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    Home » Quilts

    Street Party Bunting Mug Rug Pattern

    Updated: May 10, 2023 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · Leave a Comment

    Our May Rug Mug of the Month pattern is bright, cheerful and colorful, and British-inspired! Learn how to make this cute Street Party Bunting Mug Rug with our free quilted mug rug pattern!

    colorful mug rug and union jack mug on white tabletop

    Street parties are a tradition here in the UK that started over a hundred years. They are still enjoyed today for major national days of celebration, especially royal events like weddings, jubilees, and coronations.

    Table of Contents
    • Mug Rug Patterns & Technique Focus
    • Mug Rug Supplies
    • Instructions
    colorful mug rug and union jack mug on white tabletop

    And, of course, these street parties are always decorated with fabulous strings of bunting. With the celebrations for the coronation of King Charles III this May, it seemed like the perfect month to have a bunting-themed mug rug!

    If you like this Mug Rug pattern, you might also love this free Union Jack Inspired Jubilee Celebration Quilted Pillow pattern.

    The skill focus for May is raw edge appliqué. I love the “rustic” look of raw edge appliqué but also love how quick and easy it is too.

    colorful mug rug and union jack mug on white tabletop

    Appliquéing shapes like triangles, which can produce some bulky seam allowances at the corners, is made so much simpler when you totally avoid turning under seam allowances!

    But be aware… raw edge appliqué does fray and “fluff up” along the unfinished fabric edges, so make sure you always use interfacing to give the fabric some extra strength.

    coffee cup on mug rug

    Mug Rug Patterns & Technique Focus

    Each month this year, Amy is sharing a free mug rug pattern with all of you! In addition to the pattern, each month will feature a different quilting technique!

    1. January: Fabric Flash Mug Rug – Using Selvages
    2. February: First Edition Mug Rug – Fussy Cutting
    3. March: English Bloom Mug Rug – English Paper Piecing (EPP)
    4. April: Coffee Cabin Mug Rug – Binding with Quilt Backing
    5. May: Street Party Bunting – Raw Edge Applique

    Mug Rug Supplies

    • Main Fabrics 9 small scraps
    • Background Fabric 1 fat eighth
    • Light iron-on interfacing 6” x 4½” (or scraps)
    • Backing Fabric 1 fat eighth
    • Binding Fabric 1 fat eighth
    • Batting 10” x 8”

    Instructions

    colorful mug rug and coffee cup on tabletop

    Street Party Bunting Mug Rug

    Amy Ball
    Use a bit of machine raw edge applique to create a cute celebratory mug rug!
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Active Time 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins
    Total Time 2 hours hrs

    Equipment

    • Basic Sewing Tools
    • Sewing Machine
    • Cutting Mat
    • Rotary Cutter
    • quilting ruler
    • Pins
    • Binding Clips
    • Fabric pencil/pen

    supplies

    Fabrics:

    • 9 small scraps Main Fabrics
    • 1 fat eighth fabric for background
    • 1 fat eighth Backing Fabric
    • 1 fat eighth Binding Fabric

    Other

    • 1 piece Light iron-on interfacing 6” x 4½” or scraps
    • 1 piece Batting 10” x 8”

    Instructions
     

    Cutting:

    • From Main Fabric scraps cut 1½” x 2” (9).
      From Background Fabric cut 9” x 7”.
      From Backing Fabric cut 10” x 8”.
      From Binding Fabric cut WOF x 2¼” (2).

    Construction: Use a ¼” seam allowance, unless otherwise stated.

