Slice & Stitch: Last Minute Mug Rug with OLFA

Oct 22, 2021

Designer: Amista Baker

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Hello and welcome to another Slice & Stitch challenge! It’s Amista Baker here and I’ve participated in this challenge for the last three years. I love coming up with fun new projects to share with you. If you’d like to see my previous Slice & Stitch finishes, you can view them for 2019 and 2020.

Now onto this year’s project! As an OLFA Expert I was provided with products from both OLFA and Aurifil Thread for the challenge. I pulled inspiration from the color palette of the thread provided to make my project from my scrap bins.

Slice & Stitch: Last Minute Mug Rug with OLFA

This project is all about a quick make - something you can whip up in no time for those last minute gifts for teachers, co-workers, friends, etc. And that's how I came up with the Last Minute Mug Rug! Before I get into all the details let's look at the products I used from OLFA and Aurifil.

Assigned product for this project:

Additional OLFA products I’ll be using:

The earthy tones in the Earth Views thread collection inspired me to pick similar toned fabric for this mug rug, which by the way, you can finish really quickly if you’re in a pinch.

So, what is a Mug Rug?

Mug rugs are small to medium sized quilted placemats specifically meant to keep your surfaces clean and free of crumbs and spills. They’re sized to fit any size coffee mug (or other drink) with a little room on the side for a snack, spoon for stirring your drink, etc.

These little quilts are actually one of my favorite gifts to give to teachers, and because most of your non-sewing friends won’t have any idea what a mug rug is, I’ve also provided a free sheet of printable gift tags. Just a note: this project requires basic knowledge of foundation paper piecing, however you can use any quilt block in place of the one I have provided if that is not something you’re familiar with.

For this project I used the following products from OLFA and Aurifil:

OLFA 1 ½ “ x 12” Frosted Advantage Ruler

This skinny little ruler is one of my absolute favorites. It’s perfect for foundation paper piecing thanks to the ¼” seam marking. It’s also long enough for blocks up to 12 ½”.

OLFA 9 ½ ” Frosted Advantage Ruler

Another one of my daily use items - because OLFA rulers have a frosted coating the markings are way to read and this size works for nearly every quilt block I need to square up.

OLFA Tools To Be Used to Create a Last Minute Mug Rug

OLFA 28 mm Rotary Cutter

This rotary cutter is small but mighty, and thanks to it’s size it’s really great at trimming up paper pieced blocks and cutting curves.

OLFA 45 mm Splash Rotary Cutter

The 45 mm is my go-to daily rotary cutter from OLFA. Paired with their Endurance blades, it can cut through multiple layers of fabric and it has a quick change feature that I love.

OLFA 17” x 24” Folding Mat

What isn’t there to love about a quality folding cutting mat? It’s great for traveling and lies completely flat, it’s hard to even tell it folds once you have it down. You can use rotary cutter, art knives, and more on these!

Aurifil Earth Views Collection by Karen Nyberg

What an absolutely beautiful thread collection! The cool and warm tones in this collection are rich and earthy. Many of them are light enough to blend right in when using it to quilt with, and the collection provides a great range for someone looking to dip their toes into Aurifil Thread.

Now onto a little more about the project… You’ll get the free pattern and basic instructions for assembling the mug rug plus a free sheet of gift tags detailing what a mug rug is exactly, because I know non-quilters often have questions about what this sweet little gift is. Head over to my website HERE to get started!

If you make a Last Minute Mug Rug using this tutorial I'd love to see it! Please tag me on Instagram @amistabaker and use the hashtag #lastminutemugrug.