Egg Rug

I found this beautiful egg rug on Pinterest! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373517362829416026/

I couldn't find it for sale and decided to make my own. For size reference, the egg yolk cushion covers are two feet in diameter (but the diameter is smaller when stuffed).

MATERIALS

I bought all my materials for $80 during a 40% off all fabric sale but I've quoted the regular prices here.

from inside to outside:

- Polyester stuffing (a giant bag of this stuff at my local fabric store is ~$15)

- 2 yards of solid colored fabric for the cushion (I used black 100% poly gabardine, $8)

- 2 yards of egg yolk colored fabric for the cushion covers (I used polar fleece, $20)

- 4 yards of furry fabric ($80 and up -- the super long furry fabric goes for $40 per yard at my local fabric store, which would be $160 total)

- yellow thread and white thread (a few bucks each)

If you want it to be cheaper, using polar fleece instead of fur for the rug would look perfectly eggy.

TOOLS

- Sewing machine

- Serger (optional)

NOTES

If you want to make yours look more like the pin on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373517362829416026/), you can splurge for super furry fabric. The egg yolks are also more dome-like in the original pin, and I think they are actually attached to the rug. If you know how to sew a dome shaped egg yolk cushion, I would love to hear about it. The shape reminds me of one of those cat bun plushies: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373517362831071397/

mrsmerwin commented saying: "To get more dome shaped pillows, cut the circle for the bottom side smaller than the circle for the top. Ease the fabric for the top circle to fit the bottom one." Thanks Mrs. Merwin!

Attached is a vector file with the pattern, but you can also measure it by hand by using 1 foot long piece of string or measuring tape as the radius. My circles are 2 feet in diameter.

Pin two circles on top of each other and sew around the edge, leaving a gap big enough for your hand to go inside, for stuffing. Repeat for the second cushion.

I used a half inch seam allowance inside my 2ft diameter fabric circles.

Turn the cushion fabric inside out, so that the raw edges are on the inside. Stuff it full of stuffing.

I once stuffed a whale plushie and the stuffing was lumpy, so I meticulously took the stuffing and separated it to make sure there weren't any lumps before putting it into my cushion. This took several hours per cushion, and it's an optional step if you aren't particular about your cushions.

Note that anything you stuff will appear more puffy right after stuffing than it will long term, after people sit on it and the stuffing settles into itself. So err on the side of over stuffing it.

Pin the opening close (with seam allowance turned inside) to hold the opening in place. Hand sew with a whip stitch.

Each cushion cover has three pieces, the front piece, and two back pieces which overlap to hide an opening for the cushion. Attached is the pattern in vector file format. I made my cushion covers have a 1 inch bigger diameter than my cushions.

I think it would look less wrinkly on the side if they were the same size.

If you are measuring your pieces by hand, be sure to add the 1 inch seam allowance for the back pieces pictured in my file. My pattern has the back pieces overlapping by 4 inches.

Fold over the 1 inch seam allowance for the back pieces and hem them. Make sure that the raw edge is on the wrong side of the fabric. For my yellow polar fleece, one side of the fabric was more yellow than the other, so I chose that side as the right side of the fabric.

Making sure that the right sides of the fabric are on the inside (and the raw edges are on the outside), place the back pieces of the cushion on the front piece. The back pieces should overlap by 4 inches. Pin and sew around the edge (no need to leave a gap this time). Repeat for the other cushion.

Insert the cushion into the cushion cover using the back opening. You've finished the egg yolks!

My rug fur is in a swirly pattern and doesn't really have a direction. The diagram that says 'Fur with no nap' is what I used to cut my fur. I've also included a 'Fur with nap' drawing to show how you should cut your fur if the fur has a direction (because you want the fur to be pointing in the same direction throughout your rug).

My fur was 60 inches wide and 4 yards (144 inches) long.

I realize that I used the word 'nap' wrong after making these drawings. The nap refers to the raised part of the fur, so technically all faux furs have naps, even if they don't have a single direction that the fur goes in.

This can be done faster with a serger. I learned how to use a serger after I sewed this step, in time for sewing the edge of the rug.

To sew this with a normal sewing machine, sew the small pieces of the rug (right sides together) with a straight stitch, and then go over the seam again with a zig zag stitch.

I decided to cut off the edge of my fur before sewing because of the small holes and slight discoloration, but I think this step is unecessary as the holes and discoloration would have been inside the seam anyways.

Fold your sewn rug fabric into quarters.

Using a measuring tape and tailors chalk, mark the edge of a quarter circle on the fabric. Mine is 44 inches in radius.

Do your best to transfer the quarter circle marking onto all four layers of fabric.

Serge the edge of the rug.

If you don't have a serger, straight stitch the rug where the circular edge should be. Cut the rug out, 5mm outside of your seam. Zig zag stitch the edge.

To hide the seam as much as possible, use a pin or other pointy thing to pull the fur that is stuck inside the seam out.

Congrats, you have an egg rug!