This weekend I will be teaching an Intro to Quilting class at Allerton Park, where students will learn the basics of quilting by creating scrappy mug rugs. In writing up the handout for my students, I realized it would make an equally good tutorial on LC. Especially with the holidays coming up, and all of us looking for quick handmade gift ideas. The class is aimed at folks who can sew, but who have not quilted before.
Quilting is a engaging hobby that can bring both joy and relaxation to your life. It is easy to see a lovely handmade quilt on the back of a friend’s sofa, or beautiful fabric in a store, and think “Oh I wish I could do that! But where would I even start? What if I buy all the supplies and then I don’t like it?” First off: You absolutely can quilt. As for where to start, let’s start small, fun, and practical, with Mug Rugs. Mug Rugs are a cross between a coaster and a placemat. Something big enough for your favorite mug, and a little snack. They are fun to create, and make wonderful gifts.
Materials:
12 2.5" squares of quilting cotton
1 1 piece of cotton batting (8” x 10”)
1 piece of quilting cotton backing fabric (9” x 11”)
1 2.5” x 42" (width of fabric) strip of quilting cotton to use as binding
1 spool of coordinating thread
1 “quilt sandwich” test swatch to practice on (not shown)
Tools:
1 rotary cutter
1 cutting mat
1 quilting ruler (that you can cut alongside)
5 quilting pins
5-12 curved quilt basting pins
5-10 quilt clips
1 seam ripper
1 sewing awl (optional)
Getting Started
Check your sewing machine needle. If you can’t remember the last time you changed it, do so now. This will eliminate 90% of potential frustration and headaches, leaving you free to enjoy your time quilting. (A 90/12 needle is perfect for quilting.)
Thread your sewing machine, and set it to ¼” seam allowance. For piecing our block and quilting our mug rug, we will need to sew at precisely ¼”. Each machine is different, so check your manual to determine the best way to create a ¼” seam. This might mean snapping on a particular accessory foot, or moving your needle position. And it might mean experimenting for a few minutes.
Decide on your block layout. Play with your 2.5” squares, until you have laid them out in a grid that is 3 rows high and 4 columns wide. Once you’re happy with your layout, take a picture with your phone so you can reference it if your pieces get mixed up.
(For this tutorial I have numbered the columns and lettered the rows.)
Begin piecing your block. Take piece A2, and flip it over on top of A1. Do the same with A4 to A3, B2 to B1, B4 to B3, C2 to C1, and C4 to C3. By keeping the pieces in order, we will avoid mixing them up as we sew them together.
Chain piece your squares. In quilting we avoid wasting thread by chain piecing. Traditionally you would sew one seam, then pull the work out of the sewing machine. This leaves a tail of thread at the beginning and end of each seam, resulting in 8”-10” of wasted thread that you have to snip off later. Instead we will line up all the pieces we will be sewing, then put them through the sewing machine one after another, in one unbroken chain. (In our one small block, this will result in about 100” of thread saved!)
Start by sewing pair A1 & A2, then continue with A3 & A4, B1 & B2, B3 & B4, C1 & C2, C3 & C4. Keeping them in order now, will assure you don’t mix them up.
Cut squares apart. Keeping them in order, take them to an ironing board.
Set and press the seams. Lay your pieces out on the ironing board, in order. First press the pieces as they are (don’t unfold them yet!); this is called “setting the seam”.
Press the seams open. Start with row A. Place the squares with the seam at the top, and A1 and A3 on the bottom. Open the top layer away from you; then smooth them with your fingertips to make sure they are completely open. Press. We have pressed the seams towards the right. Do the same with row C. For row B, we will press the seams to the left.
Continue assembling your block. Lay your pieces back out at your sewing area, making sure they are in the correct place. You will now complete your rows by flipping A34 over on top of A12, B34 onto B12, and C34 onto C12.
Chain stitch your pieces together, then cut them apart, like you did in the last step. Take the pieces back to the ironing board. Press rows A & C to the right, and row B to the left. As you can see below, the seams are alternating direction. This will help us “Nest” the seams, as we complete the block in the next step.
Pin your rows together. Lay your pieces out again, making sure you have everything in the correct place. You now have 3 rows of 4 squares.
Pin your rows together, nesting your seams. Flip row A downwards, on top of row B. Match the blocks up at the center seam of each row. (Ie. where blocks 2 and 3 meet.) Since we have pressed the seams to opposite sides, they will nest, or nestle into one another more neatly, evenly distributing the bulk of the seam allowance. See below how they meet at the seam, with the seam allowance on the top going left, and the seam allowance on the bottom going right.
Place a pin through all layers, right beside the seams. Repeat this with the other two seams in the row, and at the beginning and end of the row.
Stitch the row, removing pins as you stitch.
Press the rows. First Set the Seam, then flip the rows apart, and press open. For this part, it does not matter which direction you press your seams in.
Repeat the process to attach row C to the rest of the block and press. Congratulations. You have made your quilt block!
Creating the “Quilt Sandwich”
Lay out the backing and batting. Place your backing fabric, print side DOWN on your work surface. Place the batting centered on top. Double check to make sure your print is facing down.
