April Mug Rug
Since it’s April, this month’s design is inspired by the look of an Easter Basket.
The weave structure used is called Monk’s Weave. I’ve added a small twist to the classic pattern with an extra element, which will be detailed in the instructions.
For this Mug Rug, you’ll need a Pick Up Stick and two colors of yarn—one for the warp and one for the weft. High contrast is ideal, but not strictly necessary.
Start by warping 50 ends, each 1.5 yards long, using worsted weight cotton and an 8-dent heddle (roughly 75 yards total).
The sample shown is woven with Lily Sugar’n Cream in Coral Rose.
The weft yarn matches the colors Seabreeze, Overcast, and Yellow as illustrated.
After setting up with waste yarn, weave 4 rows of plain weave using the weft yarn. Be sure to leave enough length for the hem stitching.
For this next step, position the heddle in neutral.
Hold the pick-up stick in front of the heddle.
Pass it under 1 warp thread, then over 4 and under 4, continuing this pattern until the final thread. Go under that last thread.
Stand the pick-up stick on its edge and push it up against the heddle to form the shed.
Take note: the end thread won’t catch if you simply pass the weft through. Be sure to go around the end thread before passing the shuttle through the shed. Do not beat. Keep the weft in a loose arch before starting the next row—otherwise, the edges may become uneven.
Leave the pick-up stick in place and repeat the process to the right, again wrapping around the end thread before passing the shuttle. Continue until you have woven 4 wefts, all in the same shed.
Use the pick-up stick, not the heddle, to gently push the weft forward. Take your time—the goal is for the wefts to lie neatly beside each other, not stack up.
Check the tension by gently tugging the edges. If the fabric draws in too much or forms loops along the sides, adjust it now. This weave structure can easily cause excess draw-in, so watch carefully to ensure your Mug Rug doesn’t become too narrow as you go. You might want to measure the width regularly. Marking the pick-up stick with painter’s or masking tape can make it easier to track each section as you weave.
Now it’s time to change the shed. Remove the pick-up stick.
Raise the heddle to the “Up” position and make one pass with the weft, wrapping the end thread if necessary. Gently beat it into place using the heddle.
Remember the extra element I mentioned earlier?
This single weft of plain weave isn’t part of the traditional Monk’s Weave. I added it here to provide extra stability to the structure and help the thread groups sit more evenly. It also gives the warp threads a slightly jagged appearance, rather than a uniform basket-like look. For me, this adds visual interest to the Mug Rug.
Take a close look at the example to the right. The first 4 sections don’t include this additional weft pass, and you can see how the threads cluster more tightly. The plain weave pass helps prevent that from happening.
For the next segment, place the pick-up stick above 1 warp thread. Then pass it under 4 threads, over 4, continuing this pattern to the final thread. Go over that last thread (the reverse of the first section). Weave 4 rows using the pick-up shed as before.
Continue this process until you have created 18 sets of weft groups. Between each set, alternate a plain weave row with the heddle either up or down.
To finish, weave 4 rows of plain weave, then secure the edges with a hem stitch.
Be sure to check out the video for more information and to see the process in action; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_0xa80mEpfaw8GmV8bptw
