Upcycled & Knitted Coasters

Coasters are a great project to use up scrap yarn and fabric. What is fun with a set of coasters is that each one can be unique. These coasters remind me of Summer, enjoying a cup of coffee early in the morning on the porch, or a glass of wine while watching the sun set on the beach.

T-Shirt Braided Coaster
I had quite a few white t-shirts that were either ripped or stained and I did not want to throw them out. There are many projects you can make using old t-shirts, but I chose to make braided coasters. Once I made the t-shirt yarn (there are many tutorials available on the web) I incorporated some cotton yarn into the braid to add some colour and use up my odds and ends. I sewed the braid using a slip stitch in order to form a circle.  To finish the bottom, which is not necessary, but I thought it would look nice, I glued some felt on the bottom just a tad smaller than the diameter of the coaster. These coaters are quite thick, great for large glasses like beer mugs or ice water that have a lot of condensation.

Knitted Coaster with Crocheted Border

What I love about these coasters is that I mixed and matched the yarn. I doubled up on the yarn using a seed stitch and then crocheted a border. Since these coasters are knitted, there are some small holes, but because the yarn is doubled, this provides enough protection from heat from drinks such as coffee or tea. These coasters are not as thick as the braided coasters, but they are flatter, which is good for wine glasses. For the braided coasters you will need a sturdy glass or mug. 

Embroidered Coaster
The fabric that I used for these coasters was from a duvet cover that was faded by the sun. The fabric was expensive so I could not see it go to waste, or just sit in the closet, plus I loved the palm tree pattern. For the sections that weren't faded I was able to make decorative pillows. Since the fabric pattern had enough spacing between the palm trees, I was able to fit  one palm tree on each coaster. The duvet cover was custom made with three layers, just like a quilt which added extra thickness, perfect for a coaster or pot holder. I wanted the palm tree to stand out, so I embroidered an outline stitch around it. For the bottom of the coasters, I cut some matching fabric the same size as the top square. I actually used some fabric from the bed skirt which had also been faded by the sun. I placed the squares right sides facing, sewed around the square leaving an opening to turn it inside out and then closed the opening using a slip stitch. 

Colourful Wreath with Little Balls of Fabric

While making my first rag quilt, I kept all the of the scraps. I didn't want to throw away any leftover fabric just in case I could use them for a future project. I searched online for some ideas and I saw you could make little balls of fabric using your scraps. I had some embroidery thread I wanted to use up so I decided to go with making some fabric balls.

I rolled up my flannel scraps into balls about an inch in diameter. I inserted my needle just under where the fabric ended to hide the knot and started wrapping the thread around the ball by weaving through the fabric. Once I had wrapped enough thread around the ball, I inserted the needle completely through the ball to the other side and the stitched a couple back stitches to secure the thread.

As I was making these balls, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I could make a necklace or a mobile, or just display them in a glass vase. I kept the little balls for a few years and finally I decided to make a wreath.

When my husband and I were renovating our kitchen, I asked our wonderful handyman to cut out a few circles from plywood that I could use as a frame for a wreath. I used one for this wreath. 

I cut out long strips of flannel and washed the strips to give them a ragged effect. I placed a layer of batting on the front side of the frame and then wrapped the frame with the fabric strips. I pinned the flower to the wreath and then I then glued all the balls onto the wreath using hot glue. Once I finished securing all of the balls, I glued the knitted flower. I had tried knitting a few flowers for fun and this one matched so I decided to use it. The light pink flower on top of the knitted flower is actually a hair piece, but I had bought it to use as a decoration in a wreath one day. Since it had a clip, I just clipped it to the knitted flower. I think the two flowers make a pretty combination and match perfectly with the fabric balls.

Starfish Pillow

I was inspired to make this Starfish pillow when I saw the Heart Wall Hanging project in the book "Inspirational Ideas - 200 Easy-To-Make Pretty Gifts For The Home". The wall hanging used the same fabric that I already had in my stash, so instead of hearts which were appliquéd on each square, I thought Starfish would be fun. Plus, I wanted to use up my embroidery thread. 

I searched online for a drawing of a starfish and found one I liked. I traced each starfish on a large piece of fabric so I could secure it in the embroidery hoop. Once I embroidered all the starfish, I cut out the blocks and sewed them together. Initially I was going to make a wall hanging, but decided to make a decorative pillow with piping and an envelope closure.

