DIY Fabric Coasters, or mug rugs, are so easy to make! There are many patterns on Pinterest for making your own quilted mug rug. This simple project is inspired by this beautiful fat quarter bundle I found. This particular bundle is from The Pioneer Woman and can be found at your local Walmart.
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Isn’t this a beautifully coordinated set of fabrics? As soon as I saw it, I started brainstorming for how to use it. The bright red and blue flowers put a smile on my face. Ultimately, I decided to make napkins. Since the fabrics are cut 18-inches long by half the width of the fabric, these napkins will be slightly smaller than I would normally make. The fabric pieces will be 18-inches square. Instead of the 1/2-inch hem I like, we will make a 1/4-inch hem. Regardless, they will look amazing with our red Fiesta dishes.
But there will be fabric scraps and the idea of having little fabric coasters from these same materials seems like a great idea.
DIY Mug Rug
Supplies and tools:
- Fat quarter bundles or fabric scraps
- Matching or coordinating thread
- Cotton quilt batting
- Sewing machine
- Rotary cutting tool and mat
- Easy Square Jr. Ruler – (optional)
- Scissors
- Straight pins or Plastic sewing clips
- Point turner
- Disappearing ink pen
- Iron
- Felt Ironing mat
You can find fat quarter bundles on Amazon through the link above. There are many options there, too.
Use the cotton quilt batting that is a low loft batting. You don't want the mug to be unstable. I used the Wrap-n-Zap batting used for the microwave bowl cozy.
The easy square ruler is not absolutely necessary; however, it makes it easy to square up the blocks. It works great with a rotary cutter.
You can use an ironing board instead of a felt mat, but I love this felt mat! It has come in so handy! A word of caution, you can't use a high heat on it. It is wool after all. Just use the wool setting and mist cottons with water to release wrinkles if necessary.
Directions:
Since the leftover fabric pieces are not 5-inches wide, we will have to piece a couple of fabrics together. Usually, it is necessary to be very careful to sew consistent and scant 1/4-inch seams when you are piece quilting. For this project, it is less critical. We are only going to have one seam right down the middle.
First, line up the long cut edges of the scraps. Sew a 1/4-inch seam along the long edge. Then, press the seam to one side. Open the seam and press.
Cutting the Fabric Squares for a 4-Inch Mug Rug
Cut out the top layers of the fabric coasters 5 by 5-inches to create squares. Then, cut the fabric for the backs the same size.
To do this, place the 2-1/2 – inch line on the seam. Position the 5-inch mark along the right edge. Use the rotary cutter to cut the top and left edges.
Flip the fabric square and line up the 5-inch mark on the bottom corners. The Easy Square makes this easy! Cut the top edge with the rotary cutter. You will have a 5-inch square.
If you have cut 18-inch squares for napkins, you should be able to cut three 5-inch squares from the leftover scraps of each sewn piece.
Cut the batting for the inside of the coasters to 5 by 5 inches, also. You can use the Easy Square and the rotary cutter for this, too.
Prepare the Squares for Quilting
Place the quilt batting square on your work surface. Lay one of the fabric squares, right side up, on top of the batting. Then, place the second quilt square, right side down, squarely on top of the pile.
Either pin the sides together or use sewing clips to hold the three squares together. (I’m really liking these clips!)
Stitching
Stitch around the squares, leaving a 1/2 – inch seam allowance. Leave a 1-1/2 – inch opening in the middle of one of the sides. I left a 1-inch opening and struggled. Make it easy on yourself, leave a 1-1/2-inch opening. Be sure to backstitch when you begin and end your stitching. Be sure to leave the opening on one of the edges without the seam. You won’t put undue stress on the pieced seam.
Trim the corners. Trim the batting to 1/8-inch from the stitching.
Then, turn right side out. Use a point turner to make sure the corners are as sharp as possible. With the quilt batting, it can’t be perfectly sharp. Press with an iron making sure to press the opening edges neatly.
Top Stitching the Mug Rug
Edgestitch around the fabric square. Start stitching at one of the seams where the two fabrics are pieced together. Backstitch when beginning and ending stitching. Trim the threads.
Then, begin stitching a square 1/2-inch from the edge, backstitching when beginning and ending. Start at the same seam your edge stitching began. Trim threads.
Use a Disappearing Ink pen to draw another square inside this square. On this mug rug, the center square is 5/8-inch from the second square of stitching. Then, stitch the square, backstitching at the beginning and ending of stitching. Trim threads and you’re done!
Just imagine a set of these in a gift basket along with a coffee mug, some coffee, and a box of cookies or chocolates! It makes a great gift.
These are so pretty and very functional, too!
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