Have your tried out our Scrappy Mug Rug pattern yet? If so, I challenge you to make a larger version into a reversible table runner. This table runner is no more difficult than the mug rugs. By making it reversible, you will be able to use the same table runner for several months a year. I made a Fall/Halloween version but you could easily make one for other holidays as well. Some ideas include Christmas (or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah)/Winter, Spring/Easter, Easter/St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day/Easter… you get the idea.
What you’ll need:
5-7 fat quarters for each side*
1/4- 1/3 yard for binding*
Batting to fit your selected table runner size
*The number of fabrics and amount of binding material is based on the finished size and variety of prints you would like. Read further for more information.
Standard sewing supplies such as sewing machine, thread, iron, basting spray, Wonder Clips, water soluble pen, cutting mat, 6×24” acrylic ruler, rotary cutter, ¼” piecing foot, and a walking foot. See my beginner and intermediate quilter posts if you need more details on these supplies.
I recommend the minimum finished table runner size should be approximately 12×40”, and maximum 18×72”. The size of your table runner is completely your preference. My piece of furniture is 18×54” so I decided to make my finished table runner 14×50”.
I needed a 14×50” piece of batting to pad my table runner. To create the binding, I used the chart below to determine that I’d need 1/3 yard of fabric to cut 4 strips for binding, Reference the chart in order to determine how much fabric you’ll need for your binding. I chose an orange fabric that coordinates with the fat quarters from both sides of the table runner.
Calculation Chart: (amount of fabric needed to create binding)
Before starting this project, I recommend taking out your colored pencils and graph paper to design variations. Take into account the length of the runner and the size of your strips t0 decide how many fabrics to buy. My original plan was to use 5 or 7 fat quarters, but after buying the fall fabric in a bundle of 6, I also chose 6 Halloween fabrics from my fat quarters. I went with 2.5″ strips because they are a fun size to work with. You could go bigger, smaller, or vary the widths for a completely different look. Remember, your finished size is a half inch narrower than what you cut them. Drawing it out will give you ideas on the finished look before cutting the fabric.
In my diagram, each square represents 2″. Six fabrics allowed me to have the same fabric on each end, and the same number of strips from the other colors. This result gave me the variety I was looking for. Your diagram may be completely different, based on the length of your table runner and number of fabrics you’d like to use.
Create the strips:
Cut your fat quarters into 2.5” strips. Strips will measure 2.5”x the chosen width of the runner. In my case, the strips are 14” wide. Based on my drawing above, I needed 4 strips from each of the six fat quarters and one extra for the end.
Sew the strips together:
Lay your strips sets out in your desired order. Place two pieces right sides together and begin chain stitching using your ¼” piecing foot. This means to sew them one set after another… it saves thread AND time. After you have sewn the pile, separate the sets and iron them open towards the dark side. Refer to my Scrappy Mug Rug pattern if you need more in depth instructions for piecing.
After sewing and ironing your first sets together, lay them back on your workspace. Repeat the steps for chain stitching the sets together and iron them towards the dark side. You will continue this process until all of the strips are sewn together to make one side of the runner.
After you have each side of the table runner done, iron it with some starch or sizing. Take it to your cutting mat and use your 6×24″ ruler to trim off any excess fabric.
Baste the layers together:
Use basting spray to join one side of the runner to the batting. Carefully smooth it out. Trim excess batting off with your ruler and rotary cutter. Flip the table runner over and spray the other side on. If you end up with a lot of excess fabric on one end after connecting the second side to the batting, try peeling it off and placing it a second time. You’ll want the other side centered on the batting as best as you can. You may have to trim off a little bit for it to fit.
Quilt as desired:
You can quilt this however you’d like but I chose a diagonal pattern because it is easy and very forgiving. There is a good chance that your seams will not line up from front to back, so quilting 1/4″ away from the seams like on the mug rug may not work out. If you are a beginner quilter, have no fear; the method I used is sewing straight lines. It will take some time, but it is not difficult to accomplish.
I placed my runner along a vertical line on my cutting mat. I turned my ruler diagonally to place the 45 degree line on the edge of the runner. With my water soluble pen, I drew a line across the runner. I moved the ruler to make a line every 2″. After one direction was complete, I turned the runner 90 degrees to finish drawing the lines. This creates the diagonal pattern.
I sewed directly onto the lines I drew using my walking foot. I used cream thread on the fall side and black (my bobbin) for the Halloween side.
Here is my finished product! Crafty friends, you have just watched me make my very first table runner! Follow this link for directions to create and attach the binding. I would love if you shared photos of your own runner with us at our Simply Notable Crafty Friends Flickr page!
If you like the fabric I used on this runner, you can purchase a fat quarter bundle in the Riley Blake Happy Harvest here. The Halloween prints are Riley Blake Costume Clubhouse, Riley Blake Small Black Dots, Riley Blake Boo To You Skulls, and Moda’s Monster Bash argyle. I used Riley Blake Basic Shades in Tangerine for my binding.
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