I never used a mug rug until I learned to make one myself. I learned it online many years ago when I bought my new sewing machine and was eager to look for different sewing projects and learn new sewing skills. Once I had made mug rugs for myself, I found them very useful. You can take these rugs to different tables or side tables of your house and place a coffee mug and some snacks along with it.
So in this article, I will teach you how to make a mug rug. There is only one basic quilting technique to make a mug rug which I will be using to make the simplest and easiest mug rug. However, once you learn this technique and manage to make one, you can apply the same technique to more complicated designs and shapes.
So let’s just start making a mug rug right away.
Things you need
- Quilt padding
- Colorful fabric cuttings
- Backing fabric
- Pins and clippers
- Fabric cutter or scissors
- Sewing machine
Quick and Easy Method to Make a Mug Rug
Step 1: Preparing Quilt Padding
Cut a quilting padding of desired rectangular size. In this project, I will be taking it of dimension 10”x15”
Now take a solid color fabric for the backing. To keep a sewing margin of 1” along the edges, the size of this backing fabric would be 12”x17”.
Place the quilting padding over the backing fabric.
Step 2: Quilting Quilt Strips
Now you need some colorful strips of 2” width or any other size. Lay them out on the quilting padding so that they cover it completely.
Now we would start quilting from one side. Pin left most strip on its position with the good side facing upward.
Now pile another strip onto the first strip with the good side joining together.
Now make a straight stitch on its outer edge. When you open the upper strip, it will look like this.
Now do the same for the rest of the strips until you cover the whole quilt padding.
If there are some extra pieces along the edges, you can cut them down from the back side like this.
Step 3: Preparing the Border of the Mug Rug
Now you need to fold the margin area of the backing fabric from the middle.
Now, if you make another fold of the backing fabric from the edge of the quilting padding, thus making a single hem. This hem would cover all the free edges of the strips. Clips the backing fabric in this position
Now take it to the sewing machine and sew around the border.
Your mug rug is ready to be used or sold.
If you don’t have a quilting machine, here are our recommendations for the best ones for you.
Concluding Remarks
As you have learned to make a simple mug rug using long strips, you can certainly use the same technique in your next mug rug project but with smaller and thinner strips. This would make your mug rug more elegant. So go ahead and make your own mug rugs of different sizes and styles.
Hey, this is Jane, and I started sewing for myself in high school, which later took me to pursue a career as a seamstress/tailor. And I hope to share my experience and findings from my experience as a sewer to guide you in your sewing journey as well.
