Spider Web coasters
Halloween season is here. From costumes and candy to all things spooky. Its a great time to add a little more Halloween spirit to your home. These Spider web coasters are fun way to add some spooky charm to your coffee table.
Practical, when your witch's brew spills and need to throw on the washer.
They are easy to make, and customize to match your Halloween decor or give as a gift to your spooky season loving friends
Supplies
4 different fabrics about 6-12" of each fabric, depending amount of coaster being made
Backing fabric and Batting - about 10"
60 Degree Quilting ruler - (if you don't have one, you can print a paper copy - Here)
The blue link, is an Amazon Affiliate link. there is a free printable ruler option also provided
Making the Coaster
Looking at the coaster, it may look complex, however pattern is really easy to make. If you can sew a straight line, this pattern will be easy to do.
Step 1. Cutting & Arranging Fabrics
With your 4 fabrics, cut them into 1.5 inch strips.
Then arrange the strips into whatever you like.
Your top and bottom fabrics, will be centers and the bottom edge of your coaster.
Step 2. Sew your Strips
After deciding on your order, sew the strips along the length at a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I find it best to sew the top two strips together and bottom two strips together. Press the seams. Finally sewing the top and bottom strips together and pressing
Be sure to press the seams, with your iron, so they lay flat. You can do them in a directional or open, which ever works for you.
Step 3. Cutting the Strip
With all your fabrics now sewn together into a long strip of fabric, its time to cut the triangles.
With the point of the triangle at the very top edge of the strip, and then bottom edge straight along a line of the of ruler's grid.
Cut along each side of the ruler, to create 1 triangle.
Then spin your ruler 180 degrees, so the top is now the bottom. Aligning the point again with your new top, lining up the new bottom edge and now lining the one side of the ruler along the new cut edge.
Once thats all lined up, cutting along the side of the ruler, to make another triangle.
Keeping spinning your ruler, lining everything up and cutting out triangles. Until the end of the strip of fabric.
Sometimes on the already cut side of the triangle, for whatever reason, it wont line up. I always adjust my ruler from the edge a bit and re-cut that side as well. Double check the previous triangle, to ensure there is no issues there.
Each coaster uses 6 triangles. If you want all the fabrics to line up next to each other, you will need 12 triangles, and will get 2 coasters of slightly different design.
However if this a scrap busting project, or you like the mix & match design, then a set of 6 triangles will be fine
Step 4 - Sew Triangles together
Each coaster uses 6 triangles, which means half a coaster uses 3 triangles.
Start by sewing 2 triangles together, take the time to line up each seam.
Do that again with another 2 triangles
Then press the seams.
Now sew the 3rd triangle on to the set of 2 triangles. Again taking the time to line up each seam.
Do that again with that another set of 2 triangles and 3rd one.
There will some overlapping at the points of the triangle. This is supposed to happen. If you measure to the new point to the edge of the fabric, it should be 1/4 inch.
With the 3 triangles all sewn and pressed. This makes makes 1 half of the coaster.
The final seam is sewing the 2 halves together.
I always like to pin center first and each seam. It may not always be prefect, but it will help make the overall appearance look better.
Sandwich and Quilting
With the 6 triangles all sewn together, its time to assemble the coaster.
Placing the coaster and backing material right sides together. Along with the batting placed under the backing.
Next up is to sew along every edge of the coaster piece, leaving a opening along one side.
I always use a bigger pieces of backing and batting, then trim after sewing. I find this makes its easier.
As cutting batting and backing to the exact size to the coaster, then sewing it all together. Can cause some seams to not line up exact, or shift. or worse, you make a mistake cutting the exact shape out. Whichever happens, it means you have to take out the sewing you just did, and re cut a new backing.
After sewing all the edges, trimming the backing and batting to to the edge of the coaster. The final trim to make, is the corners.
There are 2 ways to pick.
The straight cut - taking off just the point. This will give rounder corners
The slight trim down the edges - this involves cutting down the side in a taper. This gives a pointer corner.
With the coaster turned right side out, and pressed flat.
Tuck the openings seam allowance inside and also iron that side, to set the seam lines.
Do an edge stitch along the whole outside of the coaster, with the edge of the fabric on the inside edge of the presser foot.
Starting with the side of the opening, sealing the hole with the edge stitching.
Last step is to do any quilting or decorating you wish to do.
I choose to do semi circles or arcs in-between each seam and do a line of stitching along the side of each seam.
To give the effect of a spider web.
Once you have finished quilting whatever design you decide. Part of me still wants to add a spider some where on a coaster, and may still do it.
If you do decide to make some coasters, feel free to send me a picture of yours
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