Tutorial: Fabric-covered CD coaster

After a small spring clean it seems we have a teetering pile of out-dated CD's hanging around. It probably stems from our reluctance to toss previously useful belongings away. Does this happen at your house?

You probably have fabric scraps too, huh? Well Sew, Mama, Sew has dubbed October as Scrap Buster Month. If you're looking for ways to empty out your scrap basket, then it's well worth a visit. Today's tutorial is my eco-friendly way of trying to win some shiny new fabric from their wonderful store.

Ingredients (for one coaster):

2 x fabric scraps at least 14 cm square.

enough scraps to make up 55cm of bias binding

1 x unwanted CD

thread

Before you start:

You will need to use a fairly sturdy fabric, as the CD will show through lighter fabrics. I've used denim from an old pair of jeans. Alternatively you could line loosely woven fabrics with plain fabric or interfacing scraps.

Also it is important that when attaching the binding it is close to the CD. Otherwise the CD will slide around and the coaster will be a bit floppy. If necessary, trim the seam allowance down to allow the binding to be up against the enclosed CD.

Step 1:

Lay fabric scraps together with wrong sides together. Cut out a 14 cm diameter circle. To do this I drew around my CD then added a 1 cm seam allowance.

Bias binding:

Cut diagonal strips of fabric 4 cm wide. Join to form at least 55 cm of bias binding. Press binding flat with seams open. Trim off any over hanging corners. Fold strip in half along length and press, to make it 2 cm wide. Open binding out flat again. Fold one long side of strip to center crease and press. Repeat for other side. Fold two sides together along center crease again and press. The binding strip should now be 1 cm wide.

I forgot to photograph making the bias binding. Sorry. If you need more visual instructions then a quick search should help you out.

Step 2:

Place the CD between the two circles, right sides facing out. Pin the two fabric layers together around the CD, enclosing it in the center. Using your sewing machine's zipper foot, baste the circles together around the CD. Make sure the CD is tightly enclosed by stitching as close to the CD as possible.

Step 3:

Pin and then sew binding over the raw edges of the circles. Stitch close to the edge of the binding, which should also be close to the CD. Trim off excess binding, leaving a small overlap and sewing the binding end down over the binding start. Done!

Now you can pour yourself a beverage of your choosing and admire your handiwork!

Please let me know if you have trouble with my newbie tutorial-making skills. I'm happy to help and reword any points that may be confusing.

Tutorial: felt carrot

After several many requests from Hannah, I've begun exploring the world of felt food. First attempts were with some much appreciated guidance: a strawberry from here, a doughnut from here. Then I got really adventurous and made up my own carrot pattern! Here's a tutorial for anyone else who has hungry bunnies or kids:

Materials: orange felt, green felt, stuffing, orange thread, green thread

Pattern: carrot pattern PDF

Instructions:

1. Cut out one of each pattern piece from felt.
   
2. Fold carrot piece along fold line and stitch sides together to form a cone. Trim away seam allowance close to stitching at both ends of the seam.
3. Turn right side out. Stuff firmly.
4. Using orange thread perform a long running stitch around top of carrot.
5. With green felt, fold one of the short ends over about 2mm and then keep rolling up felt to form a short carrot stalk. Using green thread stitch free end of green felt strip to the layers of felt underneath. Tie off green thread.
6. Pull on orange gathering thread to close up top of carrot. Before completely closed, push stalk into the opening until only about 1cm of stalk remains visible. Close up carrot around stalk.
7. Insert needle through stalk to opposite side. Take needle through a fold of orange felt close to the raw edge. Insert needle back through stalk to opposite side near another raised fold. Continue taking the needle through the stalk and carrot top until all of the folds of orange felt have been sewn to the stalk, and the stalk is secured in place.
8. Using orange thread, make long decorative stitches around the carrot from top to bottom. Tie off thread. Done!
   

Please bear in mind that this is the first time I've put together a tutorial. Hopefully it's understandable. I'm happy to answer any questions or hear any constructive criticism you may have. (Oh, and if you notice that a couple of the pics have extra seams please just ignore them. They were from an earlier more complex version.)