Monday, March 14, 2011

Tutorial - St. Patrick's Day Mug Rug

Are you in the mood for a fun, Irish-themed sewing project?  Then you've come to the right place!  I'm serving up a tutorial for a St. Patrick's Day mug rug that will go well with whatever your drink of choice this week, be it Irish coffee, Guinness, or something else.


Here's what you will need:


From GREEN fabric:
Cut 3 - 1.5 x 3.5 inch strips
Cut 1 - .75 x 3.5 inch strip
Cut 3 - 2 inch squares
Cut 1 - 1.5 inch square

From ORANGE fabric:
Cut 1 - 1.5 x 3.5 inch strip

From WHITE fabric:
Cut 2 - 1.5 x 3.5 inch strips
Cut 3 - 1 inch squares
Cut 1 - 2.5 inch square
Cut 2 - 1.5 inch squares

From BLACK fabric:
Cut 2 - 7/8 inch x 3.5 strips
Cut 2 - 1.5 x 10.5 inch strips
Cut 2 - 1.5 x 5.5 inch strips

BACKING fabric:
Cut 1 - 13.5 x 6.5 rectangle

BATTING:
Cut 1 - 13.5 x 6.5 piece

BINDING:
Cut 1 - 2.25 x WOF (width of fabric) strip; press in half lengthwise.

Irish Flag Block:  Sew together one each of the green, white, and orange 1.5 x 3.5 strips (1/4 inch seams throughout).


Shamrock Block:  Put one 1-inch white square into the corner of each of the three 2-inch green squares.  Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner; stitch along line.  Trim and press outward.


Make stem of shamrock by cutting white 2.5 inch square on diagonal.  Sew white triangles to either side of .75 x 3.5 inch green strip.  Press and trim to 2 inches square.



Sew together the four squares to make shamrock.  Press and trim block to 3.5 square.


Nine-Patch Block:  Sew together two 1.5 x 3.5 inch green strips with one 1.5 x 3.5 inch white strip in center.  Sew the two  white 1.5 inch squares together with one green 1.5 inch square in center.  Sub-cut the green-white-green strata into two 1.5 x 3.5 inch strips.  Assemble 9-patch.



Sew a 7/8 x 3.5 inch strip between blocks.


Sew black border strips to top and bottom, then to each side.


Layer backing (wrong side up), batting, and top.  Pin baste.  I like to use straight pins for small projects like this, as they're easier to remove without shifting layers.

Quilt as desired.  I went with straight line, vertical stitching in the ditch.  You will want to switch to your walking foot at this point if you're doing straight line quilting.  I also find it helpful to use painter's tape as a guide.



After quilting, trim away excess batting and backing.  Press binding strip in half lengthwise and bind.



And you're done!  Admire your mug rug from both sides!


Then pour yourself a cold one (or hot), and celebrate!


Oh, how I wish this were Bailey's Irish Cream, but being dairy intolerant, I had to settle for chocolate soy milk (and dream on).  Anyway, cheers!

10 comments:

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

Well done! Thanks for sharing your pattern:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this! I almost stopped at the fabric store tonight on my way home, but decided not to. Now I have to. I have no orange fabric.

Sarah Craig said...

Great tutorial - I love that little shamrock!! And about basting - this is where I like to use Rave hairspray - it works great for small items like this and smells great!

Elizabeth said...

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. That Irish mug rug is just so darn cute. Excellent tutorial.

xo -El

Shay said...

Excellent tutorial P! I wonder if the Irish are famous for wine..I could make a wine rug...

Michelle said...

Thanks so much for posting the tutorial. If I ever get a chance to quilt again, I may do this.

Elly D said...

Wish I had found your tutorial sooner ;) I love your Irish Mug Rug!! Thank you :) Elly

DaneMommy said...

Thanks for the easy to follow instructions! Just completed my version in about 2 hours :) Love it!

5bird7 said...

Great to see this little pattern. It was brought up on Carmen's Quilts fb page today.

Unknown said...

So pretty, I sewed four together lengthwise to make a table runner.