Poinsettia coasters

Embroidery this morning and anyone who is a regular follower will know that I am not very good at it.  Our teacher is new to patchwork and has made a quilt top using blocks and in the centre of each one is the most beautiful embroidered flower!  Put me to shame straight away.

However I was able to help my friend.  She is making small oval shapes similar to a coaster and I was able to assist there with a technique I learnt many years ago when I first started patchwork, in the days when we went to evening classes and only paid a nominal sum for learning.   I had to produce a portfolio of work at the end of term and at the time I was producing 12 'poinsettia' coasters for our Christmas Day meal and this method was exactly what she required.  Here it is:-

- Sandwich your chosen fabrics wrong sides together, with Bondaweb larger than the pattern in the middle.
- Draw/trace/mark the pattern onto the fabric with a pencil.  It doesn't matter what you use to draw with as it won't show.
- Machine stitch on this pattern line in a contrast colour.  Once again this should not show providing you do the next part correctly.
- Using the zig zag stitch on your machine and ensuring that the stitches are close together, zig zag following the machine stitched line.  I have a Janome Quilter's Companion machine and use a very dense stitch length usually 0.2.  But practice beforehand.

Sandwiched together with vilene and part stitched

Note from this picture the 'petal' at the bottom right hand side.  As this will be 'behind' in the petal order it is zig zagged first as has the petal pointing towards the top.  You can see that I stitched the outline in a contrast gold thread so it wouldn't show.

Both photos are from my portfolio of work

You then cut round the shape close to the sewing line, without cutting the stitching!!!!


You can use this technique if you applique shapes onto fabric but I would use a pair of applique or duckbilled scissors for trimming the excess fabric from round the shape as it prevents you cutting the fabric underneath.


I hope that this 'lesson' is not too simple and that someone out there has found it useful.