Hi Everyone!
How is the coaster project going for you? Have you finished? Waiting on finishing details? Almost done with the punching?
I'm going to give you a few steps that need to be taken before we can cut the coasters apart. These are very important steps to take to make sure your coasters look as perfect as possible. Next week I will do a dive into how to whip stitch, hem, or even just simply glue your coasters. This week it's about the clean up.
You will notice around the coasters is a dotted line. This line is where you will want to cut to separate the coasters. BEFORE YOU DO THAT, READ THIS: the first step to removing your coasters is gluing the edge.
You will need: white glue, water, and a small paint brush. Mix up a solution of glue and water with the ratio of 1:1. While the coasters are still on the frame, you will take a small paint brush and brush the glue/water solution around the dotted line.
Are you curious as to why you mix the water and glue? If you don't and you put the glue directly on the monk's cloth without mixing it, the glue will merely sit on top of the fabric. When you cut it, the monk's will fray. If it frays all the way to the loop edge, it will cause you to loose loops. Once those loops are gone you have lost the whole project. If the glue and water are mixed, the water helps the glue to soak into the fabric. This will stop the monk's from fraying and make it much easier to finish the project. 
Here comes the decision making point, you can finish these coasters one of three different ways:
- Hemming
- Whipping
- Glue and felt
The thing you want to keep in mind, if the monk's cloth unravels and gets to the loops, the loops will fall out and then you cannot save it. So make sure you leave yourself space, and GLUE, GLUE, GLUE!! If you are going to be hemming your coasters, cut on the outside of the dotted line to give yourself more monk's cloth to hem. If you are whipping you can cut on the dotted line. If you are going to glue it and then finish it with felt, you will want to glue in the space between the coaster and the dotted line. I will explain why next week.
Hope you find all of this helpful! Now, if you would like to submit your coaster set for the final wrap up in 2 weeks, make sure you are tagging us on social media or using #OxCoPALs. You can also email in photos to info@amyoxford.com. We have already received some really lovely finished shots! You all are doing such great work!
Until next week for finishing up the coasters!
~Hannah
PS If you still need to order your pattern, click below to order!
Still need yarn: