Learn some quilting techniques while making a set of coasters, a useful thing for your home and also a great gift! This is a great beginner project that teaches several skills: sewing in straight lines, experimenting with special stitches, sewing inside out and turning right side out, and finishing with edgestitch.

Kit Includes

• Fabric: pre-cut squares for the top and the back
• Batting: pre-cut pieces
• Thread: neutral color

Equipment Needed (not included)

• Sewing machine or hand sewing needle
• Turning tool (chopstick, knitting needle, etc)
• Optional: walking foot

Sewing Instructions

Choose a stitch and a pattern of quilting to quilt the top (using only the patterned fabric and piece of batting)

• Straight lines to make a grid:
• Diagonal lines to make a lattice:
• Parallel wavy lines using the sewing machine's wavy line stitch:
• Parallel lines of decorative stitches:

Now you try it!

1. Sew from the edge of the batting, across the patterned fabric, to the other edge of the batting. If you are doing a straight stitch, it is really helpful to use a piece of masking tape to use as a guide for your first line. After that you can use the seam guide bar (that attaches to your sewing foot) to keep your quilted lines parallel.
2. Cut your thread, turn the square 180 degrees, and sew back the other direction.
3. Repeat until the patterned fabric is evenly filled with stitches one direction.
4. Turn the square 90 degrees and repeat steps 1-3 above with lines of stitches perpendicular to the stitches in step 3.
5. Trim the excess batting from around the four coaster tops.

Attach the Backing

1. Place a square of plain fabric upside down on top of the quilted square, right sides together.
2. Sew around the square 1/4" from the edge of the fabrics, leaving a turning hole about 2" on one side. Trim the fabric at the corners as shown below, being careful not to clip the stitches (if you do, just sew along the stitches where they were cut, from about 1/2" on each side of the clipped stitches).
   

Finish

1. Turn the coaster right side out and gently poke the corners out with a turning tool (or something pointy but not sharp). Be very careful not to push the tool through the corner of the coaster. If this does happen, turn the coaster inside out and stitch just around that corner again, following the stitches and starting/ending about 1" from the corner.
2. With the coaster right side out, fold the turning hole fabric into itself to match the seams on either side, and smooth it flat as much as possible (consider ironing it).
3. Sew along the edge of the coaster with an edgestitch, about 1/8" from the edge.

Enjoy your work and feel confident that you can make other things like this!