Once you pick the fabric out, this is a very quick project. I have a long list of long-term projects, so it was nice to whip through these coasters and have four finished projects :). The only bad part about this project is that I am reluctant to use them, because I don't want to ruin their adorableness with my messiness. I might just hang them on the wall!
I really liked the technique used to make these and I think it will be useful in other projects. Before I read the instructions for this project, I was concerned that my curves wouldn't turn out well. It turns out that you sew along a drawn line for most of the project, so sewing the curves wasn't challenging.
Since I am prone to spills, I made a fourth coaster to test out Pellon Vinyl Fuse. This was my first experimentation with water resistant fabric. The Vinyl Fuse was easy to apply; you just iron it on. If you ever use this product, make sure there are no stray threads on the fabric! It seems obvious, but I didn't think about it until after I fused it to the first piece. There is a small piece of thread permanently adhered to the back of the orange pepper. :D
I wish I had left myself more than a 1/8" seam at the opening for turning, because it was really difficult to turn the stiffened fabric under. It ended up looking a little rough. Topstitching was also very challenging. I got the best results when I wrapped the pepper in tissue pepper and used a walking foot, but it was not easy to see where I was sewing. I am going to try the scotch tape trick next time. Maybe one day I will get a Teflon foot!
I'll experiment with Vinyl Fuse again, but I am going to use it on a few straight line projects before I attempt any more curves!
Penny at sewtakeahike.typepad.com shared some fantastic tips on converting this coaster into a hot pad. This week's Zakka 2.0 link up is at LRstitched. You can also check out everyone's projects at the group's Flickr page. There are already a ton of scrumptious bell pepper projects uploaded! I love some of the cute ribbons that people have been using for the bell pepper stems!
Next week's project: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Towels.
I'm really hungry right now and I LOVE bell peppers, so here are a few links to my favorite recipes involving bell peppers: Stuffed Bell Peppers with a Tex-Mex Flair | Herb-Marinated Grilled Vegetables | Green Beans with Red Pepper and Garlic | Sesame Ginger Sweet Teriyaki Salmon with Garlic Quinoa Stir-fry | Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Cashew Butter Dipping Sauce.
9 comments so far. What are your thoughts?
Love these, your fabric choices are perfect!
Haven't tried Vinyl Fuse before, so thanks for the stray thread tip!
These look great, and the vinyl fuse sounds interesting!
These peppers are just adorable! I'm amazed at the variety I'm seeing already, even with a straightforward project like this. Your fabric picks are just so cute!
I've had better luck sewing on vinyl using my walking foot rather than my teflon foot. You still have to put some tissue on the underside (if there is vinyl there too). If you have a walking foot, this tip may save you buying that teflon foot.
Linda F.
Oh wow, so cute!
Such cute peppers and I appreciated hearing all about vinyl fuse - thanks for that. So glad you are sewing along with us!
Thanks for sharing about the fusible vinyl... Didn't know about it. Your peppers look awesome!
These are so cute!
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