Paper Pieced Cassette Tape Mug Rug

For our June meeting, my quilt guild hosted a paper pieced mug rug swap. I had done very little paper piecing up until that point so I took this as a challenge and dove right in. I found Lysa Flower's Cassette Tape pattern and it looked kinda hard, but I decided to go for it since a small mug rug wasn't a huge commitment. If it didn't work out, I could always make something less complicated.

My first attempt went pretty well, but I didn't cut the bottom pieces of the cassette large enough so there were a few gaps along the bottom edge. I learned very quickly that I need to test the seam before I sew it to make sure that the piece is going to flip the correct way after pressing. Unpicking those tiny stitches is really not fun. This post by Lee Heinrich on the Bernina We All Sew blog was extremely helpful.

The second time around I cut very generous pieces for the entire pattern and I think it turned out really well! The only thing I'd change next time is to not add this wonky crosshatch border around it, because even though my seams are pretty straight, the bottom edge gives the illusion that it's very wonky. I used Lotta Jansdotter and Elizabeth Olwen scraps for the finished mug rug, along with some blue solids.

Here are all of the awesome mug rugs from the swap. I came away with the adorable pink steaming tea cup second from the left in the top row, made by our president, Neva!

Photo credit: Maggie from CJMQG