These rustic felt coasters are a good way to use up any felt that you have left over from craft projects, and will bring a little handmade charm to your Christmas table, or make lovely stocking fillers. They’re also a great way for beginners to have a go at needle felting - in fact, as you might be able to tell from the illustrations, this project was my first attempt at needle felting!
What you’ll need
- At least two colours of felt - why not try our red, white & blue felt!
- Two circular objects to use as the template for your coasters - I used a beer mat and a slightly smaller roll of sellotape
- Embroidery needle
- Embroidery thread
- A handful of white felting wool
- Felting needles (I also used a 'pen style' needle felting tool)
- Felting pad
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Beads (optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Use a pencil to trace around the larger of your two circular objects (such as a beer mat or coaster that you already have) on three colours of felt, and carefully cut out.
Step 2: Choose the colour that you would like as the top of the coaster, and position your smaller circular object (such as a roll of sellotape) in the centre. Lightly trace around the edge of the roll of sellotape - this will provide you with a guide for your stitches.
Step 3: Place your three colours of felt on top of each other. If you only have two colours of felt, you can create a felt ‘sandwich’, with one colour in the middle, and the other on the top and bottom. Thread your embroidery needle with two strands of embroidery thread and stitch the felt together. If you have a sewing machine feel free to use it here!
Step 4: This is where we have a go at needle felting! Place your coaster on your felting pad. Take a tuft of white felting wool around as thick as a pencil, and about the diameter of your coaster. Hold it in its middle, and twist it a few times. Place the middle of the wool in the centre of your coaster, so that it runs from left to right. Hold three felting needles together, and jab the wool with them until it becomes attached to the felt. Try to avoid stabbing your fingers, as I did!
Step 5: Take hold of the left end of your felting wool, and carefully pull its end, until it forms an elongated, leaf-like shape. Pull out some of the wool to thin the end if necessary, and twist it into a point. Now jab along it with your felting needles until it becomes enmeshed with the felt below. If the point of the ‘leaf’ is a little messy, you can carefully trim it with scissors if necessary, and jab over it again.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the right hand side of the white wool.
Step 7: Turn your coaster 90 degrees. Take another tuft of white felting wool, and repeat steps 4, 5 and 6. Keep adding tufts of wool to the coaster until you have made a pretty star design.
Step 8: Once you have made your star, take a very small piece of your felting wool and roll it into a ball. Place this onto your coaster in the gap between your star points, and carefully jab with one felting needle until it becomes attached. Repeat until you have a little ‘bobble’ in each gap.
Optional extras
If you have any small beads you could stitch one to the centre of your coaster, or use several in place of the white ‘bobbles’.
Instead of coasters, you could stitch a ribbon and a loop of thread to the top of the design, and hang them on your Christmas tree as decorations!
Rebecca at the Crafty Kit Co. xoxo
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