The Crafters' Way 71 - Green Coasters

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Plastic Bag Coasters

This activity is quite simple, however care does need to be taken. It is not an activity that I would recommend for young children; responsible teens could undertake if they follow safety directions. You will be heating plastic shopping bags. Please work in a well-ventilated area and take care that the bags don’t overheat. Please read all instructions before commencing.

You will need:
Plastic shopping bags
Iron set to LOW
Baking Paper
Decorative Scissors (optional)
Angelina Fibres or Tinsel

Step 1: Cut you plastic bag into squares. You can judge the size I have used by comparing the size of my embroidery scissors to the plastic. You need to squares to be bigger than the finished coaster. Don’t fuss if they aren’t “square”. You need at least 6 squares.

Step 2: Place 1 sheet of baking paper onto ironing board. Then layer 5 of the plastic squares on top.

Step 3: sprinkle Angelina Fibres or Tinsel onto the top plastic square.

Step 4: Cover with last layer of plastic

Step 5: place another sheet of baking paper on top. Make sure you completely cover the plastic.

Step 6: With your iron set to low, iron over the baking paper. The plastic will shrink. Do this carefully, checking to make sure that holes don’t appear.

Step 7: Allow a few minutes to cool. You can see how much shrinkage there was in the sample. This can vary depending on your bag.

Step 8: Using decorative scissors trim to coaster size.

Options: For a firmer coaster include a piece of cardboard between layers – recycled cereal boxes work well.
Use threads or Christmas card motifs between layers
Sew edges with decorative machine stitching.

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