People often make the mistake of thinking small equals easy. I've made a lot of sewn items, and still feel one of the hardest is stuffed animals and doll clothing. You've got so little room for fudging with smaller items, and even one small mistake (like one point off on a potholder) is noticed because it's only one of 8 points, not one of 800 points in the piece.
My husband was making mug rugs and putting the binding on. He ended up measureing the binding and sewing it in a loop first, then sewing it on. It was just too small an area to try seaming the binding after sewing most of it on the mug rug.