Mug Rug Blog Hop: Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of our Mug Rug Blog Hop! Today Debby Kratovil from Debby Kratovil Quilts is sharing a mug rug made using the beautiful Fossil Fern prints and the Royal Star block. 

We hope you enjoy Debby's tutorial! Make sure to scroll to the very bottom of the post to find out how to enter for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of fabric!

Here's Debby!

Just like a box of candy spilled on my counter top - yum, yum!

Hi, Debby here! This is my day to reveal a mug rug for the Sew in Love with Fabric blog hop. I knew I wanted to work with the Fossil Fern Collection by Benartex. I've been playing with those fabrics for almost 15 years. Yes, they still produce these fabrics - never before has a fabric line stayed popular for so long.

I opened my box of fat quarters (sent to me several years ago by the Marketing Director) and selected a few colors . . .

Box of fat quarters of Fossil  Ferns

And I revisited one of my all time favorite patterns from one of my all time favorite quilts - The Royal Star. Yes, I will be sharing this pattern - make one block, make 16.

Royal Star Quilt

But, can I show you first the children's mug rugs I made for my grandsons last summer with some Fossil Ferns and some novelty prints from Baby Safari (also Benartex) . . .

Twisted Hexagon blocks, no binding, just pinked edges

Twisted Hexagon blocks with striped binding

Now for the Royal Star block, paper pieced and then quilted.

STEPS FOR MAKING A ROYAL STAR BLOCK:

1. Prepare your foundations. You will need four of the star corners. Pre-cut the fabric shapes for each of construction (all sizes for these are in the FREE PATTERN)

Cut out parts according to pattern

 2. Use the blue square in Position #1 on the pattern. Place it on the UNWRITTEN side of the pattern with the wrong side of fabric touching this unwritten side.

Notice that the fabric extends away from all lines around Patch #1. Pin in place

3. Without turning pattern over, fold back along line between Patch 1 and Patch 2. Trim away excess blue fabric, leaving 1/4" seam allowance.

 Both sides trimmed

Both sides of Patch #1 trimmed, leaving 1/4" seam allowance from side lines.

(Dark) postcard used; fold along line. Add A Quarter ruler gives perfect 1/4" seam allowance.

4. Pin rectangle (orange) for Patch #2 to cut edge of Patch #1, right sides together. Pin

Fabric for Patch #2 pinned, aligned along newly cut edge of Patch #1.

5. Now it's time to turn pattern over and sew on the line between Patch #1 and Patch #2. Sew all the way from the outside edge of the pattern, THROUGH both outside seam allowances. Finger press orange patch away from seam (see below)

6. Repeat for Patch #3. Pin and sew on the side with the lines. Turn pattern over and this is what you see . . .

Patch #3 added. Notice I have sewn from edge of fabric to other edge of fabric.

7. Press patches as shown . . .

Patches pressed, awaiting trimming

8. Time to trim again before you add the last two (blue) patches. ALL trimming is done on the printed side. Fold the pattern back on the line, use an Add-a-Quarter ruler for the 1/4" seam allowance.

Patches 2 and 3 trimmed

 9. Add Patches 4 and 5, one at a time; press  . . .

Star point unit - what a mess, huh?

10. Now it's time to trim excess fabric using the seam allowance markings on the pattern. Turn this over and . . .

If you look closely, you can see how I sewed off the paper with every seam. This ensures that I sewed in the seam allowances, just as you do with traditional piecing. Those seams criss-cross in the seam allowances.

Can you see the excess fabric that extends away from the outside of the paper?

11. The outside edges of my paper are where I'm going to trim. It is 1/4" away from the outside triangle line of the unit.

Wow! It sure looks good when it gets cleaned up.

Can we see the front? Glad you asked . . .

Make 4 of these for each block

 Now it's time to add the Nine Patch (made with 2-1/2" squares) with the Star Points.

Royal Star block parts

Now for the full block sewn:

Isn't she pretty?

I was just using scraps, so I didn't have enough to make a bigger mug rug. I did have one I made a while ago that I'll show you. But first, let's see another color combination . . .

Royal Star block with black background

And how does it look with some of the sashings like I used in my full quilt? When the sashing fabric is the same color as the block background, the star seems to float on the black

Triple sashing and 9 patch blocks

And here's my mug rug from a previous life . . .

Block size: 8-1/2". With 1" sashings and squares: 14-1/2" x 14-1/2"

Now for the link to the pattern: Royal Star Quilt (16 blocks for a quilt or just make one block)

Thanks Debby!

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Benartex or Kanvas fabric, simply sign up to follow this blog, either through Bloglovin' (or another blog reader service) or email (both options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment letting us know you follow. In your comment, also tell us your favorite month for quilting. Leave a second comment and receive a second entry by following us on Facebook and letting us know. This giveaway is open through Wednesday, February 5 at 11:59 PM EST. 

Make sure you check out all the Mug Rug tutorials!

Day 1: Benartex Design Team featuring Bohemian Rhapsody

Day 3: Stitched Together Studios featuring Shaken or Stirred

Day 4: Benartex Design Team featuring Puppy Love and Smooches

Day 5: Candace from Saltwater Quilts featuring Gramercy

Day 6: Julie from The Crafty Quilter featuring Sweet Tweet

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