Quilted Coasters

Looking to make a very fast, very easy gift? And if you could eat up some of your stash, all the better? Coasters. Perfect. I've been meaning to make some for ages and once I finally did, I am now wondering why I didn't start doing these sooner! Here's a quick little tutorial:

First, you need to figure out how many coasters you want to make, and if they are to have the same material front and back, or different. My tutorial shows making a set of 6 coasters, with all the same material on the front, and two different colours for the backs.

First, cut one 5" square for each front, and one 5" square for each back. I have 6 grey fronts and 3 each of yellow and amber for backs.

Then you want to cut 6 squares of cotton batting, each at 4.75" square.

Lay a front and back square together, right sides facing. Place a piece of batting on top.

Sew around all edges at 1/4", leaving a 1" opening.

Trim the corners.

Turn right side out, through your opening.

Poke out the corners with a chopstick.

Sew around all side 1/8" away from the edge.

Quilt the inside as you wish. I marked mine with a sewing chalk that disappears when steam ironed, to help me with my quilting. I made six different designs.

These do get a little smoother with practice, and I do suggest ironing the coasters before you sew the edges as this helps quite a bit. With some practice, I found that the maze-type pattern works best as there are fewer starts and stops to sew, giving them a slightly cleaner look. Below are a few others I've made since these above.

All done!

Slainte!