A Mug {rug} of Scraps



Hi, there!  I'm Jennifer, a.k.a That Girl, of That Girl... That Quilt...  I'm so excited to be posting here on Stash Manicure today!

When Madame Samm asked me if I would be interested in sharing here I paused for a second because I'm not known as someone who has a well manicured, under control stash.  I have only been quilting for 3 years but I have quite the fabric stash.

Got scraps? I do!

I love fabric.  Love. It.  And I buy a lot of it... just ask my habit supporting hubby, Steve.  But after I thought about it for a moment I decided that I wouldn't be a total hypocrite posting here if I shared a project that uses entirely scraps.  Right??



My first mug rug

Have you seen the mug rugs appearing on Flickr and in blogland as of late?  Carol, Madame Samm and jodi comes to mind.  There is something about them that is endearing, a bit quirky, and a lot of fun.  I made my first one on a whim and I was hooked.  They take nothing more than scraps of your favorite fabrics, a scrap of batting, a bigger piece of scrap fabric for the backing and a strip of fabric for the binding.  That's it!

So today I thought I would show you the basics of making one of these cuties.  It takes less than an hour to make one and they are awesome gifts for the fast approaching holidays.

To make the top of my rug, I use a combination of linen and quilting fabric scraps.  I piece them into a simple rectangle that measures approximately 7.5" x 9.5".  You could also make a favorite quilt block for the top.

I add a little linen pocket to my rugs to hold a spoon, a tea bag, packets of sugar, etc...  It's a simple touch that draws a lot of comments and compliments.  Here's how you make it:

Take your scrap that measures approximately 4"x8...

...and fold it in half.  It it's a patterned fabric, you will fold it with right sides together..

Starting on one side of the fold, with a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch down one long side to the corner stopping 1/4" from the edge.  With your needle down, raise the presser foot and turn the fabric and begin stitching down the short side {this will be the bottom of your pocket}

Near the middle of this side, stop, backstitch and leave an opening of 1.5".  On the other side of the opening, backstitch again and begin stitching to the corner.  Again, stop 1/4" from the corner and with your needle down, raise your presser foot to turn the pocket to stitch the last side.

To reduce bulk clip each of the corners, turn the pocket right side, make sure your corners are pointing nicely, and press. 

 Don't worry about stitching the opening closed; you will catch this when you are attaching the pocket to the mug rug.

If you want to embellish the pocket now is the time.  I stitched a few of my favorite scraps onto the pocket  with a zig-zag stitch.

Now you are ready to attach the pocket.  I just eyeballed where I wanted the pocket to go and measured to make sure it was straight.  Topstitch it onto the mug rug.  Make sure you backstitch at the corners for a little extra strength.  Done!

Layer your backing, your batting and then your top just like you would a quilt and either baste it with pins or a little basting spray and you are ready to quilt.

On this rug I just did a random grid of straight lines with my walking foot.  I changed the distance between the lines by changing my needle position.  This is a great way to try out new quilting techniques, BTW.

Once you are satisfied with your quilting square up your mug rug and bind it.  I did a tutorial for a complete binding by machine and you can find it here.  It's quick, easy, and I love the precise results!

 Thanks for letting me share here today.  Enjoy your new mug rug!

PS: I'm giving this mug rug away... stop by my blog for a chance to win!

Love to hear what you think, it encourages me to make more.
Like I needed an excuse.

Thanks everyone!
Jennifer :)