I have enjoyed working on the most fun little project and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you today!
Have you heard of Sewing Illustration? It is such a fun way to draw a picture using fabric scraps and your sewing machine! I’ve dabbled in it a bit here and there and every time I do I’m always so happy with it! Follow along with me today and try your hand at some Sewing Illustration.
I’m always on the lookout for things that I think would be fun to illustrate with my sewing machine. And I never have to look further than my garden. My daughter and I (and her little girls) are Flower Farmers and we sell our flowers in mason jar bouquets. Since I can’t gift one to my life-long friend (who lives 2000 miles away) I decided to draw her a sweet mason jar bouquet and turn it into a Mug Rug!
Before we get started, lets talk about the design and size of your Mug Rug. I decided to make mine 8″ x 10″ so that it is kind of a snack mat size! But keep in mind you are the designer, so you can make your Mug Rug as large (place mat size) or as small (coaster size) as you’d like! But it is good to have a simple sketch to help you get started. I cut a piece of paper the size I wanted my final Mug Rug to be and I drew my illustration on that. It worked really well that way, giving me a good visual on the size and layout of my project.
I would also like to encourage you to make this project your own by using your own sketch and handwriting. I’m extremely uncomfortable in this realm as I feel like my talents most definitely are not in drawing or handwriting!! However, I have found that it really helps me to get a picture in my mind and spend a (very!) little time on Pinterest looking at illustrations of that particular thing. Sometimes that helps to trigger an idea and you can go from there. There really are many amazing handwriting fonts too that you can use if you’d prefer that over your own handwriting. Whatever you choose to do, just let your mind go and before you know it you’ll have great ideas on embellishing, sketching, and writing! When I began this Mug Rug I had a complete different idea on what it was going to say… and then suddenly I changed direction! And that is okay! Make it personal, make it YOU!
Necessary Supplies:
- Clover Wonder Fuse – Art. No 4090 (this is a must for this project – see my *notes* below)
- Clover Water Erasable Marker – Art. No 516
- Clover Best Premium Sewing Machine Needle size 80/11 – Art. No 9112
- Illustration drawn on paper and outlined with a black pen
- Base front panel fabric (I used Essex Linen – remember this is your base, you’ll likely want it light colored)
- Fabric scraps
- Black sewing thread for both top and bobbin
- Open toe sewing machine presser foot
- Scrap fusible quilt batting the size of your final front panel
- Fabric backing scrap cut the same size as your final front panel
- Optional: Embroidery thread and embroidery needle
*Note on Wonder Fuse – There are a lot of options in this project and different ways to go about things; however, the one area I would encourage you to stick with is the use of Wonder Fuse. I’ve used other brands of paper backed fusible web for other projects through the years and had some frustrations. One being that removing the paper backing once it’s ironed on to tiny pieces of fabric can be very frustrating. You will not have this struggle with Wonder Fuse. I am always so impressed how simply the paper backing slips off once it is ironed on to the fabric. I also love that in just a few seconds of ironing the paper backing, the fusible part adheres to the fabric instantly. You do not have to go over it again. And the last thing I really love about it is that it is so lightweight that once your fabric patch is ironed on to your base fabric, you can easily hand sew through it if you desire to. It is not sticky on the needle! Wonder Fuse really is such a great way to turn fabric into a perfect iron on patch to use in so many fun ways!
So now, lets get started!!!
Cut a piece of Wonder Fuse large enough to cover the different elements of your illustration that you will use your fabric scraps for. I used scraps for the jar, the flowers and the leaves. Lay the Wonder Fuse on top of your illustration, the fusible side down. Using a dark pen, trace your illustration onto the paper side of the Wonder Fuse.
Fuse those drawings to the back of the fabric scraps you have chosen for the different elements. Fusing is quick and simple with a hot iron; you only need to press it for a few seconds.
Leave the paper backing on and cut along your drawn lines on the Wonder Fuse on all your little fabric elements.
If there are any lines on your fabric elements that will need to be “drawn” with thread, use your Clover Water Erasable Marker to mark those onto the fabric now. The dark lines should shine through from the paper backing of the Wonder Fuse.
Remove the paper backing and your little drawings have now become a perfect iron on patch! Set these aside for now.
Take your base fabric and place it over your illustrated drawing. (If your drawing doesn’t show through the fabric you can tape it to a window and then tape your base fabric over that and then your drawn lines will show through.) Trace all the lines that you will be “drawing” with thread.
Take your base fabric and lay your fabric patches on all the appropriate spots and iron them in place. Take your time to get them placed exactly as you want them. Once they are ironed on, they are permanent.
Now the fun begins! Thread your sewing machine (both top and bobbin) with black thread. This makes your drawing look like an actual drawing as you sew! Set your stitch length to 1.4 and your speed to slow! And start outlining your fabric elements. (To see this done on perfect video be sure to watch Minki Kim, the founder of Sewing Illustration, demonstrate this process in her YouTube video’s here.) I sewed over each drawn line three times to really make the black stand out and to give it a cleaner look. It is not a difficult process; just be sure to go slow and take your time. And don’t forget to watch the video tutorials. They will help you a lot and Minki explains it so much better than I ever could.
I also drew wording on my Mug Rug and carefully sewed along those lines as well. The best thing is not to expect perfection… I know that my handwriting is never perfect and you really do want this to look like your own writing and drawing! I can’t stress enough the need to go very slow! That, and short stitch length, is the key!
Once all your illustrations are outlined and details are sewn, it is time to get creative in how you want to embellish your Mug Rug. This is one of my favorite parts! I wanted to incorporate some patchwork scraps into mine because patchwork always makes me happy! After I pieced together little squares of patchwork and sewed that to the bottom of the wording block, I then sewed those to the flower jar illustration, making one long seam down the middle of the Mug Rug. Now I had a complete front panel. Take your scrap of fusible quilt batting and iron that to the back of the front panel. (If you do not have fusible batting, that is okay but I used fusible on this project just to hold it in place really firmed instead of basting it.) I also wanted to do a little hand sewing in places. So I marked X’s on each patchwork square and simply sewed some hand stitches.
If you have any little pieces of ribbon, rick rack, or a cute fabric selvedge those are always fun to add in places. Don’t use anything with bulk since you will be placing a mug, glass or plate on your Mug Rug! I had a darling fabric selvedge that I had been saving for just this project. Add all your embellishments, hand sewing, etc… to the front panel piece BEFORE attaching any backing. I used my fabric selvedge scrap to cover the middle seam on my Mug Rug. After I sewed it with my sewing machine, I went back over those stitches with embroidery thread just to make it jump out a little!
Now you will take your backing fabric and cut it to the exact size as your final front panel. Sew these right sides together, leaving a small opening for turning.
Turn your Mug Rug right sides out through the opening, pushing out the corners. Iron carefully and then hand sew the opening closed with white thread.
Using your Clover Water Soluble marker draw lines about 1/4 inch inside the edge of the Mug Rug and sew a simple hand stitch all the way around. I used embroidery thread for this. You do not have to sew all the way through to the back of the Mug Rug… just do a simple running stitch through your top layer. It is simple and fast since you aren’t sewing through all the layers.
Use a spray bottle of water to spray all the blue marking lines on your finished Mug Rug. Let it sit to dry and make sure all the lines have disappeared. Give your Mug Rug a final press with the iron and it is ready to gift to your dearest friend!
~ Dori ~
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