Winning with Cork Fabric! Personalized Football Mug Rugs

Football is in the air! Today, we have a fun machine embroidery project created by our very own Project Manager, Joy Ercanbrack. With football season underway, now is the time to show off your team spirit by making these fun mug rugs that can be personalized with your favorite teams colors! Thanks for sharing with us Joy!
Ask my son Robert what his favorite season is and he will answer, “Football!” without hesitation. Watching him play under the Friday night lights was exciting and excruciating all in the same moment. This week I’ve been stitching mug rugs in his favorite team colors and decided to try using cork for the football with fabulous results.Cork fabric feels soft to the touch, but it’s durable like leather. It’s really ideal for the large football centered on the mug rug because it’s waterproof, stain resistant, and easy to clean. If you want to try using cork, here are a few tips I learned while stitching.
1. Start with a new needle. I found success with an 85/12 topstitch needle.
2. Slow your machine down a bit. No need to hustle through the stitches.
3. With fabric applique, our instructions show trimming around all three sections of the football after the tack-down stitch. Because cork fabric has a thicker gauge than cotton, I chose not to cut the cork under the stripes away, but trimmed the football as if it were just one piece; then appliqued the white fabric right over the cork. I loved the dimension this created.

The football mug rug is one of eleven in-the-hoop designs on Kimberbell’s Mug Rugs Volume 2 (KD517). Do you have any tips to share with us for stitching with cork fabric? We would love to hear them? Please comment below!