Table Runner Tutorial

Table Runner (finished size 12 1/2" x 31")

Supplies needed:
1/4 yard each of four different fabrics
3/8 yard fabric for binding
1/2 yard of fabric for backing
15" x 36" piece of low loft quilt batting
All purpose thread to match binding and top
   or Quilting thread to match top fabric (if you will be hand quilting)

General supplies:
Scissors, pins, ruler, needles, 2 sheets of paper & pencil, iron & ironing board, sewing machine, cutting mat with ruler & rotary cutter (optional)

Important Tips & General Instructions:
**Read tips and instructions thoroughly before beginning.
**Pre-wash & iron your fabrics before starting. For best results fabrics should be 100% cotton.
**Purchased fabric should be 44"/45" wide
**You can obviously change the size of this runner. You may have to adjust the amount of fabric you buy.

You can click on the images to make them appear larger

Make your pattern:
Lay one sheet of paper on top of another until you have a 13" length. Secure both sides with tape. Fold in half so that your 13 inches will be your length (your fold will measure 13" long).

Measure 3/4" from the fold on one end and mark. Measure 2" from the fold at the opposite end and mark. Draw a line from one mark to the other to create your pattern. With your fabric still folded, cut along the line and open up. Your 1/4" seam allowance is included in this pattern piece. I like to make 2 pattern pieces.

Make your top:
With your 1/4 yard fabrics folded in half (the same way they were when you bought them), place your pattern pieces on top of your fabric and cut out. You will cut 4 pieces from each of the 4 different fabrics. If your fabric is folded, you will be cutting two pieces out at once. If you are making your runner the same size as mine, you will have 16 pieces after all fabrics are cut.

Play around with these pieces until you determine how you like the order. Stack them in order so you don't get them out of order while stitching.

With right sides together, pin the first two pieces together. Pin the short end of one at the long edge of the other. Your triangles will be alternating in direction as your piece comes together. Stitch in place using a 1/4" seam allowance. Stitch your third piece on top of the second piece with right sides together. Continue this step until you have stitched all 16 pieces into one long rectangle.

Flip over and iron seams open.

You will notice that your ends are not squared. You will have to square them off. You can do this one of two different ways. You can use a book or piece of paper as a guide and place at the shortest corner. Draw a line up and cut on the line. If you have a cutting mat, ruler, and rotary cutter, you can use it by lining your runner up with the lines on the mat, and line your ruler up at a 90 degree angle from the long edge of runner and cut off.

Lay the top piece with right side up on top of your batting. Place both of those pieces on top of the backing fabric. The backing fabric should have the wrong side facing up. Cut away the excess that extends at the one end. Notice how I have them at different lengths. I like to do that because as you quilt, your project will shrink or shift a little bit and I want to make sure that the top piece does not end up larger than the backing or the batting. You will cut the excess batting and backing fabric away later so that all the layers are lined up and sized perfectly.

Gently smooth your layers with your hands. Place several straight pins around the project. Using a contrasting, all purpose thread, hand baste all three layers together. Make sure there is some stitching about every two inches. I make big stitches (about 3/4" to 1" long) crosswise & lengthwise. Remove the pins. Quilt through all three layers as desired.

You can hand quilt if you like to do your quilting this way, or you can machine quilt. If you are hand quilting you will need quilting thread, a quilting needle, and a hoop. If you are matchine quilting you can use all purpose thread or invisible thread.

I wanted to experiment with the decorative stitching on my machine so I chose to use a decorative stitch. I stitched down the seam between each piece. Once you have finished your quilting, machine baste your ends down so they will stay in place. Remove all basting stitches and trim away any excess sewing threads.

Trim away all the excess backing and batting so that all three pieces are the same size. Set this piece aside for now.

Making the Binding:
Cut your binding fabric into 3 - 3" wide strips. Trim off the selvages of each end. Cut each of these strips into 36" lengths. This is so that your seams where you pieced the pieces together will be spaced apart more evenly.

Combine all three of these 3" x 36" pieces to form one very long piece as follows:

With right sides together, lay one strip on top of the other corner creating an "L." Draw a line across the diagonal from one corner to the other. Pin in place. Stitch on that line.

Trim away the corners about 1/4" away from the stitching line. Open seam and press edges down.Press in half lengthwise by ironing the long edges together with the wrong sides together. Take your binding back to the ironing board and iron one of the short edges 1/4" to the wrong side. Fold back in place.

Applying the Binding:
Beginning at the center of the bottom edge of the runner, and using the edge that you ironed in at 1/4", pin the binding to the quilt with the raw edges of the binding even with the raw edges of the quilt.

Before you do the remaining edges, you will stitch this section in place using seam allowance just under 1/2". Begin your stitching at the folded end of your binding and stop your stitching 1/2" from the corner. Remove from machine. I like to run a couple of back stitches at the beginning and ending of my corners to secure seam in place.

To miter your corners, flip your binding piece up forming a fold at a 45 degree angle. Then bring the binding back down so that the fold in your binding will be even with the raw edge at the top. Your raw edges of the binding will be even with the raw edges of the quilt.

Secure with pins and stitch in place just as you did with the first edge stopping 1/2" from the end. You will also be starting your stitching 1/2" from the corners too. Repeat these steps with remaining corners. When you get to the end, leave an overlap of at least and inch and trim off the excess binding before stitching that final section down.

Trim off excess threads and remove basting stitches that might have been left behind or exposed. Flip the folded edges of the binding to the back and pin in place. Stitch binding to backing.

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