Add a touch of Christmas cheer this year with a set of mug rugs. For this set I warped my Rigid Heddle Loom and a 12.5 dent reed with 68 warp ends with a 4/2 cotton. Makes great Christmas gifts for those you care about or want to thank. You could make each one a different colour for a family like I have so each member has a one of a kind mug rug to enjoy.
To achieve a wider mug rug for large mugs I chose to do a warp that is wider than the length of the final mug rug. I warped a length of approximately 55 inches. I made 4 mug rugs 5 inches long (they are approximately 6.5 “ wide) making sure I had at least 5 inches in between each mug rugs for the fringe. I chose 2 base colours which included a dark gray and a light gray. Below are some of my pattern notes. Side note, this was my first time weaving with cotton. The yarn I used is Maurice Brassard 4/8 cotton.
Warp: Starting with *dark gray warp 4 ends, light gray warp 4 ends*, repeat * to * across for 68 warp ends total. You could make it less than 68 warp ends so you end up with a smaller mug rug, but I wanted wider ones.
Weaving the weft: Each mug rug started with 6 weft picks of either the light or dark gray. For the remainder of the mug rugs I chose a colour (green, red or gray) and alternated every 2 gray weft picks with 2 colour weft picks, repeat these 4 rows for 42 picks ending with a colour stripe, 6 picks of the gray you began with to finish. Three of the mug rugs were woven this way.
The first mug rug in the group of 4 photo’s above is made with 4 colours (light gray, dark gray, red and green). This is what I did for that one:
Weft 6 picks in light gray, 2 picks in red, 2 gray, 2 red, 2 gray, 2 red, 2 green, 2 red, *2 gray, 2 red*, repeat * to * 3 more times, 2 green, 2 red, 2 gray, 2 red, 2 gray, 2 red, 6 gray. This is a bit short than the others to make the stripes even with the added colour.
You could use a frame loom to make them as well. You would need to make one at a time.
Off to make some mini placemats with a Christmas essence and plaid.
Various crochet patterns by Valerie Baber Designs are available at:
Etsy store: www.valeriebaberdesigns.etsy.com or Ravelry www.ravelry.com/designers/valerie-baber
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Have a fibertastic day!
