mug rug tutorial

After making my tree skirt, I was left with quite a few scraps of quilting and linen fabric,

so I had to make something with them,

it would be a shame to waste them!

It is this year version of my favorite mug rug (and one of my most popular post!)

It was originally designed by Mary of Pin.Sew.Press.

A few of my sewing buddies have asked me over the years how I made mine,

so I thought I would make a tutorial of my favorite mug rug.

Here are all the pieces required for this mini quilt:

4 pieces for the background: 2.5 X 2.5, 2.5 X 4.5, 3.5 X 2.5, 3.5 X 4.5.

12 squares 1.5 X 1.5 of various fabric.

stitch the squares together in the following groups:
2, 3 and 7.

Stitch the band of squares between 2 background pieces.

Stitch the long band of squares between the 2 other bands.

The top is complete.

Cut a piece of fabric for the back and some batting,
here I used some insulated batting but it is not necessary.

Quilt it which ever way please you!

It is so small, it is a great way to practice free motion quilting...

(even with diagonal lines, it still ended it a little crooked!)
If you want perfect symmetry, the angle has to be 45 degrees, and not to the corners!

Prepare some binding.
I used to make regular quilting binding (2 1/2" wide piece of fabric, folded in half),
but it is a little too thick for such a small quilt, so I made a simple single layer binding.
You can check out this tutorial on single binding,
mine is slightly different, but both work fine.

I like to hand stitch the other side of the binding,
I know it takes extra times, but I like the finished look.

And here you have your cute mug rug!

Also cute from the back, the raccoon was framed totally unintentionally!

Now see back and enjoy a nice cup of chai,
or whatever you drink....no judging here!

Happy sewing!

a new mug rug, updating a favorite

I could not help myself!

Having sewn some new cool indigo pillows,

I made a coordinating mug rug....

Doesn't everybody do that?

 Miss C. made some cute valentine's day cookies

 (from a box mix, she is baking all by herself)

just the perfect touch after a long day at work.

I mixed linen and various prints from the Aria collection,

since I purchased a few fat quarters....

You might recognize the design of this mug rug,

as I have made many versions of that pattern.

You can follow my tutorial if you are interested,

it is an easy project, the quilting is the longest part,

but still pretty fast.

here for the tutorial.

Mug rugs are the perfect size to try a new technique.

I like this echo quilting on the diagonal, 

this time I did a better job than previously,

so no matter how many I make, there is still room for improvement!

Luckily we spill a lot, so there is always a need for more!
Happy sewing!

mason jar mug rug

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.... lots of beautiful pictures, too many temptations, not enough time, for sure there is no way I can make all the things I pinned! Sometimes, I like what I see so much, that I have to make it, right away, like in the case of this cute mason jar block from "bee in my bonnet" I had not sewed or quilted in a while, so it was a great little project, and there is always need for an extra mug rug! I did not have the pattern, so I sort of winged it, the jars are a little more square than I wanted, but it will do.

I like my mug rug extra wide, you know with space for a treat or something, so I place the mason jars on the side and added a cute little label, it was inspired by Amy's book: Sweetly stitched handmade, also known as Nana Company.

I just love the addition of the little label, now we shall see  how it survives all the spilling that will happen...
Happy sewing!

this year Christmas mug rugs

Last year, I made a few mug rugs as presents,

here and here,

they were cute and successful,

both from a sewing and receiving point of view!

Of course I made some more,

but there are not going to the same people,

no need to worry my friends!

One of my favorites is this one:

little hexagons appliqued to the background.

You might have seen this one earlier here.

This year, instead of stitching the hexagons together, I used wonder under first,

then cut the shape and appliqued them to the background.

With invisible thread, I zigzagged on all the hexagons.

After that I finished the mug rug as usual, and quilted then diagonally.

I also reused the same pattern from last year,

in a very traditional red Christmas/poinsettia fabric.

And it goes so well with the red mittens!

Another addition to the mug rug is of course,

the coffee cozy!

I talked about it during the 12 days of mitten: day 5,

the perfect teacher gift!

And finally, I came up with a simple design:

just bands of background fabric with a print in between.

I think it turned out quite nice!

I am so ready for a nice cup of tea and a slice of panettone!

Happy sewing!

a simple and sweet Hygge gift basket with a mug rug, of course!

It is the season to think about gifts  for friends and family. So I made this one for a dear friend of mine who is in need of some TLC. I was inspired by the Hygge book "the cozy life" which I included in this "basket".

Hygge is a Danish thing (very popular here last year), in two words: candles and snuggle!

So there are a battery powered candle (safer than the real thing), a faux fur eye mask,

a nature inspired mug (from Pier I), some hot cocoa mix and some cookies.

Of course no cozy gift basket can be complete without a handmade part,

after all I am a sewer/crafter!

So I added a quick mug rug, without piecing but simple quilting

and some appliques.

(not very scandinavian with an Eiffel tower, but Paris is always a good idea😉)

I used some Christmas fabric remnants from other Christmas project

like my tree skirt and Christmas quilt.

A touch of red is perfect for this time of the year.

And it looks just so with the mug (it has a great sheen, like pearlescent!)

I feel like I should make myself such a gift.....

Happy sewing!

tree shape mug rug

Even after making my favorite mug rugs,

I was still left with scraps from my tree skirt.

I wanted to make something different than the same mug rugs,

it gets a little to repetitive to sew and to give 

(and receive, my family can attest of that!)

So I sewed these cute tree shape coasters.

I followed this tutorial from Stitching and Bacon.

I did a good job following the directions for the first one,

but after that I decided it needed more piecing,

but the shape remains the same.

I think it is a great addition to my collection of mug rug.

Time for some more tea!

In case you are wondering, I do have more mugs, even more deer mugs

but there is only one girl reindeer so we are stuck with this one...

I do have to share it with Miss C. who also loves this one,

may be we should get another one,

PB sells them every year...

Happy sewing!

a new fun mug rug: ugly sweater!

I could not help it, 

I made more mug rugs....

This time they are ugly sweater mug rugs!

cute, right?

The pattern is from Kidgiddy

it is paper pieced, which I am a big fan.

I do not even mind the mess on the floor from ripping the paper,

actually I do not mind the floor in general....

It comes in 2 sizes, I made the smaller one,

and in this case I added a side panel as I like my mug rug rectangle,

for the cookie of course!

I could not stop at just one so I made three,

if I have more time, I think I will make a few more,

maybe for a pillow cover....

you can see some great blocks on Instagram #uglysweaterblock.

Happy sewing!