Spring-time Eggstravaganza: Stripey Egg Mug Rug Tutorial.

Hope everyone is having a great day! Today it is rainy and yucky in my part of Michigan, but I have just the thing to brighten up your day ... this cheery egg mug rug!

I used a bunch of bright fabrics for the front, and hand embroidered linen on the back.  Feel free to make this mug rug as bright or as subdued as you like.

This mug rug is very similar to a potholder tutorial I will be posting in a few days, so some of the photos from the pot holder tutorial are used here (and vice versa) for the steps that are the same. Also, if you will be planning on making the pot holder too, then save your printed egg template, because both projects use the same template.

Let's get started!

x-x-x Stripey Egg Mug Rug Tutorial x-x-x

Materials & Supplies:

Printed Egg Template HERE (prints as 2 halves that you tape together -set page scaling to none)
6 different prints of cotton, each measuring 2" x 8"
1 piece of cotton batting measuring 8" x 10"
1 piece of muslin (or other similar light colored fabric) measuring 8" x 10"
1 piece of medium weight linen measuring 8" x 10"
Basic Sewing supplies: sewing machine, needle, thread, scissors, ruler, fabric chalk, pins
Optional: embroidery floss in 6 coordinating shades and needle

A note to my international friends:  1" = 2.54 cm. 

Instructions:

Prepare Your Materials:

1. Gather all of your supplies listed above, with the fabric cut to the measurements listed above.




Please note, only 5 colors are shown, but 6 colors are to be used.

  2. Take your printed egg template and cut along the solid and dashed lines. Overlap the dashed lines slightly and tape the 2 pattern pieces together.  Set the completed egg template aside for now.

 Prepare the Linen (Optional):

3. The linen in my stitched example was first hand embroidered using a running stitch.  I used 6 different colors (to match my fabric), and stitched one row of each color across the entire width (8" measurement) of the linen.  I used fabric chalk to make 1 single line down the center for the first row, and then just stitched the other rows parallel to that row. 

This step is optional, but adds a touch of whimsy to the back.  You can embroider as much or as little as you would like, or not at all.  A printed fabric with a bold design would also be a great substitute.  Here are photos of the linen as I stitched:



1. First knot your thread, and then come up from the back of the fabric to the front. Go back down through the fabric. 2. You can make this process faster by using a really long needle such as a soft sculpture doll needle and going in and out of the fabric several times, and then pulling the floss through.  3. A completed row.  4.  More stitched rows -- I was not concerned with keeping the stitches even, and kept them sort of "wonky" looking intentionally.



4. Once you are done hand embroidering your linen, set it aside for now. 

Prepare the Quilted Top:

5. Gather your 6 printed cotton pieces and determine the order you would like them to be in. 




It is a good idea to write the number on the back of each piece in fabric chalk so you do not accidentally sew your pieces in the wrong order.  I did not number my pieces, and so I  accidentally mixed up the order of the green and blue -- Oh well!

 

6. Take your first and second piece, and align them RS together with the long edges matched up.  Sew the 2 pieces together down the one long edge using a 1/4" seam.

7.  Repeat for the remaining pieces.  Once you are finished, press all of the seams.  If you have light and dark fabrics, press the seams to the darker side, otherwise, press the seams open.





8. Lay your piece of muslin on a flat surface.  Place the batting on top of the muslin.  Lastly, place your pieced top, RS facing up, on the very top.

9. Pin your pieces together.



You now have a mini-quilt sandwich!



10. Take your quilt sandwich to your machine, and quilt as desired.  Alternately you could quilt this piece by hand.




Above is my piece once I was finished quilting.  I used the side of my presser foot as a guide to stitch on diagnol lines across the entire piece.  

 

Sew it all together:

11. Grab your printed egg template from step #2, your linen piece, and your quilted top piece.  Layer the linen piece and the quilted top piece RS together on a flat surface.  Center the egg template over your fabric and pin in place through all the layers.

12. Cut 3/8" around the pattern piece through all the layers of the fabric.

13.  Make sure once again that your pieces are RS together, and pin.  Note: If you prepared your linen the same way that I did, there really is not a RS of the linen per se, so just make sure the quilted top piece is correctly positioned.



Right sides facing together.



14.  Stitch your pieces together using a 3/8" seam.

15. Press the seams to set, and clip and notch the curvy parts being sure not to clip through the seams.



16.  Turn right side out.

Finishing the mug rug:

17. Give the pot holder a really good pressing on both sides.  The seam will be very poofy at first -- just keep pressing until it flattens out.  Be sure to fold the raw edges of the opening left for turning inwards and press.

18.  Top stitch 1/4" around the entire egg.  This will close your opening.

19. Press again.




After top-stitching and pressing.

 

20. Your mug rug is done ... I would love to see your version, post a picture in the split stitch flickr pool .

I really hope you have as much fun making this mug rug, as I had putting it together.  I think it would be fun to make a whole set to put out this time of year.  Stay tuned for a matching pot holder! If you have any questions, or any of the directions do not seem clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Enjoy!

Hugs, Sara :)

A few final notes:  This free tutorial is for personal use only.  If you would like to make items to sell using this tutorial, please purchase a printed .pdf version with revised terms of use. Copyright Sara Chung, 2011.