15 minute coasters

This easy coaster pattern is a great beginner project, a perfect way to use up your scraps, or an easy we're-leaving-in-20-minutes-for-a-dinner-party-and-I-want-to-bring-a-hostess-gift gift.  I was first introduced to this patter a few years ago when a friend of my housemate gifted a set of these coasters to our house.  We stared at them for a long while trying to figure out the secret to their construction.  No top stitching at all? How is that possible?  Here, we share the secret with you.




First, a shot of the finished product, adorable right?





The trick? The top of the coaster is just like a cardboard box top, with overlapping rectangles and a tiny hole in the middle.  Here's what you'll need:

Four fabrics for the coaster top
One fabric for the coaster back
A scrap of quilt batting, or heavy interfacing





Cut your six pieces of fabric to 4 1/2" square.  (With a 1/4" seam allowance on all four sides of the coaster, your finished coaster will be 4" square.)





In a real hurry?  Stack your fabrics on top of each other and cut through all six layers at once.  You'll need a very sharp rotary blade, but four cuts and you're done!





Fold your four front fabrics in half and press them to set the crease.







Next we layer the four top pieces just like a cardboard box top.  The fold of each piece should point toward the center of the coaster.









Now, take your bottom fabric and place it wrong side up on your coaster top:





Then place your quilt batting or interfacing on top of that:





Sew all the way around with a 1/4" seam allowance:





Clip your corners:





And turn the whole thing inside out from the center:







Press and you're done:





Now, time for coffee!