Table Runner Trials & Tribulations

You're probably wondering why the dramatic title? Let's just say I have a love/hate relationship with my table runner. I started this project months ago. Not that it took that long to make; I definitely procrastinated a bit because I knew it was going to be a challenge. I'd say it took a handful of nap times to make:-) I am proud to say I completed it!! It is by no means perfect, but it is presentable and not too shabby for my first attempt.

I guess you can consider this a "tutorial", but please know there are definitely things I would do differently next time. I wouldn't recommend making a table runner exactly this way, but hopefully you can learn from my mistakes by seeing what went right and what went wrong.

I started out by measuring my table...I eyeballed how wide I wanted it to be (how much of the table to cover and how much to leave showing). My table is about 44" wide and the table runner ended up being a little over 12" wide. You also want to think about how far you want the ends to hang down...do you want it hitting the seat of the chair or much shorter so it's not in someone's lap? Mine hangs about 10.5" off the table, a few inches shy of the chair seat. We don't use that table very often so I was going more for looks, not function.



I got my tape measure out since I was working with such a large chunk of fabric. I measured 13" and decided since my fabric was a pattern I would use that as a guide for cutting. However, I have since realized that the pattern print may not be exact so your best bet is to measure and cut. It did not mess up this project (luckily) and saved me some time, but that may not always be the case.



The tape measure (as opposed to the yard stick) came in handy when measuring the length.



Once I found a spot in the pattern to go by, I started cutting. I justified taking this short-cut because I knew I would be using the iron to get a more definitive line before sewing.



After cutting my piece of fabric, I trimmed the selvage (edge) centering the pattern. Next, I grabbed my red fabric to make a border.



I laid my cut piece of fabric on my red fabric. Then I measured and marked with my chalk pencil where I was going to cut the red fabric. I allowed for a 1/2" seam on both fabrics. So that left 1.5" of red fabric exposed.

*Side note: If I were to do it again, I would allow for at least 2" of exposed red fabric. I wish I could see more of the red fabric and it would be easier to iron down flat. Because one thing I don't like about my table runner is how "bumpy" it looks on the sides.



If you look really close you can see all the little white marks I used as a line for cutting. I did the same thing on the other side. I wanted to give it a more finished, professional look by having the red fabric wrap all the way under the bottom of the table runner.

*Side note: Not necessary!!! After looking at other table runners in stores the backside did not have a "finished look". My Mom's table runner that my Aunt Pat made does have a finished look on the backside, but she is amazing so maybe I'll save that for when I'm a little more advanced!;-)

The Cording/Piping

I'll go through this part in detail as it is pretty much the only thing I did successfully, lol!



Now for the cording/piping; whatever you want to call it! I grabbed it and put it in a pile on the floor across from me so I could give it a good stare down. I knew it was going to be a heck of a challenge, but I eventually grinned and bared it.

I pretty much went into this blindly, but did receive some great advice from my SIL before hand. She said to make sure and SEW IT AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE; that it might seem like you are sewing too close, but you're not. I'm pretty sure this advice saved me hours of torment, that is why I have capitalized, bolded, and italicized it for you:-)



First, I ironed the edges of my fabric to make a straight line to help with pinning. Since the fabric was patterned, I found a spot in the pattern and ironed all the way down (again, keep in mind this is not a sure fire way to get a straight line - the pattern can be off).



Next, I took the fold and placed it right up against the base of the cord. Then, I pinned it as close as possible.

I'm pretty sure I did this the long way, but it worked. I pinned the patterned fabric all the way down on one side of the cord and then did the same with the red fabric all the way down on the other side of the cord. As I added the red fabric to the patterned fabric and cording, I took the pins from the patterned fabric out and replaced them so the pin was then holding all 3 together. You would have to be pretty good to pin both fabrics to the cording at once don't ya think? Or maybe it's me being a beginner and all;-) Anyways, that's what worked for me.



You can see in the 3 pictures above how I pinned the patterned fabric and cording and how I could see what it was going to look like once sewn.



And here you can see how I added the red fabric on the opposite side of the cording, making sure the fronts were facing each other in the middle pic and side-by-side in the last pic as the red was going to wrap underneath the patterned fabric.


Here is probably the worst video ever showing my pinning technique, but I wanted to include it just in case it helps:-)



Next, I got to sewin'! In the first pic above, you can see it all pinned together ready to go! Notice the lump where the cording is. Remember, you have to sew right up against it! Here is a sewing shot so you can get an idea...half of the cording was under the presser foot and the other half sticking out to the left there with my finger on it.

Sometimes my sewing got a little messy...but as you can see - you can't tell in the end! When I got off track and could tell I was sewing too far away from the cording I stopped and started over again a little above that spot. It certainly didn't make for clean lines sometimes, but it was important in getting the right results.



As for the ends of the table runner...well, I'm not going to go into detail because, honestly, they were kind of thrown together. I couldn't really wrap my head around how to get the red to go all the way down to the ends as a border. And I wasn't sure how that would work with the tassel. Also, I think a part of me wasn't completely satisfied with how it was looking so I didn't want to spend much more energy on it, but I also wanted to complete it!!

Here's a glimpse of the "ugly side" of my table runner! Not pretty. Basically, I cut my red fabric straight across, folded down each side (angled towards the point) and sewed a top stitch so it would look presentable on the front.

Fabric - I pinned and sewed the fabric on just as before, minus the red fabric. I basically made sure my fabric was even and came to a nice point, ironed the edges, pinned and sewed. It was even easier because I could see the base of the cording this time.

Cording - I cut the cording so it would make more of a "point" after sewing. But after the fact, I realized when playing around with it, it would have looked fine if I just wrapped it (making as much of a point as I could) and sewed.

Tassel - Again, I kind of winged this part, but it worked pretty well! I just stuck the string/loop it hung from up between the cording and used a thread and needle and hand sewed it on. I did several loopy stitches through the top of the tassel and each side of cording to ensure it was held in there well.



So there ya have it folks...in a nutshell (yeah right)! I'm not completely satisfied with it, but it's presentable and does the trick until I can whip up a new one (one of these days)!;-) I have a few different ideas for the next one...I'll probably keep it simpler next time!

What do you think? Does it look presentable even though you know the ugly truth? Would you have finished it or given up? Have you gotten into any projects that were over your head lately?