#CreativeBudget - DIY cosy rug

I have had a little break from the Abakhan Creative Budget challenge for a few months but this month it's back and I have a lovely little how-to for your home.



As ever I had a budget of £15 to spend - here is what I got*





1m Organic Cotton Hopsack drill in 'natural'
1m 'Lambskin' fur fabric in ecru
5m Beresfords double face satin ribbon 50mm in khaki

*now admittedly I ordered these items during the sale and they came in at £14.74 - at current website prices this little bundle will cost you £18.20 - still a bit of a bargain, I think you'll agree!

and this is what I did with it...



DIY Mitred Corner rug with ribbon trim.

Take your metre of cotton drill, fold it half width ways and cut into two pieces measuring approx 1m x 75cm. Put one piece aside - this will be the backing for your rug.



Cut the other piece into 4 strips -  two measuring 100cm x 15cm and two measuring 75cm x 15cm. These will form the 'frame' of your rug.




Cut 4 lengths of ribbon - two 100cm long and two 75cm long. Position these centrally along the 'frame' pieces.
I did this by folding a 5cm 'hem' along the long edge of my drill fabric and ironing the crease in. You can then align one edge of the ribbon to this crease and it will be perfectly central all the way along!








Pin the ribbon in place before machine stitching using a small zig zag stitch. Satin ribbon can be quite slippy so don't rush it and take care that it doesn't slide out of position.








To create the mitred corners take one longer and one shorter piece and pin them together at one end, right sides facing, ensuring that the ribbon trim on both pieces is aligned.  Measure in 15cm from bottom corner and draw a diagonal line from this point up to the top corner. Machine stitch along this line.






Trim off the excess fabric and press the seam open (make sure you place a tea towel or an off cut of fabric over the ribbon ends when you iron as the hot iron will melt the ribbon!)

Repeat with the other long and short piece and join the two pieces together to finish off your frame












Now you need to measure the long and short inside edge of your frame. Add 5cm  to these measurements (to allow for the frame not being totally 'square' ) and cut out your centre panel in the lambswool fleece fabric.  Place the frame and the fleece face down on your table and, starting from the centre of one short side begin pinning the two pieces, right sides together.

Once you have pinned all the way around, hold the mat up and check the centre panel is 'square' and the mat is not distorted. Then, using long stitches, tack the pieces together, removing the pins as you go. Now you can turn the mat over and place it on the floor to double check it will lie correctly before you machine stitch (tacking stitches are much easier to undo than machine ones. Trust me!)





When you are happy that your central panel is positioned correctly trim away the excess fleece fabric and machine stitch it in place - I found it easier to treat each side as a separate seam rather than try and go all the way round in one go as the corners were quite bulky.




 Finally take the other piece of the hopsack drill fabric. Pin it to your mat, right sides together and, leaving a gap for turning, stitch all the way around. Trim the seams, press them open and turn. Slip stitch the opening together. Give your mat an iron (on the back - your ribbon and fleece will both melt if they come into contact with a hot iron!!!) , lay it on the floor and stand back to admire your handiwork!

I am really pleased with the result! Yes it's a little wonky but that gives it character. Now I have mastered the 'mitred corner' I will definitely be making more of these floor mats for other rooms as it lends itself to being altered in a number of ways. I used the thick hopsack twill fabric because I wanted a sturdy rug that would stand up to a bit of use (and abuse) but you could use any pretty fabric if your mat is going into a low traffic area like your bedside (imagine sinking your feet into that cosy fleece every morning!). You could use fabric strips instead of ribbon for the trim or use towel for the centre panel and you have a bathmat.

You'll have noticed that our new kitten (more about him in another post) has taken rather a shine to the fleece centre and as I used only a tiny bit of the metre of fabric I ordered I have an idea of how to make use of the rest.  Stay tuned - I will blog that project at a later date...




ps -  apologies for the bad photographs. This project was done during the Snow Week and the natural light I usually take advantage of via our conservatory was all blocked out by about 10" of snow on the roof!

pps - if you would like to see more fab Creative Budget projects, Abakhan have just set up a board on Pinterest showcasing them all! You can follow it here