Roll A Coaster

I grew up using coasters and learned very early on the importance of doing so. It wasn't to display classy sophistication 🤭, but rather I didn't want to leave a water ring on the 'nice' wooden furniture. "How 'bout I make you a 'nice" sandwich? Wanna 'nice' cold drink to go with it? Everything was 'nice' back when I was a kid, except my bureau. I accidentally left behind a water ring on it and as I said, I learned very early on not to make that mistake again because that scenario wasn't very 'nice'... 😶

Some habits never change, and this is especially true with my over usage of coasters. I have them in my living room, main bedroom, office/spare bedroom/arts & crafts room, and lanai. It's a wonder I don't have them in either bathroom, but that would be weird, right? Below are some of the ones I have been using, but I will be replacing them with the ones I am going to show you today, actually ones that will be similar.

While coasters are primarily used to absorb moisture and help to prevent scratches, they can also add some inexpensive flair to your decor. Some are made out of cork, others out of wood, metal, plastic, vinyl, ceramic, clay, straw, cardboard/paper (think bars/taverns), and rubber! <--- Those are the kinky ones. 😉 Oh, and I almost forgot about the ones we make out of napkins and/or tissues when none are available. You know what I am talking about! LOL! But the ones I like the best are made out of fabric because they are lightweight, can be easily washed, and can be made from upcycled material we probably have in our homes.

I am going to show you the ones I made this past weekend from fabric I had on hand leftover from other sewing projects. I wish that I would have had some old cotton clothesline rope to upcycle and use, but hanging clothes on outdoor laundry lines are not permitted, even if you live in a single-family residence. However, if you have some, this is a wonderful way to repurpose them. Below are a few of the things that you will need besides the fabric, scissors and a glue stick.

I started out by cutting several 1-1/2" wide strips of different colored 100% cotton fabric. It doesn't matter if you cut on the bias, or not. This, I like!

To begin, you take the glue stick and dab a little on the end of the fabric strip. Place the rope in the middle of the strip, about an inch down from the end. Next, take the end of the strip and flip it over the rope and press down on both on sides to keep it adhered. Next, you take the strip and wrap it down around the rope. Then you just roll, baby, roll. Roll that rope into a flat coil and use a couple of straight pins on either side once you have 3 or 4 coils to keep it in place.

Transfer the coil to your sewing machine and using the zigzag stitch, you want to sew in between the coils to attach them. Then round and round and round you go, merrily stitching along the way. When you run out of a strip, just glue on another one with the glue stick and keep going. It's not really easy when you first start out, but after you have 5 or 6 coils, it becomes super simple.

I kept going around until I reached a 5" diameter circle, then I measured off 3" from that point and cut the rope. I then wrapped the rest of the fabric around the rope until I got to the end, then flipped the rope backwards and sewed it to the outer coil. Recently I was made aware of fabric glue, so I used it to tack all down and clean up any loose material and it worked great!

I am happy with the way that they came out, however next time, I am going to make them a little smaller. I need them for drink glasses and mugs, not lobstah pots! So, what do you think?

Since making these, I had an afterthought and will be adding something to this set of coasters - just a little funky bling to make them unique. To see the final results, check out my Facebook page and Instagram tomorrow evening where I will post the photographs. Here's a hint below.

Rollercoasters can be furious and make you scream, sort of like my mom when she found the water ring I left on my 'nice' bureau. Surprising that she didn't yell "And that's why we can't have 'nice' things..."

Until we meet again next Wednesday, try your hand at upcycling something and have fun doing it!  

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