I chose to use the backstitch for the outline of the starfish and french knots for the spine (I am not sure if the small dots represent the spine or the skin).

Below is the starfish drawing I found online.

Hand-stitched Napkins

I bought this fabric planning to make cloth napkins using my sewing machine, but when I saw the hand-stitched napkins from the Purl Bee, I changed my mind. I like projects that I take with me while I am commuting or travelling, which I was able to do with this project. I loved the effect embroidery thread added to the napkin, which would not have been the same using a sewing machine. In addition, I had some random strands of embroidery thread which I was able to use up in this project.

Apple Faces Felt Napkin Rings

When I was living in Montreal, I stumbled upon a cute, little yarn store. While I was inside browsing, I found these unique embroidery kits by Sublime Stitching. I had never seen patterns likes these before and on the packaging it read "This ain't your gramma's embroidery"! 

One package had a variety of fruit and funny faces. It was possible to mix and match the faces with the different fruit. For these napkin rings I used the apple fruit template along and all of the faces.

Here is how you can make them:

1. Trace 2 apple templates per ring on a red piece of felt from the embroidery package by Sublime Stitching 
2. Trace 1 small leaf per ring on a green piece of felt (I used a leaf template I found online, or you can draw one free hand)
3. Trace 1 stem per ring on a brown piece of felt (I used a stem template I found online, or you can draw one free hand)
4. Iron a face template cut out from the embroidery package by Sublime Stitching onto 1 of the 2 apples cut from the red felt
5. Embroider the face with black embroider floss
6. To make the apple more sturdy, cut out a piece of cardboard a bit smaller than the apple template and place it in the middle of the two felt apple pieces
7. Sew a blanket stitch with red embroider floss to join the two apple pieces with the cardboard in the middle and to secure the leaf and steam
8. To make the ring, cut out two pieces of cream coloured felt 1" by 6" and sew along both edges using the sewing machine
9. Overlap the ends about 1 inch and glue them together with a glue gun
10. Glue the apple on top of where you glued the ends together so it will be hidden

Striped Monkeys

For these monkeys I followed the pattern for the Striped Monkey in the book by Sue Havens called "Make Your Own Toys".

I used a sweater that was given to me from a colleague, scrap flannel and men’s dress shirts. I tried to use fabrics that had a striped pattern.

Body – Knitted sweater (for one I used fleece)

Head – Flannel

Ears, Arms and Tail – Men’s dress shirts, flannel and cotton

Face - Cotton

Patches – Flannel, fleece, cotton and men’s dress shirts

Eye Patch – White felt

Eyes - Black or dark blue buttons

Mouth and Nose – Embroidery thread

I used the sewing machine to stich the ears, arms and head. It is better to sew the knitted materials by hand, which I did for the body. I sewed the face on using a zigzag stitch and attached the ears while sewing the head.

I stuffed the moneys with stuffing an old pillow and some polyester batting.

These monkeys were a great way to use up old clothes. The patches and the tail give the moneys a finishing touch.

Knitted Placemats with Crocheted Border

I chose to make placemats because I had one color of cotton yarn that I wanted to use up. I also wanted to try a new pattern called Basket Weave. When I finished my first placemat, I felt it needed some sort of border. I decided to crochet a border even though I had never crocheted before. It turned out really nice and it was simple to do. So, if you would really like to make these placemats, don’t let the crocheted part stop you. Here is a link to a tutorial on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEhvHkBxYhU

My placemats have 54 stiches, which is 27 pairs. Depending on the amount of pairs you have on your needle, this will determine which pattern you will follow. I used small needles to make a tighter placemat, but if you want a looser weave, choose a larger needle.

K= Knit

P= Pearl

Basket Weave – Uneven Pair

Cased on an uneven amount of pairs of stitches

Row 1: K2 P2 to end of row

Row 2: P2 K2 to end of row

Row 3: K to end

Row 4: P to end

Row 5: P2 K2 to end of row

Row 6: K2 P2 to end of row

Row 7: K to end

Row 8: P to end

Basket Weave – Even Pair

Cased on an even amount of pairs of stitches

Row 1: K2 P2 to end of row

Row 2: K2 P2 to end of row

Row 3: K to end

Row 4: P to end

Row 5: P2 K2 to end of row

Row 6: P2 K2 to end of row

Row 7: K to end

Row 8: P to end