What is a Penny Rug? It is a name given to a folk-art style of appliqué dating back to the mid 1800’s. The rugs were traditionally made from felted wool. This technique was used to make table runners, pillows, and rugs that were not placed on the floor. The “penny” comes from the coins that were used as templates for the circle motif that was often used in the designs. Today we use wool felt or felt blends that come in a wide variety of colors. A rayon and wool blend in traditional fall colors was used for our pillow, but use colors that go with your décor. The simple primitive charm of penny rugs has kept them popular through the years. Once your pillow is done, you could easily make a table runner to match!

SKILL: 2  TIME: 2  COST: 1

You will need:
• 1/2 yard of Straw colored felt*
• 8" x 10" felt square (one of each color)*: Sage, Rust, Pumpkin, Purple, Tangerine*
• 14" square pillow insert*
• Embroidery floss*: black, brown
• Tracing paper*
• Embroidery needle
• Optional: Removable double-stick tape  General sewing supplies, iron, permanent pen, pins, ruler, scissors

* The following products were used for this project:
• National Nonwovens felt: (leaves) Purple Sage #0582, Reets Relish #2707, Pumpkin Spice #0650, Purple Heart #2203, Tangelo #6418; (pillow cover) Straw #0403
• DMC  floss: Black #310; Drab Brown dk #611
• Loew-Cornell tracing paper
• Fairfield Soft Touch pillow insert.

Step 1: Trace and cut felt pieces. For the pillow front and back, cut two 14 1/2" x 14 1/2" pieces of cream felt. Trace two leaf shapes onto tracing paper with pen. It is not necessary to trace the veins or stems. Cut out the paper patterns. Following the color key on page 60, pin the leaf pattern onto felt and cut out the leaves (Photo A ). Note: Reverse patterns for some leaves as indicated.

Step 2: Stitch leaf veins: Using two strands of brown floss and a Stem Stitch, start at the tip of the leaf and stitch a center vein down the middle of each leaf. See leaf patterns for placement to stitch the side veins out from the center vein with the same floss (Photo B).

Step 3: Stitch the stems. Pin leaves on pillow. Using two strands of brown floss and a Stem Stitch work the stems of the leaves.  Begin with leaf A. Make the first stitch next to the last stitch worked for the center vein. Work the Stem Stitch about three fourths of an inch out from the bottom tip of the leaf (Photo C). When stem is finished, make a French knot at the tip of the stem. Note: The stem of the red leaf will be worked across part of the purple leaf.

Step 4: Attach the leaves. Use two strands of black floss and a Blanket Stitch to appliqué leaves to pillow by stitching around outer edge of each leaf (Photo D).

Step 5: Assemble pillow. To join the front piece  to the back piece of the pillow, use two strands of black floss and a Blanket Stitch with approximately 1/4" long stitches. Pin pieces with wrong sides together. With front of pillow facing you, begin stitching in the middle of the right side working toward the top of the pillow. Work the blanket stitch around the outside edge (Photo E). Stop stitching approximately one third of the way across the  bottom edge of the pillow. Slide the pillow insert  in place and continue around the pillow until you reach your starting point.

Stitching Tips
For the stem stitch and French knot, end the floss by knotting the thread and then running it under several previous worked stitches on the backside of your work. For the blanket stitch, end the floss by knotting the thread and then burying the thread by sliding the needle between the felt pieces.  When working the stem stitch on the leaves, you can use  different length stitches. For example, stitch the center vein using smaller stitches and stitch the side veins using slightly longer stitches. Or reverse them with long stitches for the center veins and small stitches for the side veins.

• Knot end of thread before beginning and ending all stitching.
• Option: Use small pieces of double-sided tape instead of pins to hold patterns in place for cutting. Remember to remove it before completely stitching a piece down.