Mug rugs are great to play and learn with. They are small in size, but great for giving a new technique a try. These mug rugs will help you understand the Quilt as you Go technique. Plus, there are 2 ways you can finish them. Depending on what look you like the best (and how much time you have to finish- the pinking sheared one is super quick!)
Fall is in the air…. cooler nights, lovely sun sets, gardens are full. I love seeing pumpkins on peoples front porches. So big and orange! Such a fun color that gets to pop out once a year.
It’s not a color that I have around my house a lot…so this time of year is extra fun when the orange gets to come out to play.
There is NO template. Pumpkins are round…so cutting the corners to a curve really works pretty well. As you can tell from the image above, I chose to do the stem at the top of the long edge on one and the center of the other side on the other.
They can be tall pumpkins or short -long ones! You can play around with it and choose for yourself.
The main thing you need to watch out for is that the batting and backing are the same size. I’m thinking you could go pretty big…and make it a table topper!
Grab your orange fabric and let’s get started!
Materials Needed:
orange fabric scraps
batting- 8″ X 10″
backing fabric – 8″ X 10″
pinking shears
brown/green – pumpkin stump
Fall Pumpkin Mug Rug Tutorial~
1) Layer your backing and batting- use fusible spray to make them stick together
2) Using your fabric strips and scraps, sew them on the batting side. Use the quilt as you go method for this.
3) Continue the process until the whole batting is covered. You may even randomly add fabric that covers other pieces….it makes things more interesting!
4) Turn the piece to the backside and trim around the edges
5) Quilt the top– I used my sewing machine foot guide to help me keep a specific distance from the seam.
6) Trim the corners so they are round- pumpkins are rounder!
This is where the tutorial splits into 2— there are 2 different methods for finishing.
Method 1 finishing the mug rug~ Binding
1) Cut your binding 2 1/4″ and bind the edge of the mug rug. Using a bias piece is the best as it goes around the curves just a little easier.
2) Using heat n bond lite– fuse a pumpkin stump shaped fabric to the top of the pumpkin. Buttonhole stitch around the edges to secure and stitch some scrolly things just for fun.
You are finished!
Finishing Method 2- pinking shears edge~
1) Using heat n bond lite- fuse a pumpkin stump shaped fabric to the top of the pumpkin. Zig zag stitch around the edges of the stem
2) Cut your pumpkin shape you’d like. You can see that the sides when down to the base of the stem
3) Sew around the edge 1/4″ — I didn’t sew the stem as I had zig zag stitched prior
4) Using pinking shears- trim the edges. Again, I didn’t do this on the stem part
and you are done!
Time to enjoy–
Add to your mug rug collection~
Becky Jorgensen is the creative quilter behind Patchwork Posse, the Patchwork Planner and her online quilt group Patchworkers Plus. You can find her patterns in books, magazines, and her quilt membership. Gather your quilting supplies, organize your sewing space, explore the process of disappearing quilt blocks, or finish a free quilt pattern. I'll help you use what you have, finish what you start and make your quilting journey fun!
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Helen says
I absolutely love this … the pinking sheers one is just perfect for me.
thank you
Becky says
you are so welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
Dorcas Holley says
I just finished 2 pumpkins, they were so easy, that is the pinking edge. I’ll be making several more mugrugs.
Thanks so much for the pattern and tutorial. Fun, Fun!
Becky says
awesome! Thanks for letting me know!