Woven Ribbon Coasters

 Happy Fall!

Today I have a fun fall craft for you using Gwen Studios ribbons.  They have a great assortment of types, colors and sizes from which to choose at all the major craft chains. These woven ribbon coasters or mug mats are quick to make and you can choose the colors you like.  I love designing with fall colors, so I chose a selection of those. They'll add bright color to your morning cup of coffee.

Woven Ribbon Coasters

For this coaster I used the burlap ribbon as a base and wove the colored grosgrain ribbon through the burlap ribbon.  

To create the base, I laid five 5" pieces of burlap ribbon next to each other.  To hold these in place while weaving, I cut two strips of adhesive-backed felt and laid them across the ends of the burlap ribbons.

Lengths of grosgrain ribbon were woven through the burlap base ribbons.  Go around the coaster and lift and glue all the free ends of ribbon, front and back.  Then you can remove the sticky felt.  You can also back the coaster with felt.

You can also use masking tape to hold the base ribbons in place. In the photo below, the tops of the base ribbons are taped down making it easier to lift and weave.

Trim the ends as you like.  I left mine long, but you could also trim them close to the burlap ribbon. To make the fringe on the burlap ribbon, clip with scissors and pull out some strands.

Here's another version of the coaster:

I like this one for all the bright fall colors, but one problem is noticeable if you look closely. On this one, the glue I used was too liquid and I used too much which caused it to bleed through the ribbon.  So, a note on the glue you use - use a heavy tacky glue and don't use too much to avoid this problem.  You can also use glue dots or small squares of double-sided tape.

On this coaster, I cut the ends closer and straight across.  Add a no-fray liquid to the ends of the ribbon if you wish.  

And, here's one last version.  It's a little smaller and the ends are trimmed diagonally at different lengths.

Find these great ribbons at Walmart.com. Joann.com or Michaels.com. Here are some links to get you started.

Burlap ribbon

5/8" grosgrain

3/8" grosgrain

For more fall ribbon fun, head to the Designer Crafts Connection blog. Have fun creating with Gwen Studios ribbon!

(As a member of the Gwen Studios design team, I receive samples of their fine ribbon for use in my designs.  I find it to be of excellent quality.)