Monday, April 5, 2010

Scrap Happy Table Runner tutorial



This was my submission for the So You Think Your Crafty Auditions. I didn't make the top ten so I won't be going on (I think I was 12). It was fun seeing all the other fun projects and finding new to me blogs! There was alot of fun projects submitted and I am excited to see what season 3 brings. Anyways, I took pictures while I was making it so here is a tutorial!


Here is what you will need:

scraps of fabric, doilies, trim, really you could use anything that could be sewn down and would look cute.


You will also need two pieces of your main fabric (I used a cream colored Kona cotton) and a piece of batting (I used warm and natural batting)

I cut my pieces about 37" by 13" but you can make any size you want.


Once you have your two main fabric pieces and your batting cut, lay them down in this order: batting first, then your two main fabrics on top of that right sides together.


Then pin all your layers together so you can sew them together without them shifting. ( I know this part isn't fun, I hate pinning and avoid it unless I have to).


Then starting somewhere in the middle of a side, sew around the whole thing using a 1/4 inch seam, except you need to leave about a 3 or 4 inch hole so that you can turn it right side out.


like this

Once you have sewn around the whole thing, clip the extra corner fabric tips off to make it easier to turn the corners out.

Then turn it right side out, I like to use a plastic chopstick I found at IKEA to help with the corners.


Once you get it right side out, take it to your ironing board and iron the whole thing, taking care to pay attention to that hole you left for turning and ironing that part in so you won't be able to tell where it was.

Then, sew around the edge, again pay attention to the part where the hole was to make sure you get it sewn shut.


After I got that done I added pom pom trim to both my ends. (sorry for the picture quality, it started getting dark when i made this and I am too lazy to edit the pictures right now). After that I just layed down my bits of handkerchief and doilies down and then cut pieces of fabric to fit in the spaces that were left. I hope that makes sense.

Then I pinned them all down.

Now, take it to your sewing machine and sew all those bits down, (I left the edges of all my fabrics raw by the way, once it goes through the wash they will get a yummy frayed edge) I rolled the one end up so it would fit nicely in my sewing machine. Just be careful of the pins so you don't get poked ( I didn't get poked at all ) :)

And here's a tip, when I got one piece all sewed down, I didn't cut the thread, I just picked up the presser foot and moved over to another piece. Can you see the threads in the picture? Then after I got all the pieces sewn down I clipped all the threads.

Then I added bits of embroidery wherever I felt like it.



Then you are done and you have a happy table runner!

17 comments:

the mama monster said...

so so pretty! i knew that one was yours. totally your style. thanks for the tutorial.it makes me look forward to spring dinners outside, but by the looks of it that isn't happening anytime soon!

Amy Seven-Stitches said...

As my granny would say, "very swish". What a fun use of lost of little loved pieces.

chris said...

I loved your use of vintage lace and hankies. So fun!

Jessie said...

They will rue the day they didn't place you in the top ten. Rue, I tell you!!

Dana - Old Red Barn Co. said...

I KNEW that was yours . . . and voted for it!

Joanna said...

I, too, knew it was yours and voted for it! It is quite lovely and I might just have to make one! Thanks for the tute!

Becky J. said...

you always have such a great collection of goodies! love it.

* elizabeth * said...

Oh my God, this thing is LOOOOOOVE! Great job. You are SO number one in my book! I love your style <33333

kristin said...

sososo pretty! was it as fun to make as it is fun to look at?

dana said...

Oh BUMMER Amy. Your runner was so cool. I didn't know how three dimensional it was till I saw these pics. So cool/beautiful/Creative!

Kristena said...

How in the world did you not make it into the top 10? This is beautiful! Great job, Amy!!! You get my vote. :)

Anonymous said...

This is great! I love all the bright colors and mismatched patterns. Now that we have an extra long table, I may have to try making something similar.

Tea said...

So cute, thanks for making the directions so simple. I do love working with scraps.

Pamela said...

Sooo adorable. What a great idea. Thanks for the tutorial. Perfect Mother's day gift for my Mom.

Karen said...

What a wonderful idea. the only thing I would do differently is finish the front panel first with all the pretty bits and pieces and then make the table runner up -- that way the stitching from the front wouldn't be seen on the back of the piece. The other thing I might think about doing, once it was all together is handquilting around the squares, or to highlight some of the lovely pieces like the crocheted doily bits. You really got my imagination going. Thank you ;)

Lanetta said...

Ah! Finding your great inspirational tutorial gave me lots of ideas! I came to your post, looking for the layering method (what order, etc.) to sew & turn, yet came away with so much more! Thanks for sharing!

mabeaks said...

I love it, sew sweet, I'm making me one and some as gifts.