Hand-stitched Pojagi Coaster Tutorial
Learn traditional hand-stitched pojagi techniques by making this little mug rug or coaster.
This coaster is 4″ square, so it’s just the right size for your favourite mug. A set of them would make a great gift.
A coaster is a great project for trying a new sewing technique because it is large enough to learn the skills but small enough to easily finish. If you enjoy the technique, you can move on to a larger project with confidence.
The seams in this project are not reversible, but they are stitched with a whip stitch so all your stitches are visible in the final product. Use a matching or contrasting thread colour.
The sample is made with linen fabric and perle cotton thread, but you can experiment with your own fabric and thread combinations.
Fabric and Thread options
For this project, I have used two colours of fabric, but feel free to add more if you desire.
If you have access to traditional Korean fabric such as ramie, that is wonderful, but that is difficult to source in North America.
Linen is a great substitute. It is easy to find and wonderful to work with.
For this project, I recommend linen fabric and perle cotton thread. Choose the weight of thread to match the weight of your fabric. For a heavy linen, size 8 or 5 and for a lightweight linen, size 12.
Feel free to experiment with different fabric and thread combinations. Use what you have and see how it turns out.
Tutorial
See how to make this coaster.
Prepare the templates
This type of patchwork is template based. Cut the templates out of plastic or cardboard.
You will need the following sizes:
- 4″ square
- 2″ square
- 1″ x 2″ rectangle
- 2″ half-square triangle
Cut out the fabric
Use a hera marker to trace around the templates on the fabric.
Cut out the pieces about 1/4″ away from the marked lines.
Fabric 1:
- 4″ square
- two 1″ x 2″ rectangles
- one 2″ half-square triangle
Fabric 2:
- 2″ square
- two 1″ x 2″ rectangles
- one 2″ half-square triangle
Traditional pojagi seam technique
Stitch the pieces together using the traditional lined pojagi seam (click for detailed tutorial).
This type of seam is different from a quilting 1/4″ seam. The stitches are on the outside and are part of the design.
Don’t worry if your stitches aren’t as pretty as you would like them to be. They will get better and more consistent with practice.
The thread will be visible, so you can use a matching colour or a contrasting colour. Have fun playing with different combinations.
Assemble the front
Stitch the pieces together in the following order:
- Join the rectangles and triangles together to form squares.
Each of these units should be 2″ square if you measure marked lines.
Join the pieces together in pairs as shown in the diagram.
Last, join the pairs together to finish piecing the front of the coaster.
When the piece is finished, it should be 4″ square.
Join to the backing
Fold all the seam allowances to the inside and pin the front of the coaster to the 4″ backing square.
If necessary, adjust the size of the backing square to match the actual size of the front.
Stitch around the edge with an overcast stitch.
After stitching around all four sides, knot the thread and hide the knot on the inside.
Add a smile to your next cup of coffee with this little piece of stitching.
If you enjoyed this project, check out my collection of hand-stitched pojagi project tutorials.
The flower bookmark contains a number of different techniques.
The samosa ornament can be used as a Christmas ornament, pincushion or pattern weight.