Pumpkin Spice Latte Mug Rug

Leaves are falling, the air is crisp and my inner basic witch is clawing back to the surface. What better time than fall to whip up a quick and cozy mug rug featuring everyone’s favorite (to love, or hate) autumn drink!

I’ve had this one in the drafts for a shameful amount of time. Foundation paper piecing twists my brain in a fun but sometimes frustrating way and I really struggle with switching back and forth between traditional piecing and FPP.

But my kids are back in school and the scrap paper pile is growing so I figured it was time for a little bit of mental yoga.

This block finishes at 6″ and while you could pull it off with traditional piecing, I can’t. Sewing straight lines has never been my strength and something this fiddly I need that paper backing to rely on!

The pumpkin is the real star of the show here and it’s a great place to show off a special print or character. I found it easiest to cut a 3.5 x 4 rectangle and lightly glue it to the paper to keep it where I wanted it.

The rest of the pieces are pretty small so I’d avoid any large or even medium scale prints but it’s your quilt and you should do what makes you happy!

Small blocks like this are really easy to quilt on a home machine. I swapped out my usual piecing thread for a color that matched the mug and used a blanket stitch all the way around the outside of the mug.

It was surprisingly easy to keep my stitches where I wanted them, going slowly and pivoting with the needle down made the corners easy to handle.

For finishing I cut 2″ binding that matched the stem but you could easily leave your backing larger and fold it around to cover the raw edges. I actually enjoy hand binding and I haven’t finished a quilt in so long I was looking forward to that step.