Halloween Coasters and Mug Rugs

Brighten the Halloween table with mug rug fun

A simple way to celebrate special days and seasonal fun is to add a coaster or mug rug to your table, desk or nightstand.  Children especially enjoy having their own holiday mug rug.

Over the years I have created many Halloween patterns from bats to witches .....

Halloween Witch Mug Rug

......... to cats .......

Moonlit Cat Mug Rug - Scaredy Cat version

........ to ghosts  .....

Ghostly Duo Mug Rug

..... and let us not forget the Halloween pumpkins ....

Pumpkin Patch Mug Rug with Halloween templates

You can find all these patterns are more in my Etsy Store.    And if time is really short you can use them to create a little fabric coaster from two 5" charm squares - perfect for a Halloween party or a child’s bedside table. 

One Bat from my Halloween pattern book

But another way to add a touch of fabric fun to your home is to create a shaped coaster like this ghostly apparition .....

Ghostly Coaster

And here is how it is done .......

1.   First - choose your fabric (the hardest part of any task for me!).  For each Ghostly coaster you will need:

                   One 6" square

                   Two 3½" x 6" rectangles

                   One 6" square of batting
                   One 6" square of fusible webbing

                   Fabric for your ghost 

                   Ghostly Duo mug rug pattern 

(Tip:  I cut my ghosts from an old white linen table cloth as it is a bit thicker than quilting fabric and I know it will wash well.)

2.  Fold under the 6” edge of one of the rectangles of fabric as shown and press.

3.  Applique a ghost onto the center of the 6” fabric square following the instructions in the pattern.  Place batting behind the appliqued square and quilt around the ghost. 

Applique and quilt one ghost from the Ghostly Duo Mug Rug pattern

4.  Next lay the two backing rectangles right sides facing upwards, so that the rectangle with the folded edge overlaps the other rectangle slightly, creating a 6” square (the folded edge should lie on top).

5.  Place the appliquéd ghost square on top – right side facing downwards.  Pin to secure.

You should be able to see the quilted line quite easily.  

6.  Now stitch all the way around the ghost, approximately ½” outside of the quilted line.  Accuracy is not essential and smooth corners will work better than pointy ones. 

7.  Once you have stitched all the way around - trim all layers approximately ¼” from the outline stitching.  Take care not to snip any stitches.

8.  Turning out is simple because of the overlapping back.  

(I run my Clover Turner all along the inside of the seam to ensure it is fully turned out.) 

Pink Ghostly Coaster

9.  Give the ghoulish coaster a good pressing and slip-stitch the envelope back closed. 

Easy?  You bet.  So much so you could whip up a whole gang of ghoulish ghosts for your children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren and ... oh yes, yourself.  This method would also work well for other shapes.

Perfect for those Halloween cocktails

And if you would prefer a book of Halloween mug rug patterns you will find a paperback version on Amazon or a PDF version in my Etsy store. 

Halloween & Thanksgiving Mug Rug Booklet

Until next time ..... enjoy the Halloween fun and games and keep safe.