Mugrug tutorial: Part One

Well a few people asked for my Australian birds mug-rug tutorial so here we go... Are you ready?

I like this one as it's a great way of using feature fabric such as the Australian birds and animals ones I bought from DownUnder Fabric. I've used the same pattern fabric that AmyDe won. (Amy is in Georgia, I've discovered, and not living in an antebellum mansion sipping mint juleps on the porch and eating peaches, much to my disappointment. But she is making a Georgia themed mug-rug for our mug-rug world tour - yippee!).

So, without further ado
The Tutorial Part the First

1. First of all, select your fabric - a print and one or two complementary plains. I used Kona Cactus (I think) for the body and a charcoal linen for binding. I managed to get 4 mugrugs out of one fat quarter of one directional fabric.

Bonus points for whoever can name the MOST animals on this fabric in the comments! No Aussies allowed to enter!

2.  If you are going to fussy-cut, choose your feature and centre a 4.5" (or 5") square around it, depending on the size of your feature. Rotary cut square.

Ew, someone needs handcream and a manicure!

3.  Cut one 3" and one 2.5" strip of your main solid fabric. From this cut:

• One 3" square
• Two 2.5 x 4.5" strips
• Two 2.5 x 7.5" strips

Of your feature print, cut one 3" strip (if one-directional fabric, cut two 3" strips - one running down the fabric and another running across). From this cut one 7.5" strip (running down) and two 2.5" strips (running across).
Cut one 2.25" strip (running down) and cut a 7" strip from it.

4.  Using a 1/4" seam, sew the short sides onto the central squares.

 5. Press outward (I use a wooden roller rather than keep turning the iron on for such small pieces) and add the long strips. (Then, if you are using one-directional prints and aren't brighter than me, unpick the pieces you've sewn on wrong way up, then realise you've unpicked the wrong seam, unpick the right one and sew it back together again).

6.  Press. Sew the two sides together and press again.

7.  Place your two squares together and sew together. Press.


Phew! That's the top finished. I'll deal with the finishing in another post!
How many animals can you identify in the fabric (non Australians only!). I had SO much trouble deciding which ones to feature, but this little guy was first choice - had to be, being an endangered species!