Pocket Coasters

This one started when my fashionable past roommate told me I had to get rid of my old flannel shirts. "Hideous" he implied. "Comfortable" I implored. But he had been in New York longer than I had, so I trusted him. (Sigh). Alas my flannel days are now (mostly) behind me.

At the time, I had a huge pile of flannel shirts on the floor. What to do? Civic minded individuals would donate them to the less fortunate. However, being the crafty (read: selfish) person that I am, I decided that if I shouldn't wear them then maybe my drink coasters should.

Estimated cost: 5$ for cork (Staples), and the opportunity cost of not wearing flannel shirts

Time commitment: 5 minutes

It was a simple enough idea: cut the pockets off the shirts, slide cut pieces of cork into them, and close the buttons. The best part is now when I spill alcoh... I mean... "cold beverages" on them, I can just take the cork out, launder them and then put the cork back in. Good as new, or as new as a pocket from a heavily worn shirt can be.

I thought I was being super clever with this idea, until I went on Etsy and discovered that this has been done 80+ times before. They even have jean coasters. These people think of everything!

If you have some undesirable shirts to get rid of, why not try this idea? Make a set of four, and give it as a gift! This can help assuage the guilt associated with not donating (or not wearing) the shirts. Happy crafting!

P.S. - I would save the leftover shirt material after the pockets are removed. I'm sure we can use it for something else later on #craftfortomorrow. (Note: not a real hashtag, or at least not one I'm starting).