Tutorial Tuesday: Simple Stripped Table Runner

I have been wanting to create a runner for our appliance shelf for a while now. I even purchased the fabric and there it sat. I knew that it wouldn't take long. I knew I just needed to dive in and do it. And that is just what I did starting yesterday. The master plan was to get it all done then and posted about it this morning. That didn't happen. Oh well. However it is done now and it is still Tuesday.

What you will need:
Random fabrics (I used a fat 8th pack from Joann Fabrics, but you could easily make this from scraps you have around.)
1 yard for backing, binding and borders
Batting
Quilting supplies

What you will need to do:
1. Measure the how big you would like your runner to be. (The top if our shelf is 25 by 15. I decided to make it a little longer so that it would hang over a bit.) Subtract the borders from the width. (I used 3 inch pieces for the border. Subtracting 1/2 inch for each side for the seams left me with 10 inches for the center of my runner.)
2. Cut strips the size of your middle at varying lengths. (All of my strips were 10 inches wide since the center of my runner is 10 inches. The smallest strip I cut was 2 1/2 inches and the biggest was 3 1/2. I think if I would do it again, I would cut some strips even smaller.)
3. Lay out your pieces to ensure that you have enough and to find an arrangement that you like. (Don't forget the you will subtract 1/2 inch for seams on each piece.)
4. Stack your pieces on top of each other being sure to keep them in order.
5. Stitch your pieces together. (I started with the top two pieces and stitched them together (pieces 1 and 2). Then I took the next two and stitched them together (pieces 3 and 4.) I continued until they were all stitched to a partner. (I had an odd number, so I had one piece remaining at the end.)
6. Stitch your sets together. (I took the piece that was made out of 1 and 2 and stitched it to the piece that was made out of 3 and 4. I repeated this until every piece was stitched together.)
7. Repeat the process until all of your middle pieces are in a row. Then press all of your seams in the same direction.
8. Cut your borders. (I cut three strips of my border fabric the width of the fabric and 3 inches wide. I also fussy cut four 3 inch squares from one of my prints for the corners.)
9. Sew the two borders onto the long sides of the runner and trim off any excess fabric. (I wasn't thinking and started with my shorter borders. Then I had the hardest time getting my long borders to be the right length. I finally ripped it all off and started this way. You can learn from my mistake and avoid the ripping.)
10. Cut the remaining strip into two pieces for the remaining borders. (I cut mine into two 10 inch strips.)
11. Sew the corner pieces onto the 3 inch sides of the borders, one on each side. Then sew the final borders into place.
12. Cut four 2 1/4 inch strips for the binding from the backing fabric. Join the pieces together at a 90 degree angle. Trim the seam to 1/4 inch. Press the seam open. Press the entire strip in half with wrong sides together.
13. Using the remaining backing fabric to make a backing for your runner. (I ended up piecing mine.)
14. Place the baking on a table face down. Place the batting on top of the backing. Place the pieced runner on top of the batting face up. Pin through all three layers.
15. If necessary, trim the backing and batting around the runner. (Make sure to leave a little extra.
16. Quilt. (I decided to make boxes around each of my strips 1/4 inch away from the seam. I also quilted 1/4 inch in from the border seams.)
17. Stitch 1/4 inch away from the edge of the quilt on all four sides.
18. Trim the backing and batting along the edge of the top.
19. Bind.
20. I added some buttons to my flower corners.
21. Sit back, relax, and admire your work.