Mug Rug Blog Hop: Day 3

This week we're hosting the Mug Rug Blog Hop!
In celebration of fall, a season filled with mugs of apple cider, tea, and even hot cocoa, we have four different bloggers sharing a mug rug design they've created with one of our new fabric lines. 

BYOM (bring your own mug), but we'll provide the mug rug inspiration, as well as fabric giveaways! 

Today we're featuring the intriguing Nature's Pearl collection from Kanvas. These fabrics have pearlescent accents that create an almost luminous effect. They're gorgeous, and the prints are so fun to work with--dotted spirals, dandelion puffs, leaves and a wavy stripe. We're showing two different methods (fusible and topstitch) to make a similar looking mug rug that plays off of the soft, wavy designs that appear in the fabric. Enjoy the tutorial and at the bottom find out how you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Nature's Pearl. 

A look at the fabrics we're working with--a nice variety of values and prints

You'll need: 
2-5 fat quarters
12" square of black solid (for the fusible technique only)
Two 2-1/4" x 42" strips for binding
12" square of backing fabric
12" square of batting
Fusible web (for the fusible technique only)

Making Mug Rug #1 (fusible technique)
1. From each fat quarter, cut a 6" x 12" piece. Cut an equal number of 6" x 12" fusible web pieces. Apply the fusible web to the back side of each piece. 

2. Trim the black square to measure approximately 9-1/2" x 11-1/2" (our finished mug rug is 8-1/2" x 10-1/2"; if you'd like yours to be smaller, start with a smaller black piece that is approximately 1" larger than your desired finished size).

3. With your rotary cutter, freehand cut gentle curved strips from the fused fabric pieces. Try to vary the shape of the curves and the width of the strips. You'll want between 8-12 strips total. Cut one strip with a straight edge to position at the bottom of the mug rug. 

4. Lay the first strip on the black background. 

5. Begin adding additional strips, experimenting with placement. Don't fuse anything in place yet. 

6. Notice how we let the black background show through in places. 

7. When you are satisfied with your strip placement, fuse the strips in place. 

8. Layer the fused top, batting, and backing piece. Quilt as desired (we free motion quilted wavy lines). Try to stitch close to each raw edge to help secure. Trim to desired finished size.

9. Use the binding strips to find the mug rug. Enjoy!

Making Mug Rug #2: (topstitch technique)
1. Choose a fabric for the background and cut a 12" square. Cut 4" x 12" strips from the remaining fabrics. 
2. Layer a 6" x 12" strip under the bottom edge of the background fabric so the two overlap slightly. With your rotary cutter, freehand cut a gentle curve. Remove the two scrap pieces. 

3. Turn one of the cut pieces over and press the curved edge 1/4" to the wrong side. 

4. Pin in place on the background fabric, just above the cut curved line. Topstitch to secure. 

 5. In the same way, lay another strip on the background fabric, leaving a gap so the background shows through. Cut a wavy line, remove the scraps, and then press and stitch the new strip in place. 

6. Continue adding pieces in the same manner until you are satisfied with how it looks. 

7. Layer with backing and batting and quilt as desired. We quilted in wavy lines again. Trim to desired finished size. 

8. Bind and enjoy!

Both of these techniques are fun and easy and create a similar looking result. We made the first mug rug using a greater variety of fabrics so it has a scrappier appearance. For the second mug rug, we used only three fabrics. 

To be entered for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Nature's Pearl, leave a comment below telling us if you've ever sewn with curves before. Contest ends Sunday, October 23rd at 11:59 pm EST. 

Make sure to catch all of the tutorials in our Mug Rug Blog Hop!

Tuesday: Chris from made by ChrissieD featuring Sewing Room

Wednesday: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring Wings

Thursday: Benartex blog design team featuring Nature's Pearl

Friday: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts featuring Kitchen Love