Beaded Fabric Coasters

Though I did not make mine like those I purchased and gave as a gift, I did use the same kind of tiny no-hole beads that have become so popular with crafters and are available these days in most craft and/or rubber stamp stores. I think that most any fabric could be used as the base. I used lamé in green, silver, red and gold. One color is sufficient, however.

Materials:

lamé in choice of color
thread
ruler*
pen or pencil
scissors
white glue
sheet of TSI tacky tape**
clear no-hole tiny beads

*The coasters demonstrated were 4 inches square. To measure I used a 4-inch square plastic ruler. If you do not have one, it will save time if you cut a 4" x 4" square of cardboard to use as your pattern.

**This tape is the super tacky tape used for many projects. It goes by many different names and is available in sheets as well as in rolls of different widths. For this project, you will need the sheets. It is essential that you use this heavy-duty sticky tape for this project or the beads will not stay stuck through use. The tape is easily identified because the peel-off protective sheet is rose in color.

1. Measure and cut out two 5" squares of lamé. Place the 4-inch square on top of one of them and draw around it (figure A).

2. Stack the two pieces of lamé and stitch together stitching on the drawn line. Leave 1-1/2 inch unstitched for turning (figure B).

3. Place a line of white glue or Fabri-Tac all the way around the square about 1/8- to 1/4-inch outside of the stitched line (figure C). Spread it out a bit using a toothpick. This is to prevent raveling. Also glue through the unstitched area. Allow to dry.

4. When the glue has dried completely, cut around the square, cutting through the glue. Cut the corners at an angle to avoid excess fabric (figure D).

5. Turn the piece right side out, turn the unstitched section in, and either hand-sew closed or place a narrow strip of the tape on the folded-in fabric and press closed (figure E). These will not be washed so there is no problem.

6. Cut a square of the tape slightly larger than the coaster and apply to one side of the coaster. Peel off the protective layer (figure F) and place face down in a foam tray filled with beads. Totally cover the tape with the beads (figure G).

7. Turn the coaster wrong side up and very carefully trim the excess tape from around the edges (figure H). Done!