Several years ago I made a whole bunch of coasters to give away at one of my women’s group Christmas party. Everyone liked them. I felt like Oprah – you get one, and you get one, and you get one!
I still have some rope left and thought I’d like to make a few more of these. So first I need to dye some rope. See this post on how I dye my rope.
For those coasters back then I felt like I left them unfinished. They needed something to cover up the ends.
So I got on Etsy and looked for coasters to see if I could find other ways of finishing them. I really liked the ones using cork. I also have cork fabric that I’ve not used yet, so this would be a great way of playing with it. I just cut a small piece and sewed it to the coaster covering up the messy end.
That worked fine, and I liked it, but I wanted to experiment more. I also saw coasters with leather and rivets. I had some leather in my stash. I tried it with leather and then the cork.
I really loved the look of the rivets. However, Dave who has worked a lot with wood, discouraged me from using them. They, more than likely, would scratch the table they would be used on. That made sense. Also, I was concerned about punching a hole in the coaster leaving the stitches to possibly unravel.
So it was back to sewing on the cork. I decided to cut the cork with a rounded edge on the front of the coaster, and played with straight and zigzag stitches. This is what I came up with after several attempts. I liked the zig zagging.
And here is my first bunch that will find their way to some new homes soon.
What is interesting is the whole artistic process. I could have left the coasters as is, but I wanted them to be a bit more finished. I loved experimenting until I found what I felt worked best. Both corks work.
I did learn something new this time around.The first time I made that bunch of coasters I dyed the rope all in one piece, and cut it to needed lengths. This time I cut it and then dyed it. That turned out to be a problem. Some of this cotton cording shrunk so they weren’t as large as I wanted them to be. Here are the small ones next to the size I like. They still would work, but I like the larger ones.
So I grabbed some more rope and dyed another big length of it. I also went with bright primaries.
Now to get back to sewing more. Hope you are having a good week.
For more inspiration check out Off The Wall Friday.
These are so cool. I have made fabric wrapped coil baskets, but never thought of dyeing the rope. I will have to give it a try.
Those coasters are so fanciful and cheery. I really enjoyed seeing all the different ideas you came up with to finish the outside end.
Hi Norma, Thanks. I love the fabric wrapped baskets, but I found dyeing rope for them and the coasters so much easier!
Gwyned, Thanks. It was fun showing the process instead of just the finished results. Thanks for stopping by.
Sorry this is late–what sewing machine would you recommend? I’m interested in doing this as well as repurposing old denim jeans. Dolores
Delores, Thanks for the question. I’ve found you need a fairly heavy machine. I tried to make these with my Brother machine several years ago, and it was difficult. I use an old Elna I bought over 25 years ago. It doesn’t need to be industrial, just not a light machine. I’ve got some jeans I want to work with in the new year too!! Thanks for dropping by and commenting.