Make Your Own Mug Rug

Mug rugs make great gifts. I’ll show you just how easy it is to create your own.

Looking for a teacher gift or something special for mom? Why not a mug rug! Just choose one of Bonnie’s cute designs, embroider it, and stitch up the mug rug on your sewing machine with one seam and no finish work!

The Design

Start with choosing the design. You can pick any design that you like.  I chose Bonnie’s pretty Wing Needle Butterflies. You may remember them from the Kitchen Boa project and when we added mylar for some sparkle behind the heirloom wing needle stitching.

Stitch the design on a piece of cotton fabric slightly larger than the size of mug rug you want to make. I chose to use the design in a horizontal format.

Preparing Mug Rug Pieces

You can make the mug rug any size that you like. I made my front piece 9 x 11 inches. I chose to offset the design to the left of center so that it still showed when it was used with a mug.

I pressed the embroidery and added fusible fleece to the back before trimming it to size.

The backs are two pieces of fabric, 12 x 9 inches folded in half (wrong sides together) to 6 x 9 inches. That way you don’t have to do any finish work along the turning edges.

Add a piece of fusible web along the folded edge of one of the back flaps. Leave paper backing on strip.

Assembling the Mug Rug 

Lay your front face up on the table. Take the back piece you added fusible web to and place it on the right side of the top, aligning raw edges along the top, bottom, and right edges. Important: Make sure the fusible strip is face up.

Place the other back piece on top of the pile, lining up raw edges along the top, bottom, and right sides. Pin all three layers in place and stitch around the entire outside edge using a half-inch seam allowance. Trim your corners and turn the mug rug inside out.

Press to flatten. Remove the paper backing of the fusible web and fuse the back seam closed.

It couldn’t be easier! Buy a pretty mug and fill it with candy, gourmet teas or coffees, or gift cards for a thoughtful gift.

Debbie Henry
Sew Inspired by Bonnie