Place your pressed quilt block centered on top. This does not have to be perfect. Just visually centered is fine. Smooth the block from the center, out towards the sides, to make sure it is flat.
Pin baste the quilt sandwich. Starting with the center block, use your basting pins (curved safety pins), to pin through all 3 layers, going down from the corner of one block, and coming back out in the corner of the block diagonally opposite. Close your pin. Repeat at all the intersections.
(If your pins are large, you may choose to pin every other intersection, as well as the 4 corners.)
Do a test swatch of your quilting. Our project is so small that you should have no problem feeding it through your sewing machine. However, lengthening the stitch length by .5 or 1, can help it feed through the machine more smoothly. Additionally, loosening the thread tension slightly may also help. Take this opportunity to grab scraps of fabric & batting to practice stitching through it.
Quilt your Mug Rug. Place your quilt sandwich in your machine, with the foot lined up along the center seam. Using the seam as a guide, stitch along the length of the seam.
When you get to the end of the seam, remove your work from the machine, and check the back to make sure your stitching is neat and even. Then turn it, so that you are sewing back up the other side of the seam. Stitch.
Repeat with the other two columns, and along both sides, so that the raw edges of the quilt don’t move.
Now quilt in the opposite direction, along the rows, as well as along the top and bottom edges of the block.
The back of your work should now resemble a grid. Trim any loose theads you see. Congratulations. You just machine quilted your first project!
Square up your quilt. We will now trim down the excess batting and backing fabric. Lay your project down on the cutting mat, and place the cutting ruler on top. Alight the edge of the ruler, to the raw edge of your mug rug.
Use the rotary cutter to trim away the excess fabric on the first side. Do the same on the opposite sides, then the top and bottom.
You now have a small quilt, with raw edges.
Bind your quilt. Place your quilt with the back side facing up on your table. Locate your strip of binding fabric, and lay it with the raw edge along the raw edge of the block, and the folded edge towards the middle of the quilt. If needed, either pin or clip the layers to hold them together.
Starting at the middle (or just past the middle) of the block, stitch through all the layers, stopping about ¼” from the edge, and removing it from the sewing machine. This will leave a loose tail of binding, that we will deal with later.
Miter your binding. Take the long length of binding, and fold it straight upwards, away from you, perpendicular to the seam you just stitched.
Now, fold it back down, along the next side of the quilt.
This will leave you with a triangular flap at the corner.
Fold the flap towards the last side you stitched, and secure it with a clip if needed. Now sew along this new side of the quilt. Again, stopping ¼” from the end. Repeat the mitering, at each of the remaining corners. On the final side (which is the same as the first side you stitched, start at the top edge but stop approximately 1.5” before the center of the block.
Join the ends of the binding. Fold the mug rug in half, with the backing facing you and the fold along the right edge.
Change your machine presser foot to a zipper foot, or edge stitching foot, and if necessary, move your needle position, to the furthest edge. You want to stitch right along the edge of the folded mug rug, but NOT through it. Zipper feet are designed to get the needle right up to an edge like this. Stitch the binding ends together, backstitching 2-3 stitches at top and bottom.
Change your presser foot back to a regular sewing foot. Press the seam open.
Fold the corners under, and press again, then trim away some of the excess fabric behind the fold to reduce the bulk you will stitch through.
Use a few clips to hold the binding in place, then stitch along the open edge of the binding. (Note, I did not use clips in my photo.)
Press the binding to set the seam. Fold the binding outwards, and press again, all the way around. You will not be able to get into the corners, and that is fine. Now fold the binding towards the front of the mug rug, and press all the way around. Do not worry about pressing the corners for now.
Trim the corners of the quilt, to reduce bulk. Carefully fold back the flap of binding, and use sharp scissors to cut a triangle off the corner, just shy of ¼”. Repeat for the remaining corners.
Starting on the side where your binding is joined, use clips or pins, to hold the binding down flat.
Flip and stitch your binding down. Place the mug rug under your machine presser foot. Start stitching 1”-2” before the join, backstitching 2-3 stitches. Continue stitching over the join, and all the way down that side, stopping about ½” before the end, with the needle down in the fabric. DO NOT take the quilt out of the machine.
Note: You may need to go slowly over the join, or use a stiletto, awl, or seam ripper to keep everything in place, while keeping your fingers back from the needle.
Now we are going to change direction, and sew along the next side. To do so, we will need to mitre the corner, by folding the flap of binding. You will use your fingers to smooth along the edge you are stitching, folding the flap at and angle. Sew another 2-3 stitches.
Stop with your needle down into the fabric. Lift the presser foot, and turn the quilt. Fold the next side of the binding down, and smooth it in place with your finger tips. Lower the presser foot, and continue sewing down the new side.
Repeat around the remaining corners. When you get back to the beginning, backstitch 2-3 stitches, and remove your work from the machine. Trim any loose threads.
You’re done. Congratulations! You made a tiny quilt!
But be warned: Quilting can be addictive. Soon you’ll have a stack of mug rugs for everyone on your holiday list, and be planning that quilt for the back of your couch. 
