Quilt-As-You-Go Coasters

If you love to sew and have fabric scraps lying around like I do, here’s the perfect little holiday project for you: Quilt-As-You-Go Coasters. These are super quick to create, and are really inexpensive since you’ll be using up your scraps. Let’s get started!

Image is a collage of fabric coasters along with the project title, intended for Pinterest.

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How to Make Quilt-As-You-Go Coasters

Image contains a white mug that reads, “this is my Christmas movie mug,” sitting on a striped fabric coaster made from assorted red, green, and white holiday fabrics. A faux pine branch sits in the background.

Materials

5” square of batting (mine is Fairfield World Low Loft Quilt Batting)
5” fabric square (for backing)
4 – 6 fabric scraps
rotary cutter and mat

Image contains a 5” square quilting template ruler on top of a 5” square of white batting. A faux pine branch sits nearby.

Instructions

Check out the video below, or keep reading for detailed step-by-step instructions.

Cut your fabric scraps into strips.

I like to cut six strips that are each 1.5” wide. For the thinner stripe variation, cut 11 strips that are 1” wide. Or, you can mix and match strips of different widths. The center strips should be at least 7.25” long, but the others can be shorter.

Lay your longest strip diagonally across the batting square with another long strip face down on top.

Sew a 1/4” seam along one edge of the strips.

This seam should go through both layers of fabric AND the batting.

Image contains a square of batting with two fabric strips laying diagonally on top, right sides together. A pine branch sits nearby.

Open the fabric and press with an iron to flatten.

Lay the next strip face down on top of the strip on the left. Sew a 1/4” seam along the edge (and through all layers).

Image contains a square of batting with fabric strips on top. The uppermost strip is face down. A pine branch sits nearby.

Continue repeating the same process, adding strips until the batting is totally covered.

Image is a collage showing the step by step process for adding each additional fabric strip and sewing it in place.

Trim the excess fabric so you have a 5” square.

Image contains the top of the striped fabric coaster, trimmed to be a 5” square. It is made of assorted red, green, white, and teal holiday fabrics.

Place a 5” fabric square face down on top (right sides together) and sew a 1/4” seam around the edges, leaving a 2” opening.

After you stitch, you can trim the corners close to but not touching the seam. This will make the corners easier to shape when you turn the coaster right side out.

Image contains a 5” red square of fabric laying face down on top of the coaster top. A pine branch sits nearby.

Turn the coaster right side out. Press it flat with an iron, then top stitch a 1/8” seam around the entire square.

This will close the opening as well as help the coaster to lay flat.

Image contains a diagonally striped coaster made from assorted holiday fabrics. A pine branch sits next to it on a white background.

Now your coaster is ready to use or to give as a holiday gift! My favorite part of making these, besides how quick and inexpensive they are, is that each one can look totally unique depending on the fabric scraps you choose.

Image contains three striped fabric coasters made from a variety of red, green, white, teal, and pink holiday fabrics. A pine branch sits nearby.

Crafting Tips

Have fun mixing and matching different fabrics to come up with your own one-of-a-kind patterns! You can also use non-holiday fabric to create coasters that can be used year round.
Try this same method using vertical stripes instead of diagonal ones. This will allow you to use scraps from a pre-cut charm pack for the whole project.
Feel free to add any additional decorative top stitching you like.
A set of 4-6 coasters tied with a ribbon makes a great holiday gift!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did you get your fabric?

My favorite place to shop for fabric is Missouri Star Quilt Company! Use this link to automatically have a 15% discount applied to your order.

Why is this called quilt-as-you-go?

The process of quilting involves sewing through multiple layers; fabric and batting. Normally, to create a coaster like this, you would sew the fabric strips together to create the front, then sew it to the batting and backing. Instead, this process has you sew through the batting as you’re piecing the fabric, completing two steps at the same time.

More Quilting Projects

If you enjoyed these coasters, here are some other quilting projects to try!

Embroidered Felt Cactus (free printable pattern)