Summer 2021 Mini Quilt Challenge: Mug Rug

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

After a break for week seven of the Summer Mini Quilts Challenge, I'm back again with another project!

The prompt I've chosen for week eight is mug rug! These small projects are great for testing new techniques, using scraps, and experimenting with patterns and designs. Beyond that, they're quick and fun to make!

Without further ado, onto the project!

Mug Rug Research

A mug rug is a fairly new genre of quilt; coined in 2010, the mug rug is credited to Amanda Jennings of the blog Hey Porkchop. While I wasn't able to find the original post, I did confirm that there were many other blogs picking up on the mug rug concept by late 2010.

A mug rug is more than the name suggests; it is not only a coaster, and instead should be large enough to hold snacks as well as a beverage! Mug rugs are also often used decoratively, to accent table settings, or to protect a surface from objects placed upon them, such as a potted plant or jewellery box.

The size of a mug rug can vary from that of a coaster to as large as a placemat, depending on the intended use. Because of their small size, mug rugs also make great gifts; they can be sent through to mail with relatively little expense, and aren't so large that their design will throw off the decor of a room.

If I wanted to classify them as such, nearly all of the mini quilts I've made so far for this challenge could be considered mug rugs!

Mug Rug Designs

Due to the variety of sizes, mug rugs provide a great opportunity for a lot of creative freedom!

A mug rug could be made using a single orphan quilt block left over from a past project, or use up many small fabric scraps from the maker's stash. They can be pieced from many tiny shapes, or a single piece of beautiful fabric!

All manner of quilt making techniques can be used to make mug rugs; hand and machine work, piecing and applique, beading and embroidery, and more are all great approaches! If you want to try a new technique, a mug rug is a great way to do that. The small scale allows for lots of experimentation and skill building before committing to a larger, more costly project.

If you're not much of a designer yourself, there are a wide variety of free mug rug patterns available online to suit your personal style, or introduce yourself to a new technique!

Regardless of the design you choose, be sure to make the mug rug using machine washable fabrics and batting. Since mug rugs are most commonly affiliated with snacking, it's important that they can be easily cleaned in the event of any spills!

Making the Mini

Once again, this week's mini quilt comes with a lot of creative freedom since the mug rug genre defines size and function, rather than aesthetic.

For my project, I avoided looking at mug rug tutorials, instead, I dove straight into my fabric for inspiration!

I found myself drawn to some of my floral remnants, which was interesting since I often overlook those, and decided specifically to use prints in the green and pink families. The floral prints and range of values I had available tempted me to try my hand at watercolour piecing!

I didn't do any additional research for this style, but from what I know, watercolour piecing incorporates floral prints of different values and saturation. The prints are cut into squares which are then laid out, grouped by colour, to form a sort of landscape background.

I took this idea and simplified it to work on a small scale:

I cut 20 squares from the floral prints, arranging them into 5 rows of 4, with the lightest pieces in the top right corner, and the darkest in the bottom left.

Despite its simplicity, I'm really happy with the way the colours and prints came together to create the impression of a garden scene! I loved the feeling I was getting from the quilt, but I wanted to add a little extra detail to increase its overall narrative.

I decided to add a leafy border around the outer edge of the watercolour panel, creating the effect of looking through the branches of a tree or hedge, and finding a beautiful garden on the other side!

I used some black strips from my stash to make a border, completing the quilt top for now. This border will give me a place to attach my applique leaves later.

I pieced together some larger pieces of floral fabric to make a backing, then quilted it together with some batting and the quilt top.

Normally, I would complete the applique before quilting the layers together, but my research suggested that mug rugs are a good opportunity to try new techniques! I remembered reading once that applique shapes can be sewn to a block after quilting, rather than before, and I thought I would give it a try!

My leaves were made using the templates from Cathy Ericson's Circular Leaf block from the National Quilt Museum's 2021 block of the month program, you can read more about that in my 17 June Project Update.

I have a strange way of preparing applique shapes which I think was inspired by English paper piecing. I thread mark around the outline of the finished shape, fold the seam allowance to the back, then baste it in place with a long running stitch. One day I will research proper needle turn applique, but that is a topic for another week.

With the applique shapes basted, I placed them individually around the frame, rearranging them until I had a composition I was happy with. I used a slip stitch to secure the leaves to the background one at a time.

To complete the mug rug, I squared off the quilt, cutting off any bits of applique that hung over the edge, and bound it in black to blend in with the leaf silhouettes.

VA, Mug Rug Mini Quilt, 2021, 6½” x 7½”, Cotton fabric, cotton thread, poly cotton batting.

I've really fallen in love with this mug rug! The simplicity of the quilt centre has a great contrast with the complicated layering of leaves. The green and pink look really lovely together, I might need to revisit this colour combination in the future!

Friends, I've had so much fun working on this week's project and learning about the not-so-long history of mug rugs! If you'd like to do a little research on mug rugs yourself, check out my references below to get started!

If I've inspired you to make a mini quilt of your own, feel free check out the original Challenge Announcement for some technique ideas and to see the guidelines I'm following! If you share photos on social media, be sure to use #summer2021miniquilts so I can find your post!

Next week, I'd like to experiment with some new quilting designs with the Free Motion Quilting prompt! If you'd like a sneak peak at my quilt for next week, or to see what other projects I'm working on, you can visit me on Instagram @vafibrearts!

I'm excited to continue expanding my quilting knowledge through this next prompt! I can't wait to see what I'll create!