Choosing LUCKY colors for your mug rug
Chinese New Year arrives on February 8th this year and it's the Year of the Fire Monkey. Why not celebrate by making a Lucky Monkey Tail Mug Rug for your quilting space to bring luck and prosperity to your quilting endeavors this year!
When I started looking for inspiration on what to include in my Lucky mug rug I found the monkey surrounded by gold peach blossoms and sometimes even holding a peach. The peach symbolizes longevity and gold is connected to prosperity. Red is also a color choice here as it represents fire. I chose to make my monkey tail gold and found this fabric with swirls on it in my stash. I don't have much red fabric - something to work on this year! - so I decided to use colors to add the peach imagery with this pink and peach fabric and the green print.
I'm sure you can find something in your stash - or local quilt shop - that makes you feel lucky and happy! Let's get to it.
materials
1 fat quarter for background fabric
8 fat quarters of gold fabric for monkey tail
2½" x 5" piece of green fabric
6½" x 8" cut of fabric for backing (or a leftover piece from a layer cake)
6½" x 8" piece of batting
Cut the fabrics
From background fabric cut
2 - 2 x 3½" strips
6 - 2½" squares
1 - 2" square
From gold (monkey tail) fabric cut
1 - 2 x 3½" strip
4 - 2½" squares
1 - 2" square
From green fabric cut
2 - 2½" squares
Final fabric tips
You'll notice if you hover over each fabric photo that I include some tips about fabric choices. All of my chosen fabrics have prints - yours can too!
Notice how the prints are mostly medium in scale; a large print will get lost in the size of this project and may not look the way you hoped it would once it's cut. A non-directional print is important too - or at least a print that won't look *wrong* when you glance down to pick up your cup of tea :)
Of course there are always exceptions and personal preference when choosing fabrics. My green fabric is directional and I decided it's okay for it to be upside down sometimes - because it's not part of the main focus it won't bother me!
My monkey tail fabric has a small all-over print - it helps to give it some extra visual texture. You could also use a solid color for a dramatic visual impact.
Have fun with your background print! Maybe you have some novelty fabric scraps that need a place to shine!
Enjoy picking out your fabrics to make a Lucky Monkey Tail Mug Rug. In the next post we'll start sewing them together!
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