Knit and Crochet Coasters with Mod Podge Ultra

I recently got back from attending the Creativation show in Phoenix AZ. Creativation is a trade show for those of us who are craft professionals, and I always have a wonderful time. One of the coolest things I saw was this new Mod Podge Ultra, a spray version of Mod Podge available in both matte or gloss finishes, that functions as an adhesive, a finish, and even a pouring medium! I took a hands on class, then decided to play around with it myself.

One of the things the manufacturer talked a lot about was how this spray formula made it easy to work with paper, fiber, fabric, and other porous materials so I decided to put that to the test. I made up a quick swatch in knit, and a small granny square, out of a small ball of stash yarn. How many of those little balls of yarn do you have???

I purchased some “subway tile” corner pieces at the local home store. They are a little over 4″ square and cost well under $1.00 each.

I used Mod Podge Ultra in Gloss, although all things being equal, from the finish on the fiber I could have used either. At this moment they are only available on Amazon.com (affiliate links below) but they should be available in stores in a couple of months.

For the crochet version, I simply made a 4 round granny square.

For the knit version I cast on 20 sts, knit 5 more garter st rows for 3 ridges; did k3, p14, k3 on WS rows and knit across on RS rows, ending the swatch with 5 knit rows and a knitwise bind off. I think I could have made the swatch a little smaller but we live and learn!

And I spritzed the whole thing on some inexpensive silicone baking mats from Amazon so nothing would stick that shouldn’t have!

1) Shake the Ultra well to make sure it hasn’t separated.

2) If it’s a new bottle or you haven’t used it in a while, prime the pump by spraying towards a paper towel until product sprays out. Make sure to depress the pump all the way.

3) Place tile right side up and swatch wrong side up on your work surface and spray both pieces. Align them with sticky sides together, until you are happy with the position and they begin to set.

4) When it’s dry enough that the swatch won’t wander off on its own, place the coaster on top of an empty cup to make sure it’s easy to spray the unfinished sides.

5) Spray heavily, on the top of the tile and on all three unfinished sides.

6) Let cure overnight.

That’s really all there is to it! Go crazy and use up all the small balls of yarn floating around your stash!