Sometimes Crafter

Sewing•Tutorials

Little Cottage Mug Rug

March 26, 2011

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In honor of Erin’s Mug Rug Madness Week I thought I’d post about my mug rug I made last month for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild swap. I forgot all about it until I saw the adorable house mug rug that Erin posted about earlier this week. I initially wasn’t going to do the swap because I just couldn’t think of something that I liked. Then one morning, about 4am when my 2 year old decided to wake up, and I put him back to bed, I was drifting back to sleep and all the sudden had a vision of this little mug rug. Once I got up at a reasonable hour, I sketched it out and later designed the template.

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I not only liked the shape, but the versatility to do something with the windows and doorway. You could place novelty prints in the windows, use a wood grain print for the door, find window fabric to place in the windows… I could also see little flower boxes appliqued on, and bushes stitched on with embroidery around the base of the cottage. Someone might even be so inclined to stitch on some roof tiles or bricks on the chimney. Even better, at Christmas time make one with a string of lights on the roof and a tree peaking through the window!

I’m linking to the template so you can make your own and I REALLY hope you’ll share a photo of it in my Flickr group so I can see all the different variations. This is one of the things I love about sewing and sharing – seeing all the different possibilities.

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{Quick} DIRECTIONS

Download and cut out the basic shape of the Little Cottage Template.

1. Cut out a front and back (making sure to flip the template over to cut out one of the pieces, or just layer your fabrics wrong sides together and cut out both pieces at once). Also, cut out a piece of batting to sandwich inside.

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2. Embellish your cottage as you’d like, front and back if you so choose. I used an X-Acto knife to cut out the door and windows and then traced through the opening onto the fabric with a water soluble pen.
3. With right sides together (layered on your batting), stitch around the cottage (1/4” seam allowance) leaving your self an opening to turn right side out. I like to leave mine on the side, but you might like the bottom.
4. Trim the corners and turn right side out, using a knitting needle or skewer to help turn the chimney and poke out the corners. Gently.
5. Press the opening close and pin. Edge stitch around the entire cottage making sure to catch the opening and secure it close.

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And that’s it. Really very simple. The hardest part is deciding how to decorate it. I went ahead and did reverse applique for the doors and window because of how quickly that went, but you could do any number of things…like stitching fabric right on top like Syko does in her designs!

Little Cottage Template (PDF)

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  12. PS: I just went through you blog. What an incredible blog you have! You are definitely on my blogroll now (o:
    And … thank you for sharing all those wonderful tutorials (o:

    Reply

  17. It would be really fun to take a pic of ones own home and sketch the outline for a pattern. Or your friend’s home, and give it as a gift to her/him…maybe I will jump on the mug rug trolly after all. :o)
    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply

  24. Very cute. Now I know this is very simple but I need some clarification on the instuctions. I have my piece all cut out and the windows and doors holes cut out. Now do I put the embellished fabric on the wrong side of the front of the house and then layer it? Could you tell me in order how my layers go starting with what is laying on my mat? Thanks!

    Reply

  25. J: When I did the reverse appliqué on this I traced my door and windows onto the linen fabric, through the holes on the template, onto the right side of the fabric.. Then I pined my prints on to the backside of the linen (right side of the print to the wrong side of the linen) and stitched around the lines I drew for the doors and windows. After everything was sewn down I cut away the linen fabric within the door and windows to reveal the print, making sure to leave a small seam allowance next to my stitching. My coaster tutorial will give you a good visual on how to do the reverse appliqué.

    After the reverse appliqué was done I layered it onto my batting and did my embroidery. You could certainly do it before you layered it if you wanted.

    Let me know if anything is unclear or if you have more questions!

    Reply

  26. Thanks… That did help and I think what I did was to cut out my holes for the door and windows before I put the prints on it. So then does that mean that when you cut away the linen doing it the way you did that there is a raw edge on those windows and doors?

    Reply

  27. Ciao mi chiamo Francesca ed è da molto tempo che guardo il tuo blog…lo trovo semplicemente strepitoso….molto bello i miei complimenti per questa deliziosa casetta sottotazza….bravissima…anche io se pur da poco ho fatto un blog: http//magiedielfo.blogspot.com , spero verrai a trovarmi ne sarei molto felice ciaoooo

    Reply

  33. I have seen “trivets” that had long stick cinnamon in them – warm items placed on them created the most wonderful scent!!! That may make a nice addition to your project.

    Reply

  38. I made a friend something similar last Christmas – a mug mat, large enough to hold a couple cookies or a scone next to a mug of coffee or cocoa. You can find the pic of it on my blog – hint: it has a house on it.

    Reply

  41. This is such a cute idea..thank you for sharing..will be making out of christmas fabric real soon.

    Reply

  42. I wanted a small project for fall and this is just perfect. I drink hot chocolate and this is a perfect spot to set my cup on.

    Reply

  43. I love Mug Rugs. I was interested in seeing Erin’s Mug Rug Madness Week but it says my access is denied. Do you know why? Thanks for the Little Cottage Mug Rug.

    Reply

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