Quilted Table Runner
Table runners are a fun way to dress up a table or a even the top of a bookcase. You can make them as extravagant or as simple as you want. Follow along to learn how to make a simple, classy runner!
Materials needed:
-
- 3 fabrics for your squares
- Fabric for sashing, top and bottom borders, and back
- Batting- style and thickness of your choice
Tools needed:
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- ¼” quilting foot
- Walking foot with guide bar
- Coordinating thread
- Rotary cutter with pinking blade
- Rotary mat and ruler
- Scissors
- Clips or pins
- Iron
- Heat erasable gel pens or marking tool of your choice
Before starting, decide which fabrics will be your light (A), medium (B), and dark (C) fabrics. Once that is decided, you’re ready to start cutting.
Take your light (A) and dark (C) fabrics and cut 8 squares out of each fabric, measuring 2 ¾” x 2 ¾”. Cut 4 squares measuring 5” x 5” out of your medium (B) fabric.
Now you take your light (A) and dark (C) squares and sew them right sides together, on one side, using a ¼” seam.
Once those are all sewn together, it’s now time to make a square. Take 2 rows, and position them so the top one has the light (A) fabric on the left and the bottom one has the light (A) fabric on the right. Matching your raw edges and seams, sew a ¼” seam. Now you have a square. Do this with the rest of the rows until you have 4 squares.
Now take 2 of your medium (B) squares and 2 of the squares you just created. Arrange it so one medium (B) square is on top of one 4 patch square, and one 4 patch square on top of the other medium (B) square.
Working vertically left to right, put your squares right sides together and sew a ¼” seam. If your medium (B) fabric is directional, make sure it is facing the right direction before sewing.
Now that you have 2 vertical rows, match your raw edges and middle seam, and sew a ¼” seam. You should now have a double four patch square. Do these steps with the remaining squares in order to have 2 double four patch squares. Iron your squares so they lay flat.
I wanted a plain square in between my two double four patch squares, so I cut a 9 ¾” square out of my medium (B) fabric.
Now take the fabric you want for you sashing, and cut 4 strips, measuring 2 ¾” wide and 9 ¾” long. Cut 2 strips measuring 3 inches by the width of the fabric- these will be the top and bottom borders.
Take your sashing strips and sew one on the left side on 2 of the squares. On the third square, sew a sashing strip on the left as well as the right side. Use ¼” seams.
Now take your middle square and put it right sides together with the square that will be on the left hand side of your table runner. Matching raw edges and sew a ¼” seam. Do the same thing with the middle square and the square that will be on the right hand side.
Once your squares are attached to each other, iron the seams flat.
Take your top and bottom border strips. Match your raw edges, clip, and sew a ¼” seam all the way down. Iron your seams flat.
Take your batting and backing fabric and cut a piece as big as your table runner top. If your batting isn’t fusible batting, baste all around the edges of the table runner top. If it is fusible, like mine was, iron it on per manufacturer’s instructions. Lay the table runner top right sides together on the backing fabric and clip or pin in place.
Starting on one side, sew a ¼” seam all the way around, leaving an opening for turning right side out. Clip your corners.
Turn right side out and push out your corners. Iron lightly so the seams around the edges lay flat.
Once it’s all ironed out, top stitch around the edges making sure to catch the opening you had for turning.
Now that it’s top stitched, it’s time for quilting it! There are many different ways you can quilt this table runner- it just depends on how you want it to look. I loved how this table runner looked as is, so I chose to do minimal quilting stitches.
Using the walking foot, I did a stitch in the ditch along some of the seams. For the middle square, I used my heat erasable gel pens to mark a small 1” x 1” square. Using my walking foot and guide bar, I quilted 2 squares and then did diagonal lines from the corner of the outside square, to the corner of the fabric square.
Now your table runner is done! The finished measurements for the table runner in this tutorial are 35 ½” long and 14” wide. If you’d like a longer one, just adjust your measurements accordingly. Happy sewing!
