Citrus Coasters
Ever since the weather turned warm, I’ve had visions of pink lemonade and iced tea with lime wedges dancing in my head. Summer also puts me in the mood to entertain so I thought it would be fun to have a set of coasters to match this citrus drink theme.
I love to have a summer sewing project that is portable so I can take it with me to the beach! Felt is often my material of choice for portable projects since it’s ideal for hand sewing. It’s also great for making durable home items like these cheerful coasters. For this project we used our Spring Felt Bundle because the bright colors reminded us of real citrus fruits.
I love that each coaster is slightly different from the next due to the handsewing. They will add a breezy, summery vibe to any table. This is the kind of project you can do with very little experience since it requires absolutely no special skills or equipment.– Molly
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Molly Schnick. Click here to see even more of Molly’s work!
Materials
- A Spring Felt Bundle. NOTE: This bundle has been discontinued. Choose another Wool Felt Bundle, or pick up some colors as individual Wool Felt Pieces. We used Ecru, Yellow, Dark Orange, Pink, Bright Pink, and Lime.
- A Citrus Coaster Template, available for free download here, printed and cut out
- DMC Pearl Cotton Embroidery Thread #8 to match the colors of the felt bundle. You could also just use ecru on all of them if you don’t mind seeing the stitches.
Pattern
Cutting
For each coaster cut the felt as instructed on the template. You will have:
- 2 large colored circles for the peel and the backing
- 8 colored segments (4 cut from each segment template)
- 1 ecru circle for the pith
Cut “seeds” out of two or three of the segment pieces by folding the segment piece in half lengthwise and then taking a small snip across the fold to take out a small triangular chunk out of the piece.
Sewing
Place the pith circle in the center of one of the colored circles. Then arrange the segments on top of the pith circle as shown above.
Pin all of these layers together.
Using thread to match the colored felt and a very small running stitch sew on the segment pieces around their edges.
Sew on all of the segments in this manner and press the piece flat.
Pin the other colored circle to the back of the piece.
Hiding the beginning knot in between the front and back colored circles sew the back on with the matching embroidery thread and a small running stitch all the way around the coaster.
Once you’ve gotten all the way around tie a small knot on the back piece and then pass the needle through the two layers and pull it out in the middle of the back. Snip the thread at the exit point thus hiding it.
Trim edges to make the front look nice and neat.
Repeat all steps to make 2 coasters from each of the colored felt pieces.
These little citrus coasters will be great to take to the hospital and make while I sit with my husband after his op. I dont know why, but I must make them, they are just such happy positive little things. Thank you for inspiring me.
Several yrs. later seeing these coasters and this Spring/Summer I need to make some of these. I like to sit outside in a lawn chair and sew on portable projects and your fruit coasters are just the ticket. Thank you for your post.
what a great summer hostes gift thanks for sharing, God Bless
These are the perfect accents for summer on our new glass-topped coffee table. I am adding the citrus features to.a set of placemats also. What a good project!!! Thanks so much!!!
What a great idea! Can't wait to get the supplies so I can make them.
I wonder if there is any way to prevent the condensation from the glasses from going through the felt and getting on the furniture.
Any ideas?
Hi Judy-
In our experience this hasn't been a problem. The three layers of felt seem to protect the furniture just fine. But if you are worried about it you could cut a circle of template plastic and sandwich it in-between the layers before sewing the two sides together.
Here is a link to our template plastic: https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/4965-EZ-Quilting-by-Wrights-Template-Plastic-Extra-Thick
Thank you for your question and good luck with the project!
Molly
I can't get the template to load.
Hi Katie-
The template is working fine our our end. You might want to try downloading it from a different browser. If that doesn't work you can email me and I'll send you a copy.
Molly AT purlsoho DOT com
Thank you!
Molly
Hi! this is sooo cool! im so goning to try this!
soooooo SWEET
Thanks for sharing this great idea!
After adding these to my to-do-list months ago, I finally made some of my own! Check them out on my blog if you like.
I'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured these adorable coasters! You can see them here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/citrus-coasters/
Thanks for another cute and fun project idea!
I was inspired by these coasters and your apple coasters to make some kiwi coasters. Thanks for the inspiration, Molly!
http://www.domestic360life.com/blog/projects/kiwi-coasters-tutorial-pattern/
I made them! So cute – I actually used pegs instead of pins to hold it all together though, so I didn’t prick myself. Thanks so much for the great tutorial, here are mine, they are super sweet: http://leatherandabel.com/orange-coasters/
These are so cute – perfect for summer! I can’t wait to make these!
Wonderful colours and easy to make. Just perfect to our summer cottage in Finland.
I’m not good at sewing. I think the stitches probably make these look extra cute, but do you suppose I could just glue them together instead?
Hi Shirley!
Yes, you can certainly glue them together! You could even glue them together and then add a few decorative stitches (after the glue has dried.)
Thanks for your question!
Molly
Omg! So cute! Have to make these!
I loved these coaster the first time I saw them and couldn’t wait to get started on them. I made a few sets and absolutely loved the hand stitching, it was very relaxing.
These are super sweet, cute, and so simple to make! Will definitely add the perfect summery touch to our summer cottage in Sweden. Absolutely love you’re crafts. Thanks a mill
I LOVE these coasters! I just made some. I used off-white instead of white for the pith, except for the lemon. They came out cute. Also, I used 3 strands of DMC floss instead of thread. On one orange, I used red thread and it’s looks like a blood orange. Thank you for sharing your pattern & instructions.
Can these be washed?
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for reaching out! Our wool felt can be either spot or dry cleaned.
Best,
Julianna
It looks like the Spring Felt Bundle has been discontinued – which colors were all included in it?
HI Liz,
Thanks for reaching out! I am happy to help! The Spring felt bundle contained Pink, Ecru, Yellow, Bright Pink, Dark Orange and Lime. Please know that the pieces in the bundles are 8 x 12 inches and the individual pieces that we sell are 18 x18 inches. In this bundle, we included 3 pieces of the Ecru. One 18 x 18 sheet of the Ecru should work for this project if you want to make 2 coasters of each color but you may need to be careful with your cutting to make it work!
Best,
Cassy