1. Prepare top and bottom borders.

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1 Mega Mat Tutorial Expand your favorite mug mat into a larger place or table mat! Use these general instructions to piece a border, or just use a favorite print to turn your little mat into an eye-catching centerpiece. Finished size is approx. 12 x 18

2 Supplies: One finished mug mat approx. 5 x 7 (for a different size, just follow our steps and adjust the measurements as desired.) Scrap fabrics to make the front of our version shown or about a fat quarter of a novelty print to make a quicker piece. Fat quarter of backing fabric Scraps of batting or old towel: two approx. 4 x 6-1/2 and two 6 x 12 Ribbon or rick rack trims (optional) Two yds. of wide double fold bias binding tape 1. Prepare top and bottom borders. We used our 5 x 7 breakfast mat as the starting point for our tablemat you may prefer the coffee mug mat, pizza, ice cream, or you can just use this tutorial as a general guide for any completed mug mat you have. You will need to prepare four borders as shown in Diagram A. If you are using one of our mug rug designs and it isn t finished yet, you don t need to complete the border just complete it up to the quilting, remove it from the hoop and then trim it ½ away from the outermost embroidery on all sides. Start with the smaller borders on the top and bottom of the mug mat. Measure the finished width of your mat ours was 6-3/4 wide and prepare two pieced borders exactly that width (don t add a seam allowance) by 4 high (or larger, depending on the finished size you d like your mat to be!) We wanted a scrappy look and cut random width strips of matching fabric between 2-1/4 x 3-1/2 wide and 1 x 3-1/2 wide. You can see we then sewed about six of those together to make a 6-3/4 width. We also wanted the dark burgundy border to frame our mug mat for that we cut two 1 x 6-3/4 strips and sewed them to one side of each border. All this took some work if you d like a quick and easy centerpiece, just pick a favorite print to match your mug rug and cut two pieces to 6-3/4 (or the width of

3 your mug rug) x 4 (or the height that you d like.) Love to piece? Use your imagination and skills to come up with your own fabulous pieced border! There s no limits. 2. Attach top and bottom borders with backing. Now cut two pieces of backing fabric to back your top and bottom borders. The width should be the same our width was 6-3/4 but the height can be ½ larger. Take your mug rug and make a sandwich along the top border of the mug mat as shown in Diagram B. First, lay the backing fabric face up. Then lay the mug rug face up, on top of the backing. Finally, lay your pieced top border face down. In our diagram, the pieces are stepped so you can see the layering; your pieces will line up on the edges. Now sew 1/4 seam across the top of the mug mat through all three layers. Back tack at the beginning and ending of this seam for strength. Follow the same procedure for the bottom border and backing. When finished, fold all of the pieces right side out and press them open. Your piece will look like the middle piece of Diagram C the scissors are holding the middle piece open so you can see how it looks with the backing attached. Your backing should extend beyond the top and bottom, don t trim it it is helpful to have extra backing fabric when you quilt.

4 3. Prepare and attach side borders. Now you will be following the same steps to attach your side borders and backing. This time measure the height of your mat, with the top and bottom borders attached ours was 11-1/2 high. Prepare two pieces to match your top and bottom borders exactly that height (don t add a seam allowance) by 5-1/2 wide (or larger, depending on the finished size you d like your mat to be!) For our side borders, we again used random width strips, and then sewed an additional 2 wide burgundy border on each side. Note in Diagram C how we had to piece a short burgundy strip in to complete the frame that borders the mug mat a bit of math and trial and error was needed here! Again, if you aren t up to a bit of fuss, just pick a favorite print to match your mug rug and cut two pieces to 11-1/2 (or the height of your mug rug) x 5-1/2 (or the width that you d like.) Cut two pieces of backing fabric to match the size of your side borders except add about a ½ to each dimension. You will now have the pieces shown in Diagram C. Make a sandwich along one side as you did before. (Diagram D.) Sew 1/4 seam across the side of the mug mat through all three layers. Back tack at the beginning and ending of this seam for strength. When finished, fold out all the pieces right side out and press them open. Your piece will look as in Diagram E. Attach the left side in the same way. Your backing should extend beyond the top, bottom, and sides don t trim it again, it is helpful to have when you quilt. 4. Batting, Quilting and Finishing. Following the red dotted lines in Diagram F, measure and cut batting, and tuck it in between the front and backing of your piece. The side pieces are easy to tuck in the smaller top and bottom pieces are like a pocket and you ll have to work a little bit to get the batting in place. Lightly safety pin to secure your

5 batting in place. Quilt as you d like we drew a traditional quilting pattern of diagonal squares with a ruler spaced ¾ inch across the front of our piece, with a washout marker. (The photo of the completed backing on the last page of these instructions shows our quilting well.) There is no need to quilt the middle of this piece if you used our patterns, it already has beautiful machine embroidered quilting! When quilting is complete, trim batting and backing even with the front. The last thing we did before binding was stitch on jumbo yellow rick rack to really make our design pop. Take a look at what ribbons you have on hand and dress it up! We purchased a package of premade double fold bias binding in burgundy for a quick finish and hand stitched the binding on the back. We hope you ve enjoyed making this Mega Mat and that our tutorial has sparked plenty of other creative ideas. To be added to our preferred customer mailing list, post photos of your designs, or meet friends on other social media, please visit: All designs are copyright 2014 San Francisco Stitch Co. Designs may not be altered, resold, or transferred to third parties. Selling stitched items in limited quantities is permitted.

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