Table Runner with Mama Says Sew!

Hi there, I'm Terra from mama says sew.  When Jamielyn asked me to do a sewing tutorial, I said "Sure, did you have anything in mind?" She responded with "Something springy!" I am so ready for spring, so that sounded great.  Just pretend that the background in the pictures has tulips and daffodils instead of all that yucky snow and ice.

Today I am going to show you how to make this fun table runner.  This was inspired by something I saw last year in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  They made one with napkins taped together.  Cute? Yes.  Practical? Um, no.  So here's one made with fabric.  It may not be as fast as taping napkins together, but I still whipped it up in an evening, and it will last much longer.

All you need is a stack of fabric in spring colors {okay, the spring colors are not absolutely necessary}, a ruler, scissors and thread.  A sewing machine will speed things up quite a bit. 

Cut out 28-5 inch squares from your fabric. It really doesn't matter how many squares you have of each fabric, just make sure you have a good variety. You also need a large piece of fabric {for the backing}.  I started with 20 inches by 35 inches and then trimmed it to size later.

Start by sewing your squares together in strips of four.  By the time you're done, you should have seven strips of four squares each.  Vary the fabrics so your strips don't all look the same.

Make sure to press all of your seams.  

Once you have all of your strips sewn and pressed, arrange them in rows the way you want them in your final product.

Sew your strips together lengthwise, matching the seams of the squares.  Press your seams as you go.  Just keep adding the strips one at a time until they're all sewn together.

Trim your backing to the same size as the squares.

Pin them together right sides together and sew, leaving an opening to turn it right side out.

Clip your corners and trim your seams.  The arrow shows a clipped corner.

Turn right side out.  Use scissors in your corners to get nice, sharp corners.  Press the seams.  Press the edges of the opening to the inside as shown.

Top stitch around the whole table runner, including the opening.  That's it! You're done.

It may not be spring outside yet...

But you can bring a little piece of spring inside!

For more ideas, you're welcome to stop by my place and look around!

Thanks for having me Jamielyn!