Monday, June 2, 2014

Eclectic Elements Fabric Bowls and Coasters

Hi friends! Hope you've all had a great weekend. I have another project from Quilt Market to share with you today. 

Remember this photo from Instagram several weeks ago?

Yes I made bowls!

Bowls with handles. 


and little bowls without! 

So this got me thinking…how cool would it be to make...
some coasters the same way. 

Supplies you will need... Eclectic Elements fabric, 1/4" nylon cording (clothesline), thread, a sewing machine that has a zigzag stitch, and a clothes pin or binder clip is also helpful. 
Eclectic Elements fabric comes in several different ways. Of corse you can get it in the typical yardage. But these pack are very handy…Design Rolls 
(2 1/2" x 43"), Fat Eighths (9" x 21"), Fat Quarters (18" x 21"), Charm packs and more. For this project the Design Roll is perfect. All you would have to do is tear them in half lengthwise. 

Home Depot sells the cording by the foot or in packages. The cording needs to be soft enough that you can sew through it. 

Tear several strips of fabric approximately 1" wide by the width of the fabric. 

 Cut a piece of cording 48" long for each coaster. This will help maintain a consistent size. Starting at the end of the cord, wrap the fabric around the cord in a counter clockwise direction. Make sure it's tight. You can use a clothes pin or a binder clip to hold the end while you sew. 

Start by coiling the wrapped cord in a counter clockwise direction and zigzag them together. The start is the toughest part. The zigzag stitch will need to catch both sides that you are joining together. You can use a wider zigzag stitch if you're having trouble. You my need to raise the presser foot to get the coil to move and turn for stitching. Once you go around a few times it will get much easier. 

To join the torn strips, just overlap them and continue to wrap. 

Continue wrapping and sewing.

When you get to the end of the cording trim the end of the cord at an angle. Wrap the strips until the cording is completely covered. 

For the finish, pin the end as shown and zigzag stitch past the end then reverse stitch until the end is secure. 

How easy is that! These will be so fun in my family room and they could make a great gift...right! 
I made two sets, one set to give away to a lucky winner and I mailed one set to some very special friends. So...leave me a comment by midnight PST Thursday, June 5th and I'll pick one lucky winner on Friday. Good luck! 

Have a great week everyone!
Richele

If you're looking for the fabric just click on the link below!