Tray cloth and coaster set

Hand-pieced patchwork is one of the most rewarding projects that you can undertake as a stitcher. But, it is often associated with larger makes such as bed covers and throws, that it can seem a little overwhelming to the beginner. Help is at hand however with Susie Johns’ bite-sized tray cloth and coaster designs. Not only are they a fantastic introduction to this age-old technique but they are a great way to breathe new life into scraps of plain and printed fabric from your stash.

Essentials

Fabric: patchwork, cotton scraps, plain, five different colours, printed six different designs; border, printed cotton, gingham, 35cm square; lining, printed cotton, floral, 50cm square
Bias binding, floral, 25mm, 2.5m
Quilting thread (optional)
Vanishing pen
Wadding, thin, 50cm square
Ruler

Dimensions List

Finished Tray Cloth, 35cm x 48.5cm
Coaster, 14.5cm x 16.5cm

Make a tray cloth

Locate the diamond template and trace onto scrap paper 60 times. Using one of the paper shapes as a guide, cut out 30 plain fabric diamonds (six from each colour) and 30 more from printed cotton (five from each type of print) leaving a 1cm border around every shape.
Lay a paper template on the wrong side of a fabric diamond, so that it sits in the centre. Fold over the edges of the fabric around the paper template then tack into position, sewing through all layers. Repeat for the other 59 diamonds.
Once all of the the pieces have been tacked, lay them out in rows of six, alternating between plain and patterned fabrics, and rearranging where necessary until you are satisfied with the overall look.
Join the diamonds by placing them right sides together and oversewing the edges in whipstitch. Sew all of the pieces in this way, then pull out the tacking threads and carefully remove the paper templates.
Cut four 8cm x 35cm strips from gingham fabric for the border. Fold each one under by 1cm along one long edge. Neaten the edges of the patchwork by folding any excess to the wrong side, pressing with a hot iron, and then pinning and tacking into position.
Place a gingham strip along one long edge of the patchwork with right sides together, ensuring that the folded edges line up and oversew the pieces together. Attach a second gingham strip along the other long edge of the patchwork in the same way.
Fold under any excess fabric on the short ends of the gingham strips, then stitch the remaining two border pieces to the shorter edges of the patchwork and press. Cut a 50cm square from printed floral lining fabric and another from thin wadding.
Place the two shapes together with wrong sides facing, then position the patchwork on top of the wadding with right sides facing out, so that you are sandwiching the wadding between the two.
Pin into place and then tack the shapes together, sewing through all layers. Trim off any excess wadding and lining fabric to neaten the edges, then using a round object such as a cup or saucer as a template, round off the corners of the tray cloth.
Following the shape of the patchwork, sew lines of quilting stitches through all layers of fabric and wadding using a sewing needle and quilting thread (or strong sewing thread if you prefer). If you are finding this difficult, you may find it easier to draw the lines in first using a ruler and vanishing pen.
To finish, take a length of floral bias binding, fold it in half widthways and place it over the edges of the gingham border. Stitch into place.

Create a coaster

Locate the diamond template and trace onto scrap paper 12 times. Using one of the paper shapes as a guide, cut out six plain fabric diamonds and six more from printed cotton leaving a 1cm border around every shape.
Lay a paper template on the wrong side of a fabric diamond, so that it sits in the centre. Fold over the edges of the fabric around the paper template then tack into position, sewing through all layers. Repeat for the other 11 diamonds.
Once all of the the pieces have been tacked, lay them out so that the patterned fabric diamonds form a rosette and then position the plain shapes between the pairs of printed ones to create a hexagon-like shape.
Join the shapes by placing them right sides together and oversewing the edges in whipstitch (see How To…). Sew all of the pieces in this way, then pull out the tacking threads and carefully remove the paper templates.
Cut a 20cm square from floral lining fabric and another from thin wadding. Place the two shapes together with wrong sides facing, then position the patchwork piece on top of the wadding with right side facing out, so that you are sandwiching the wadding between the lining and patchwork.
Pin into place and then tack the shapes together, sewing through all layers. Trim off any excess wadding and lining fabric to neaten the edges. Following the shape of the patchwork, sew lines of quilting stitches through all layers of fabric and wadding using a sewing needle and quilting thread (or strong sewing thread if you prefer).
Fold a length of floral bias binding in half widthways, place over the edges of the coaster and stitch into position, forming a neat mitre at each of the six corner points to finish.

How to… whipstitch

This stitch is ideal for securing the edges of your patchwork pieces together: Bring the needle from the back of your fabric to the front, sewing at a right angle about 3mm from the edge. Take the needle to the fabric you would like to join to it, picking up one or two fibre threads before coming through to the front of the first fabric again. Repeat, working the stitches very close together.