9-Patch Mug Rugs and FMQ Practice

I've been inspired lately to practice my free motion quilting (FMQ) but I didn't have many small things to practice on. Instead of finding two pieces of fabric and making a quilt sandwich I wanted to practice on something that had practical use. Knowing that these small items will probably look rough and not be my best work, because let's just be honest, I don't FMQ all the time and I really need the practice. So where did my inspiration come from you ask? Well I'm a Craftsy.com member and while browsing through projects others have done, I stumbled across a person who practices her FMQ all the time and she has some beautiful work and is fairly new to it. I want my feathers to look like hers and I want my stitching to look like I'm comfortable with FMQ.

So here's my free 9-patch mug rug with directions and pictures. I hope you enjoy.

Materials
I cut enough fabric to make 5 mug rugs but you can certainly tailor this down for just 1.
-Rotary Cutter
-Cutting Mat
-3.5 inch square ruler
-25 x 6 inch ruler
-3M Spray/pins for basting
-Best Press or Starch
-Coordinating thread
-1 regular machine foot, 1 walking foot, and 1 darning/open toe FMQ foot
-4 different but coordinating fabrics
-Batting (I think about 1 yard should do it, I used scraps that I had laying around)

-Cut one 2.5 inch strip (selvage to selvage) from each of the 4 fabrics
-From those strips cut twelve 2.5 inch squares
-Cut one 6.5 inch square from each of the 4 fabrics (I know we're making 5 right.. so you can either pick a 5th fabric or cut two from one fabric, I cut two from one fabric)
-Cut five 15.5 x 9.5 inch rectangles for the back (I used the same 4 fabrics that I used in the 9-patch)
-Cut five 15.5 x 9.5 inch rectangles from the batting


I laid out all of my squares into five 9-patch blocks (not all five are pictured). I like variety so I made them all different. If you like you can make them all the same. Once I laid them out into an order I liked I started sewing. You can sew them any way that is easiest for you but I'm a really big fan of assembly piecing. To assembly piece a 9-patch I take the first two squares (right sides together, always) in each row and sew them together (I chain piece here, so that means I don't cut the thread between sewn squares, I just keep moving along). Once I've sewn the first two in the last row together I cut the first two rows off the chain and pick up the 3rd square and sew it to the appropriate square on the appropriate row. Once I finish all three rows in a block I move to the next block in the same manner, don't cut the first block off the chain just yet. Once You've sewn the two squares on the first row of the second block go ahead and cut the 1st block off the chain. I don't cut all three rows apart until I'm ready to iron (this way I keep my place). I did this for all five 9-patch blocks. It seems like a lot but this is how I feel I sew the most efficiently.


Once you have all the rows done for all your blocks, it's time to iron. Iron them with alternating seams so you can nest the blocks when it comes time to sew the rows together. Once you have all 5 blocks sewn together, match a 6.5 inch square to each block. Personally I waited to cut my 6.5 inch squares until all my blocks were pieced so I could choose which fabric went best with which block. Sew the 6.5 inch block to the 9-patch. Iron it out and then match your top with a back and batting. I used 3M Basting Spray to baste my quilt. If you choose to pin that's up to you but these projects are small enough to use spray. Make sure you spray your fabric in a well ventilated area, I went to my front porch to spray the backs of my backing and tops.

Use your walking foot to put stabilizing stiches in the mug rug, I stitched in the ditches of the 9-patch. Once you finish stabilizing you can either draw your pattern on to the 6.5 inch square or just put your FMQ/Darning foot on your machine and go at it.












I used the self binding tutorial from Made By Rae I just top stitched the binding down using my walking foot.  I hope that you love your mug rugs as much as I love mine.  They're so cute and small that you could use them for yourself or give them to a friend.

 Happy Quilting!

Rachel