3D Flower Mug Rug Tutorial.

Hi there,
Today I thought I would do a tutorial on my 3D flower mug rug.  In the past week I have made 6 !

They are pretty straight forward, so why not give it a go ?

Using 4 different fabrics and referring to the photo above, make up the rug as follows :  Left hand side is a 4.5" square bordered with 2 x 2.5" x 4.5" strips in a contrast fabric, then 2 x 2.5" x 8.5" strips.

Right hand side : 4 squares of each fabric measuring 2.5" each.  Make up your checkerboard and join to the left hand side.
Layer, and quilt as desired.  I used a meandering pattern on the checkerboard and in the center square. I filled the border on the left hand side with a continuous feather.

Trim away the excess wadding and backing.  Your mug rug should measure 8" x 16"

Bind in the usual way.

Now for the fun bit - making the flower.
You need 5 circles for the petals and one contrasting for the flower center.
I use just whatever I lay my hands on which in this case was a little glass bowl.  It has a diameter of 4"  Perfect size for the petals.

Fold each of the petal circles in half and press, then fold them in half again and press.  Leave the center one for the moment.

To make the leaves, put 2 small pieces of green fabric right sides together and draw a leaf shape.
Add a piece of wadding to the back and machine stitch ALL the way around.  Cut out leaving a very small seam allowance.
Now with a sharp pair of scissors and bieng very careful to only cut one layer of fabric, make an incision and turn right side out.   You will need 3 leaves.

Using a double thread in a matching colour, work a running stitch along the curved edge of the petal.  Make sure you have the folded edges all facing the same way.  Pull the thread so as to gather the petal.

Add then next petal, then the remainder.  When you get to the last one pull up tightly then join to the first one. Work a couple of extra stitches just to hold it securely.

Do not fasten off the thread.

Make a Suffolk Puff or a Yoyo with the center circle.  Do not fasten off this thread either. 

Using your flower as a guide, position the 3 leaves in a nice arrangement and pin.

To attach the leaves to the rug, I machine quilted mine but this could easily be done by hand. 

Now using the thread already attached, stitch the flower to the rug.  Use small stiches and 'hide' them in the folds of the petals.

Add the Suffolk Puff in the same way and finish off with a nice button.

Taaa Daaaa!!!  All done!
Here are some of the other rugs I made earlier.

I hope you enjoyed my wee tutorial.  Please let me know if it was useful or if you would like to see tutorials on anything else and if you make one of these mug rugs, I'd love to see it.  Why not post a pic on my Nifty Stitcher Facebook page.
Thanks for visiting - I'll be back with more quilty stuff soon.
Rhianon.

Update :  Seen as I finished the last mug rug last night and added it to my post this morning,I am going to link this post to  http://tgiffriday.blogspot.com/2011/10/tgiff-party-here-today.html
It's lots of little finishes for me this week.
Click the linky and head on over to see what everyone else has been up to this week, or even add your own link.  The more the merrier and everyone is welcome.