these this afternoon.

[Beth]

I just made these and they turned out great! Finished within minutes of walking out the door...a great quick hostess gift!

[Jen]

Thanks for a great visual tutorial - I just linked to your post in the forums at my site!

[Laura W.]

Oh, I love these coasters!! Hi, I just discovered your blog and am reading all of your archives and didn't want to NOT leave a comment just because I'm a YEAR late on this...
Love your blog...I am very craft challenged but I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading all the crafty blogs!
Thank you for sharing this idea with great step by step instructions!
Laura

[Pauline]

Tried this and it was great fun. Easy, fantastic use of scrap fabrics. I experimented and came up with:

1. Folding the fabric into a triangle instead of a rectangle. Place the triangles into the corners, laying each on top of the other in a rotation. Flip the last one under the first one. Sew to the square base.

2. Cut out circles that are 7/8" larger than the base, fold them in half and cut into half circle. Sew the arc of the circle together and place flat edge along the edge of the base. Sew onto the square base. Trim and turn.

3. Cut out circles, fold in half, cut into half circles then sew the arc. Cut the half circle into a quarter circle; place in the corner of the base, rotate placement and sew onto the square base. Trim and turn.

I trimmed all my seams down to 1/8".

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2654527760030210773yVJhJf

4. I also made round coasters by drawing a circle pattern on the stacked piece after all the quarter sections were laid in place. Did that with each of the above placements. (Found doing it this way was lots easier than my original idea of starting with a circle base.)

Pretty neat, really, but found with the half circles/quarter circles there wasn't too much difference in the appearance on the round coasters.

And in answer to the question about making hot mats, yeppers, they do real fine. Just make sure you are using a cotton batting.

Hope this interests others as the original inspired me.

[Carol]

Thanks so much for the tutorial. it was just great. I will definately be making some of these. I got you webpage from vera at myquiltblog. I am so glad that she posted it.

[mary Ann Grubb]

I made the coasters for my son's wedding,,their colors were black and white, with a touch of 'red". so I made the main colors out of black and white satin..2 were bk and wh, 2 where all white satin, and 2 were a white print satin, and plain blk, and 2 were all blk satin.I sewed a small red rose on the corner of each.. made a lovely addition to their rehearsal dinner. mary ann

[Yolanta]

I just made my first coaster. It was so easy to follow your tutorial. I plan to make few sets for gifts.
Thank you for sharing!

[Marcia]

Hi
A friend of mine showed me this technique a couple of years ago. I never remembered how to make them and now I have found YOU!!! Thanks, thanks, I'm going bonkers making them from all my left over material.

[kathy nilges]

thanks..this is cute and makes a neat gift for travelers..

[Margarita]

I was very impressed with this, made a couple straight away, only took 10 minutes. Going to make some more for Christmas, Thanks so much for the info.

[Mary Brien]

Hi just discovered this post. Great tutorial! Love the look and will definitely be trying a few of these.

[Donna Whittle]

I helped my 8-year-old grandson make a set of these for his Mom. Thanks for sharing the pattern!

[Donna W]

Also try doing this on the diagonal - just a neat variation.

[Robyn]

Great easy to follow instructions. Perfect for people you always have trouble buying Chrissie presents for!

[Monica]

Great tutorial! Thank you. I already made a set and it turned out just fine. I can see myself making a lot more of these for holidays gifts.

[Amy Penrose]

I made some too! These will make great xmas gifts this year!

take a look!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juicyfruit412/2045138977/

[Jessica Phan]

Wait, I'm confused. Shouldn't you flip over the squares after you've put the green one and pink one together? Isn't the green one the bottom and the pink the lining?

[Regina]

I first found these a couple days before XMas in '06 & vowed that I would eventually try them. Well, I finally did a couple days ago they are fun & easy - Im hoping to be able to make a few sets for XMas gifts this year

[marília salomão]

I live in the brazil, and love making quilts! thank's again!

[Connie C]

The coasters are sooo cute.I also make potholders,out of 8 1/2 inch squares.Or even make them bigger.And i even put alittle thread in the middle to keep the center closed.Connie C

[ann nonimuss]

That tutorial is as clear as mud, thanks.

[betsy]

These are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

[Lil_Birdie]

I made some .. they were easy and they turned out great. Just wanted to stop by and say thanks :)

[Ruth Helms]

A co worker made these for her gift at our Christmas Party. I was the lucky one! I wanted to know how to make them so she sent me your web sight. I can't wait to make for my quilt group. Thank you for sharing.

[rachel]

wow, you make it look so easy!! i'm def. gonna have to try these! can't wait to go to the store and get some cute fabric!! thanx for the tute!

[Cindy Cepress]

Someone on the Stashbusters Yahoo group posted this link...Wonderful, cute, useful! I'm making many for "keep on hand" kinda gifts. I think everyone on my list will get a set next Christmas...Cute to tie to the top of their package!

[rachel]

just wondering what kind of fusible webbing you used for yours...and how thick it was. thanks!

[Mokihana]

I can't wait to make some of these! I followed the link from Dorky Quilter's website... I'm gonna use all Hawaiian fabrics for them.

[Salihan]

I made these coasters and they're lovely! Have a look here:
http://missysalihan.blogspot.com/

I would like to add a TIP. I used STARCH SPRAY when giving them a final press. They turned out really smooth and stiff.

Thanks for a great tutorial!

[Melody]

I just made these tonight and they were a lot of fun and so easy.Thank you http://www.flickr.com/photos/dustydawn555/

[Dianna]

I'd like to make these to sell at our Farmer's Market this summer...is there an issue with doing that? Thanks

Dianna

[Ellen]

I FINALLY got around to making some of these. I had the link saved in my favorites for quite a long time. They were so much fun and super easy. I live down in New Orleans and think I might make some using Mardi Gras fabric.

[Diki]

FANTASTIC.!
have to try them..
Thanks