Handmade Wednesday's: The Mouse Pad

Last week I told you about the book Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule and gave you instructions for the Rag Bag. So, keeping with this woman's fabulous sewing projects, I give you another that I think we can all use: The Mouse Pad! Most everyone these days has a computer, whether a desk top or lap top, and the mouse can be used for both! In fact, I know many people who have lap tops, yet prefer to use a mouse for easier maneuvering around this essential piece of technology.

Unfortunately, if you are trying to make your home pretty, soft and homey, a computer sort of ruins it. They are clunky, have sharp lines and just their being in a room can make you feel as though you have a ton of things to do. Perhaps the computer is a huge part of your job - like mine - and you spend hours upon hours staring into it. Don't you want something with a little softness to ease your cluttered mind? Make yourself a pretty mouse pad and just may feel instantly better!

The Mouse Pad

Soule believes that you should use what you've already got in your home and I could not agree more! So, grab any type of fabric for this project: quilting, cotton, linen, duck, and even cotton upholstery-weight fabrics are perfect. You will want to use a contrasting fabric along the bottom edge of the pad, so choose a favorite piece that you will really enjoy!

Materials

Approximately 1/4 yard total, as follows:

Fabric 1: (1) 9" x 9" piece of fabric for the back

Fabric 2: (1) 9" x 6 1/2" piece of fabric for the front

Fabric 3: (1) 9" x 3 1/2" piece of contrasting fabric for the front strip

Heavyweight fusible interfacing: (2) 9" x 9"

How to make it:

1. Gather all materials and cut all fabrics to the measurements above.
2. Lay the two front fabric pieces right sides together, matching up their 9" edges. Stitch. Press the seam open.
3. Following the manufacturer's instructions, adhere the interfacing to the wrong side of the front piece that you just created. Then adhere a second piece to the wrong side of the back fabric piece.
4. Square up these two pieces, wrong sides together and trim away excess. Use a tight zigzag stitch around all four sides close to the edge. Trim as needed, being careful to avoid cutting the stitches.

Finished size will be 9" x 9". Enjoy surfing the web in peace!