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If there is one thing I have been looking for in every project that I have worked on lately, it is that I want it to be easy. As you may know, my motivation levels have been at an all time low, so my definition of easy doesn’t always coincide with others. I’m sure we have all seen those DIY tutorials that have EASY slapped all over the title and then you get to the nitty gritty and it doesn’t actually seem that simple.
Sometimes we just need the simple satisfaction of getting something done, and that is usually easiest to do when the project takes minimal supplies and can be finished in under an hour or so, because that is often my limit of when my motivation will run out.
Another thing that I always try to look for in a project is that it is practical. If i’m going to dedicate my time to making something, I’d like it to be something that I will use and brownie points if it can save me money in some way.
My boyfriend and I are planning on getting our first home soon, up until now we have only had apartments, which in my opinion just can never really feel like a true home. Now, there are a million reasons why I am incredibly thrilled at the prospect of having an actual home, but i’m not fooling myself into thinking that it will be a walk in the park either.
One things that has definitely been on my mind is simply how many new things we will have to buy when the time comes to actually move. Generally I would like to say that I am a fairly frugal person, so the thought of a home essential shopping spree is a little stressful.
With that in mind, I have been trying to think of practical projects I can DIY so it can be one thing we can check off the list. I know I can’t build a bookshelf or a washing machine, but if there are little things I can work up that will help us in our new home then I’m gonna go for it.
The idea of making coasters has been stuck in my mind for so long, but there was never any design or method that I could stick through making multiples of. So I rummaged around my craft supplies to see what I already had and could make use of and soon enough I had 5 coasters in about an hour! (My ideal project! *insert heart eyes here*)
Materials
- Felt (or any stable material you can cut into a circle and put glue on)
- A cup or container to trace your circle
- Hot Glue Gun/ Refills of Hot Glue Sticks
- 2 Colors (or more) of Yarn (I recommend using a 100% cotton yarn such as Lily Sugar and Cream as it is more heat safe than other fibers if you plan on using the coaster for hot drinks)
- Scissors
Cut The Felt
This step is very self explanatory, but simply take whatever glass or container you wish to be the stencil for your coaster (or this can absolutely be made into any shape you’d like), place the stencil on the felt and trace around it. Then cut out the piece that you have traced.
Constructing The Coaster
At this point we can literally just jump into constructing the coaster. you will be using quite a bit of a hot glue and it can get messy so make sure you set something down on your work space that you don’t mind getting glue all over.
The entire process is really rather straightforward and simple. Take your yarn (which you don’t need to cut from the skein yet) and align as many strands as you would like in the pattern that you would like them to repeat on the coaster (you can get as creative as you want here really). Make sure you have them ready to place onto the coaster as the glue will dry quickly.
Starting from the top of the felt piece, apply a line of hot glue, line up your yarn above the hot glue, making sure to have a little bit of the yarn strands go over the edges of your felt. Once you have it positioned, press the yarn into the hot glue (pressing upwards slightly to get it as close to the top edge of the felt as possible). Clip your yarn strands, again leaving a little bit over the edge of the felt.
As usual when working with hot glue, be sure to be careful because the glue, much like the name implies, is hot. I have fallen victim to hot glue burns plenty of times in my day (at the ripe age of 25) and they are no fun.
As to be expected, you simply continue the last step of apply glue and pressing down your patterned strands of yarn all the way down the coaster.
When you have glued on all of your yarn strands, you will flip the coaster over, so that you have a clear line to follow when trimming the extra yarn bits on the edges. Then when you turn it over, you will have a clean circle!
There you have it!! It is super easy to whip up a whole set of these in under an hour and it doesn’t take a lot of supplies at all!. I chose to experiment with a border for the coaster as shown below, but i decided to make the rest of the without the border in the end. It is a very simple concept that you can get as creative as you want with!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! As always if you end up making your own coasters feel free to tag me on social media if you share any photos! I’d love to see your work! Additionally if you have any questions please email me or leave it in the comment section below. Happy crafting!
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