Tutorial: Easy Disappearing 9 Patch Table Runner

So it's Bonnie & Camille week over at Sharon's Craizee Corners, and today is the day that I'm guest posting! Yay!






I made a super easy table runner using Bonnie & Camille's Ruby. It's a birthday present for a girlfriend's 30th on Sunday - She's going to love it, right? I hope so!

Incase you have someone that you'd like to make a table runner for, or if you want one of your very own, this is how I did it....

Step 1: Lay out 9x charm squares. Note: Keep in mind that the outer corners are the ones that "stay whole" and the middle square is the one that ends up the smallest.

 Step 2: Sew into 3 strips of 3 squares (below). Press seams.

  Step 3: Pin 2 strips together, matching the seams. I pinned the other strip at the same time so that I could feed them through consecutively. Press again. Repeat steps 1-3 twice, so that you end up with 3x 9 patch blocks.

Step 4: Take your 3x 9 patches and slice them down the middle horizontally & vertically using your rotary cutter & your ruler. This will give you 4 blocks per 9 patch, totalling 12 blocks.

Step 5. Play around with your blocks until you are happy with your layout. As I decided to make mine look like 3x bordered 4 patch blocks I assembled my blocks into the 3 squares first and then joined those together. To do this, start by joining 2 blocks making sure to match the seams. Repeat until you have 6x rectangle blocks. Press.

 Step 6. Pin 2 of your rectangles together, making sure to match your seams. Sew and press. Repeat until you have 3x square blocks.

 Step 7. Pin the square blocks together, sew and press. You now have the top of your table runner completed.

 Step 8. Lay out your wadding, your backing fabric "right side up", and your table runner flimsy "right side together" against the backing fabric. Pin at regular intervals. Sew 1/4" seam around the edges, leaving an opening approx 4" long.

 Step 9: Using your quilting ruler trim the edges of the wadding and/or backing fabric. Gently turn the table runner in the right way. I used a knitting needle to gently push the corners out as far as I could. Press.

  Step 10: Topstitch around the edge of the whole table runner, approx 1/8" from the edge. Decide on a quilting design... I would desperately have loved to be able to FMQ my table runner, but having never tried FMQ I wasn't prepared to take the chance at ruining a gift! Instead I went for plain diagonal lines that I eye-balled instead of marking. It's lucky that it didn't end up wonkier! Weave in any loose threads, press and.... you're done!

The matching spotty backing fabric (from my stash) 

And there you have it.. a super easy 9 patch table runner. With the leftover charm squares you could whip up some matching mug rugs! A second charm pack would give you enough to make some gorgeous 9 patch placemats, too. (I'll be posting some pictures of some disappearing 9 patch placemats my girlfriend Phillipa made at our Tuesday Stitch 'n' Bitch on our Needles in the Haystack blog)