Elegant Table Runner Add a touch of elegance to your dining table during the holiday season with this Elegant Table Runner! Stitch one for the holiday's or change the design and fabric to suit any season. You can also customize this runner to nicely accommodate any size table. Read below for instructions! Supplies Needed: **2 yards of 54 inch wide home decor faux suede **Medium weight cutaway stabilizer **Temporary spray adhesive **Air-erase pen (or other marking tool) **Needle and thread for some hand sewing file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (1 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 1
Design used: Elegant Poinsettias - Lg Finished size: 12 1/4 inches wide by 100 inches long (sized for 72 inch long table) To begin, lets prepare the fabric for the two end pieces. Cut two pieces of the fabric 13 1/2 inches wide by 18 inches long. If you have embroidery software, print a template of the design to use for placement. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design to help with placement and centering. Lay the template on the fabric and center it side to side by measuring equal distances between the center of the design and the outer edges of the fabric. Keeping the template in the center, position it top to bottom by measuring up 5 inches from the bottom edge of the fabric to the bottom edge of the template. Poke a hole in the center of the template and make a mark. Also, mark the horizontal and vertical axis points. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (2 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 2
Remove the template and draw lines connecting the axis points. These lines will be used for hooping. Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design. When the design has finished, unhoop the fabric and trim away the excess stabilizer on the back of the embroidery. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (3 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 3
Now, trim the fabric to make it the perfect size. Measure and mark 3 inches down along the sides of the fabric starting at the top corners. Draw a line connecting the marks and cut along the line. Repeat this embroidering and trimming process for the opposite end fabric piece. Now that both end pieces are complete, it's time to prepare the fabric for the middle of the runner. Measure the length of the table. If the length of your table is not longer than the width of your fabric, then cut the top middle piece 13 1/2 inches wide by the table length plus one inch. For example, if your table is 50 inches long, then you would cut your top middle piece 13 1/2 inches wide by 51 inches long. Our table is 72 inches long. Since our fabric is only 54 inches wide, we are going to match two pieces of fabric together (with a seam in the center). Take the length of your table divided by two and add one inch. So, for the top middle fabric for our table, we are cutting two pieces of fabric 13 1/2 inches wide by 37 inches long. To piece the fabric together, align the pieces, right sides facing, and pin on one of file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (4 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 4
the short ends. Sew a 1/2 inch seam on the pinned end only. Then, lay the fabric flat and press the back seam. We are using a pressing cloth with the suede fabric. Lay the top middle fabric flat and align the embroidered end pieces on top, right sides together, with the top edges of the end pieces aligned with the short ends of the top middle piece. Pin in place and sew a 1/2 inch seam along the pinned edges only. Then, press the back seams open. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (5 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 5
Now lets prepare the fabric for the bottom of the runner. Measure the length of the assembled top piece (ours is 102 inches long). Once again, since our fabric is only 54 inches wide, we will piece together two pieces fabric to achieve the length. Take the length you just measured, divide by two and add one inch to the length. Our top piece is 102 inches long. So, we cut two pieces of fabric 13 1/2 inches wide by 52 inches long. Align the pieces together, right sides facing, and pin along one short end. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the pinned end only then press the back seam. Lay the assembled bottom piece flat and align the top piece on top with the right sides facing. Pin in place. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along both of the long sides and one of the short ends. Leave the remaining short end open for turning. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (6 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 6
Turn the runner right side out. Fold the fabric of the opening in 1/2 inch, press, and pin in place. Sew a 1/4 inch seam along the opening and a 1/2 inch seam around the entire remaining outer edge. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (7 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 7
To create the triangular ends, lay the runner flat with the bottom up. Fold the corners in to meet and press the fabric. Pin in place. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the angled outer edges only! file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (8 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 8
With needle and thread, tack the center back of the folds in place. Stitch through each side and through the bottom layer of the runner. Click here for a printable version of these project instructions. You'll need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't have it, you can download a free copy by clicking on the icon above. file:///f /Source/ELProjects/html/PR1476.html (9 of 9) [10/8/2010 3:09:34 PM] 9