Fair And Square Patchwork Coasters

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  Step 1

  Play with fabric! Choose several prints to use for your coasters. I kept it simple and stuck with a red and blue theme.

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  Step 2

  Cut your prints into rectangles. Each rectangle should be 2-1/2" wide, but the height can vary. I cut the rectangles between 1-1/2" to 2-1/4" tall. You will need about 4 rectangles per coaster.

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  Step 3

  Pick some rectangles for your first coaster and line them up in the order you wish. Try to make the pieces add up to at least 6-1/2" tall before they are sewn together, because you will lose some height in the seam allowances and you need the final height to be 4-1/2" tall.

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  Step 4

  Place piece A on top of piece B, right sides together (the sides of the fabric that are printed are the right sides), matching the 2-1/2" wide sides. Sew along the 2-1/2" wide side to connect the pieces, with a 1/4" seam allowance.

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  Step 5

  Open up your pieces and press the seam allowance to one side with your iron.

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  Step 6

  Continue sewing rectangles C and D together so they make one strip. You want your final strip to be 2" wide by 4-1/" tall. If your strip is too tall, don’t worry, just go ahead and trim it. If it is too short, remove the top or bottom rectangle with a seam ripper and sew on a new rectangle that is taller. When your strip is the right height, then trim 1/2" from the width.

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  Step 7

  Cut a strip from your linen or other backing fabric that is 1-1/2" wide by 4-1/2" tall. Sew it to the left side of your patchwork strip, right sides together, and long sides together, and using a 1/4" seam allowance.

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  Step 8

  Press the fabric open.

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  Step 9

  Cut a strip from your linen or other backing fabric that is 2-1/2" wide by 4-1/2" tall. Sew to the right side of your patchwork strip, right sides together, and long sides together. Press open.

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  Step 10

  Using a quilter's square or other ruler and rotary cutter, trim your patchwork piece into a 4-1/2" square.

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  Step 11

  Cut a piece of batting into a 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" square. Place your patchwork square on top the batting.

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  Step 12

  Keeping the batting and patchwork together, topstitch (straight stitch) on the linen, very close to the edge where it meets the patchwork. I lined up the edge of the linen with the inside edge of my presser foot (see arrow in photo). I also used a slightly longer than usual stitch length (3.0 on my machine). Topstitch on the other side.

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  Step 13

  Cut a 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" square from your backing fabric (I used linen). Place the backing fabric on top of the patchwork piece, right sides together.

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  Step 14

  Pin together. Sew around the outside edge of the coaster, starting at the bottom black dot, going around the outside, and then stopping at the black dot above. This will leave about 2" unsewn. Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam!

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  Step 15

  Clip the edges of the coaster close to the seam, but be careful not to snip the stitching.

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  Step 16

  I went ahead and trimmed a little bit of extra fabric around the corners, to reduce the bulkiness even further.

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  Step 17

  Open up the top layer of linen and turn the coaster right side out.

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  Step 18

  Use a chopstick or point turner to gently push out the corners. Don't stretch the fabric!

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  Step 19

  Carefully tuck in the unsewn edges of your coaster to create a straight edge, then iron the coaster flat. This step is very important!

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  Step 20

  Topstitch all the way around your coaster, very close to the edge (remember to backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam so it won't unravel!). If your machine has a little trouble getting going on the corners, use the tip of your chopstick to gently push the fabric under the presser foot as you sew.

  Repeat all steps for however many coasters you want to make!

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