Quilted Christmas Mug Rug tutorial

Looking for a fast and easy gift for Christmas? A quilted Christmas mug rug would be perfect and this tutorial to make one takes no time at all.

Fast and Easy Christmas Mug Rug Tutorial

What is really fun about making mug rugs is that they are a great way to try out a new block, play around with your quilting or applique and have something cute to show it. These make wonderful gifts also.

A 6½” x 8″ mug rug

There isn’t a set size for mug rugs….I make some smaller and some larger. This one starts out with a 6 inch block.

• Cut 4 – 2 1/2 inch squares of green fabric
• Cut 1 – 2 1/2 inch square of white fabric
• Cut 4 – 2 1/2 inch half square triangles using the Easy Angle ruler of red fabric
• Cut 4 – 2 1/2 inch half square triangles using the Easy Angle ruler of white fabric
• Cut 2 – 1 1/2 inch by 6 1/2 inch strips of red fabric

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If you don’t have the Easy Angle ruler just use any method to end up with half square triangles that are 2 1/2 inches. This is the neatest little ruler and everyone should have one.

Sew with a ¼” seam allowance. Stitch the half square triangles together first. Here is the layout for the block pieces.

Piece the rows together.

Now add the 1 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch strips to two sides. 

Now the little Christmas mug rug is pieced and ready for some applique to it.

I used the Sizzix die Tattered Florals but you could use any type of flower applique. AccuQuilt has several floral dies like this GO! Round Flower. You could also just skip this step.

I have a template for a flower that you can download and use.

Here is the finished Christmas mug rug block. If you don’t care to do applique, this would still make a cute mug rug for Christmas.

Applique

Use Heat n Bond Lite to back the piece of fabric you’ll use for the flower before cutting it out for applique. Normally I would also cut a small circle for the center of the flower but I had this neat Christmas fabric that worked perfectly for the center.

Here is the little flower cut from the fabric and ready to applique. You can applique before or after to add the batting and backing. I chose to applique afterwards.

Quilting

It is now time to quilt the mug rug. I don’t know if you can see or not but my mug rugs are usually made with my batting scraps that have been butted together and put together with a zigzag stitch.

It doesn’t really show so I drew some black lines to show where I pieced the batting. On the right side toward the bottom I sewed 2 pieces of batting together and then added another piece to the top.

Here is a closeup to show you how I did the free-motion applique and quilting. First I free-motion quilted the center flower with a cream Aurifil thread and then I switched to a red Aurifil thread for the rest of the quilting on my vintage Singer sewing machine.

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Adding corners for a wall hanging

When I was making this I wasn’t sure if it would be a mug rug or maybe a mini wall hanging so I decided to put corners on the back so it could be hung.

I used four 2½ inch squares of fabric that matched my backing.

I couldn’t get a photo to really show how I did it so I’m showing the muslin just so you can see it better. Fold each square diagonally and pin in the corners.

I used one in each corner in case I wanted to hang it vertically or horizontally. The photo shows a 1/4 inch dowel which is too big for a mug rug, I prefer a much smaller one like a 1/8 inch dowel rod as there really isn’t any weight. I like to baste the corners down before I put on my binding.

Normally I cut my binding 2½” but for this little mug rug, 2¼” was wide enough.

I did a little free motion applique around the flower and here it is finished. I sure wish I could make full size quilts this fast! Wouldn’t this make a wonderful gift for that special someone? Especially with some home-made cookies!

Quilted Christmas Mug Rug
6½” x 8″

If you like this tutorial and make a little Christmas mug rug, I would love to see it!

Please note this post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Please see full disclosure here. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Looking for great buys on fabric and things? Check out these links.

Other Christmas Tutorials

• Christmas Log Cabin Wall Hanging
• Christmas Tree Table Runner
• Christmas Tree Mug Rug