Fall Leaf Coaster Sewing Pattern

It’s autumn here in the eastern United States and leaves are turning brilliant colors before they fall from the trees and litter our yards and landscapes. Last year I found so many pretty leaf shapes just in my driveway alone. (Having recently moved from Kansas, I’m as excited as a kid to see so many trees. Raking them is another matter!)

A sweet friend of mine had these wonderful leaf coasters out last year when we had a fellowship get-together at her home. When I asked about them, she told me her mom had made them! She let me borrow one as an example so I could try to replicate the pattern. It was sooo kind of her.

Pretty Fall Leaf Coaster Tutorial & SVG Pattern

I didn’t want to try to dupe her mom’s pattern exactly (to give credit where credit is due), so I decided I would dupe some of God’s originals. I snapped pictures of many of the beautiful leaves I found in my driveway and then transferred the images to my vector graphics program to make cuttable svg files.

Meanwhile, I scoured the fabric stores near me to find a leaf print I could use to make fall leaf coasters.

What fabrics to use

I wasn’t able to find the same leaf print her mother used, but at long last I found something I thought would work. The neat thing about leaf shapes, though, is that you can make them for practically any season. These same leaf designs would look pretty in a bright spring yellow-green print, a deep “leaf green” fabric for summer, or the browns, golds, oranges, and reds of autumn.

These leaf coasters would be gorgeous made from a wool blend felt that wouldn’t fray as much as the cotton fabric I used, but I really loved the simplicity and homespun look of my friend’s zig-zag finished coasters with their sweet woven print. That’s what I wanted to imitate with my handmade version.

For the interior layer of the coaster, you could use thin batting, flannel, felt, or anything absorbent.

Cutting the leaf pattern

I would like to say this is an easy leaf coaster sewing project, but it depends on the complexity of the leaf shape you choose. Sewing the maple leaf shape requires some fussy and detailed twists and turns at the machine. Then, trimming the fabric outside the stitch line after it’s sewn will have you reaching for your bifocals if you wear them. (I used a magnifying glass.)

But it’s a thoroughly satisfying project if you like making stuff.

You can cut the shapes by hand or use your cutting machine. (I used the Cricut Maker with the fabric grip mat for mine.) Whichever way you choose, I hope you enjoy sewing these fall leaf coasters!

If you’re a hand with embroidery, you could probably also just use a blanket stitch around the edges and back-stitch up the center of these for an even more homespun look and feel. It certainly would only add to the warmth and coziness of these sweet fall coasters.

What size should you make them?

About the size of the leaf coasters: I like the ones that are about 5″ by 6″ across, or something close to that. Obviously, it’s not critical to get the dimensions precisely right. A 5×6-inch coaster fits my coffee cups well. You could make these a lot larger and turn them into placemats. Or you could cut out a middle-size and make them as potholders, I guess! (You would want to use a thermo-resistant batting for the middle layer, in that case.) The possibilities are endless!

Keep reading to see how to make the coasters for your own fall tables.

Cut out the leaf shape pattern I’ve provided here. Remember to use your regular scissors, not your fabric scissors! 🙂 (The paper will dull the fabric scissors blades and they won’t be good for cutting fabric anymore.)

Fold fabric wrong sides together and lay it out on your work table. Place the pattern on top of your fabric and draw around it with chalk, a heat-erasable Frixion pen, or even a regular pen or pencil. Whatever shows up on your fabric and won’t show on your finished design. Pin the two layers together and cut around the line. You’ll have two leaf shapes.

Or, download the svg, upload it to Design Space or other cutting machine software. Repeat the image as many times as will fit in the dimensions of your machine.

Using a fabric grip mat, place the fabric on the cutting mat and follow the directions for your particular machine. On the Cricut Maker, I use the rotary blade and fabric mat. If you have a different machine, you may have to iron some stabilizer to the back of your fabric first. This won’t hurt and should only help your finished coaster, so go ahead and do it if you like!

Once the design is cut: If you like, freehand draw the stem lines on the leaves. This will become a line of stitching that lightly quilts the layers to hold them in place.

Note: When I first started making this project, I cut both the top and backing fabric into the leaf shape. But then I realized it was easier to sew if I cut squares of the backing fabric, then sewed the leaf shape onto it. I used a brown woven cotten as the backing, or bottom fabric, in the picture below.

Next, reduce the size of the leaf shape slightly and cut a new, smaller version of it. This is for the batting, felt or flannel that you’ll use for the inside layer of the coaster. It isn’t really essential to use an inside layer, but it will add to the absorbency of the coaster and is kind of nice. Let me note here that really, you can use almost any type of fabric for your interior. If you have some old wash cloths, cloth diapers, kitchen towels, etc. just use them! I’m going to bet that’s what moms and daughters did back in the olden days. (They didn’t have Walmarts back then.) If you’re using a wool-bled felt as the exterior of the leaf coaster, you can skip this step, as your project will be fine without an interior layer.

Sandwich the leaf and bottom layers with right sides facing out and your batting in the middle. Pin or clip around the edges if you like, then take the project to your sewing machine. On the machine, select a zig zag or blanket stitch. Here, I highly recommend taking a scrap piece of fabric and testing the length and width of your zig zag to make sure it will look nice on your leaf.

If you want stem lines up the center of your leaf, stitch those first, starting with the long central line up the middle of the leaf shape. Then sew the branching stem lines. Finally, zig-zag around the edges of the leaf shape. This last part is the trickiest; I had to frequently stop my machine with needle down, lift the presser foot, and look where I was at. Actually, when I switch to the wide opening, clear plastic applique foot of my machine, the job became much easier. If you have that foot, you’ll thank yourself for using it. Otherwise, a regular foot is fine.

And again, if you chose the simpler leaf shape, this won’t be as much of an issue. I used a simplified maple leaf as my first shape. Even though I rounded the corners and simplified the design a lot from the actual leaf shape, it was the kind of job where you have to hold your tongue just right. (I loved every minute of it, though.)

Finally, use scissors to trim any excess fabric outside the stitching, making sure you don’t accidentally cut into your stitching. If you like the frayed or uneven look, you can totally skip this step. It’s a design choice.

I hope you enjoy making these fall leaf coasters as much as I enjoyed figuring out how to make them! I still like my friend’s mom’s version the best, but these are a pretty and functional small sewing project that is just fun to do. And I love the seasonal accent in my home!

Another thing I like is that fabric coasters aren’t breakable. We have a tile floor in our kitchen and living area, and I’ve broken a tile coaster when it slid off the table. These fabric coasters won’t break!