    • Press the iron-on interfacing onto the wrong sides of the Main Fabric 1½” x 2” rectangles.
      If you’re using a larger piece of interfacing, I recommend arranging all the rectangles onto one piece (close together), bonding the interfacing to the fabric and then cutting out the interfaced fabric rectangles.
      Be sure to always follow the manufacturers instructions on how to use your interfacing.
    • Using a fabric pen, draw bunting flag shapes onto the wrong side of the Main Fabric rectangles.
      First draw the top edge as a horizontal line 1” long. Then mark a point at the centre of this line and 1¼” down. Then add the diagonal sides by joining the centre point to the two ends of the horizontal line.
      colorful fabric scraps on white tabletopo
    • Carefully cut out the nine bunting flags and set aside for later.
      cut triangles of fabric on white table
    • Take the Background Fabric rectangle and place it right side down, add the batting rectangle and then place the Background Fabric rectangle on top with the right side facing towards you.
      Make sure all the layers are smooth and flat, then baste together using your preferred method.
      tan fabric on white table
    • The next step is to sew the two bunting strings. You can either use a thicker thread (for example 12wt) or sew the line a few times to help it stand out.
      I’m using the second option as I like the “hand drawn” look of slightly uneven lines of stitching.
      Draw guide lines to help with spacing; start the upper line about 2” down the left edge and end it about 6” along the top edge, start the lower line about 5” down the left edge and end it about 3” down the right edge, draw both lines with a down then up curve.
      tan fabric on white table with lines
    • Quilt as desired. I have used echo quilting matching the curved shape of the bunting strings at about ⅜” spacing.
      tan fabric on white table with lines that are sewn and quilted
    • Mark the 8½” x 6½” trim size onto the quilted rectangle. You aren’t going to trim yet, this is to make sure the bunting flags are placed at a safe distance from the finished edge once you trim later on.
    • Place the fabric bunting flags evenly spaced along the two stitched bunting strings.
      There is space for four flags on the top string and five on the bottom string.
      Take the time to play around with the order to get a good mix of colours and prints.
      It’s also important to make sure the bunting flags that are closest to the edges are more than ¼” away from the lines you marked in the previous step…this will ensure none of the flags get caught in the binding.
      triangle buntings on fabric
    • Use a couple of dots of fabric glue to hold each bunting flag in place. You can pin them but I find this more fiddly!
    • Now it’s time to appliqué the bunting flags in place. As this is raw edge appliqué you’ll use a regular straight stitch.
      If you have the option on your sewing machine, reduce the stitch length (about half the length of your regular stitch) and use a clear foot so you have a good view of the fabric edge.
      Starting at one of the top edge corners, sew very close to the edge (about 1/16”). When you get to the bottom point, stop sewing with the needle in the down position, lift your machine foot and rotate the mug rug, replace the foot and then sew along the next diagonal edge.
      close up of applique stitches
    • Keep sewing until you get back to where you started. Repeat for all the bunting flags. Take your time with this step.
    • Carefully press the mug rug then trim it down to 8½” x 6½” using the guide lines from step 7.

    Finishing:

    • Take the two binding fabric WOF x 2¼” strips. Draw a 45° line on the wrong side of one strip, at the top corner from top left to bottom right. Pin the strips (right sides together) so the strips are at a right angle to each other and the drawn line is visible.
      how to bind the mug rug, pink fabric on white tabletop
    • Sew along the drawn line then trim off the excess corner fabric with a ¼” seam allowance and press to create a long strip. Fold the strip in half along the full length (wrong sides together) and press.
      excess fabric trimmed from pink binding
    • Pin/clip the binding in place on the front, round the mug rug edges, with the raw edges of the binding and raw edge of the mug rug matching up.

      [TIP: Clip the binding around all four edges before you start sewing to make sure the seam line from when you joined the two strips isn’t going to be close to any of the corners as this would create too much bulk; ideally you want the binding seam to be close to the middle of one edge.]
    • Sew the binding to the front of the mug rug using a ¼” seam allowance, in the same way you would add binding to a quilt top. Take your time to give the four corners neat mitres.
      pink binding around mug rug
    • Fold and press the binding round to the back. Pin/clip in place, making sure your mitred corners are nice and neat.
      binding clips on mug rug
    • Hand sew the binding in place to finish.
      hand sewing needle on mug rug
    • Grab a hot drink and enjoy your new Street Party mug rug.
      coffee cup on mug rug
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    Tried this tutorial?Let us know how it was!

    About the Designer

    Amy lives in the north of England with her husband and son. When she’s not sewing and quilting, Amy can usually be found baking or reading. You can find her on Instagram @amyatthegate

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    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

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    I’m Melissa. I like to design things, like fabric, printables, and projects.

    I’m also a Mom and a Maker. I am like most of you, just trying to do my best every day. Some days I succeed, many days I fail.  I find joy in creating, if you do too, then I hope that you find something here bring a little “happy” to your life.  Find out more about me here.

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