Star Cutout Coasters

Coasters are pretty great because you can sort of stick them anywhere whether by your bed, at a desk, in your living room, or just to have one around for wherever you sit and enjoy a drink by your side. Quite a while ago I did very easy cork monogram coasters, but I wanted to make a little homemade gift I could add to people’s presents this holiday season, so I thought it would be good to use up some old scraps of fabric. I came up with this idea for coasters that is actually quite easy and pretty cute. I used a star shape, but you could also try other shapes as well like a heart, square, or triangle. I think more straight cuts work a bit easier though than something with curved lines. It was really great using up some old fabric, especially because it didn’t take too much material to make these. Here is how I put them together!

What You’ll Need:

• Two types of fabric (I used a plain muslin fabric for the outside, and various patterned fabric for the inside)

• Paper/pencil

• Needle/thread (I used a sewing machine, but hand stitching is also possible)

• Batting

• Scissors

• A few pins

• (optional) Fabric cutter

• (optional) Pinking sheers 

Directions:

1. To start your coasters, you will need to cut your fabric. Each coaster will have four pieces. I found it easiest to plan what coasters I wanted, and cut out all the fabric pieces at once. You can use a fabric cutter or cut out a stencil out of paper and pin it to your fabric and cut around it.

2. For each coaster you make, begin by cutting two 4.5 inch squares of your main fabric. The main fabric will be the one you see on the front and back. I used a thicker plain cream-colored muslin fabric.

3. Now you will need to cut one 4.5 inch square of your patterned fabric, which will be the fabric the star shape will become. 

4. You will also need a piece batting, cut 3.5 inches. The batting will provide an extra bit of cushioning to the center of coaster. 

5. With you fabric now cut, you will need to trace your star shape onto one of the main fabric pieces. I printed a star (about 3 inches or so in size) and cut it out. I then traced around it onto my fabric (you can pin it down if you want) with a pencil.

6. With your star shape on your fabric, you now need to sew on top of the outline. You can use a sewing machine or hand stitch, depending on the style you want. You can use different thread colors if you desire more color. I went with a white thread for all of mine and used the sewing machine. If you do hand sew, make sure to try to keep the knots small and have them on the back.

7. With your star sewn, it is now time to cut an opening. To do this, I carefully cut a slit into the center of the star. From there I cut around, keeping about 1/2 inch from the stitch and continued to cut until I felt like the star was even. This part may be the hardest, so it may be a good idea to practice a bit before if you aren’t confident. It doesn’t need to be perfect though, i think these are cute because they look a little primitive with their homemade look.

8. With the star part finished, you can now layer your four pieces together. Lay the star cutout on top, followed by your patterned piece of fabric, your square of batting (placed in the center, since it is smaller), and finally your other piece of main fabric.

9. Use a few pins to secure your pieces in place. 

10. Now it is time to sew everything together. I sewed about 1/2 inch inward from the edge of the fabric. To do this I placed my needle in one corner, backstitched, and then went up the one side before pivoting the needle. I did this until I was back where I started and backstitched once more before removing it from the sewing machine. I then trimmed the threads. Again, you can hand stitch this part as well instead of using a sewing machine, making sure to keep any knots in the back. I think these could be quite cute with a hand stitch, but obviously this is more time consuming if you are doing quite a few.

11. To finish up your coaster, you can either keep the edges of your fabric plain, or you can use pinking sheers to add an edge, keeping in mind not to get too close to the stitching. Now your coaster is done!

Here are some photos of the final product: