How Do You Make A Table Runner With Panel Fabric?

Creating a quilted table runner for your kitchen or dining room table makes a cozy accent for your room. It could also double as a bed runner on the end of a bed to make a cute decor statement. Fabric panels make life a little easier when using it as the center of a quilt or a table runner. The best thing about using a fabric panel is that it makes this project easy to do.

There are a few things that you will need to make a fabric panel table runner. Then I will give you the basic how to’s, to make a runner with a fabric panel.

• Find a fabric panel that you want to create your quilted table runner with.
• Choose a contrasting backing fabric that will look cute with your fabric panel.
• You will need a variety of fabrics that match your panel for your border around the quilted table runner.
• Sewing and quilting thread that coordinates with your fabric.
• Low loft batting or if your fabric has enough weight you may not need batting.

There are so many cute panels available for creating a quilted table runner with. Usually the scene or scenes are quite big and they are easy to quilt around if you choose a panel like the one I bought. The fabric panel I chose has a primitive print called “Home Sweet Harvest” by Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studios. I will quilt my table runner with a bright color like purple, or teal, or even red to show off the scene on my panel and to show the quilted stitches. DMC thread is a great quilting thread to use when you want your quilted stitches to stand out. It is also fairly reasonable to buy.

Fabric Panel

Before you head to your local fabric store to shop for a fabric panel (or shop online), measure the length and the width of your dining room or kitchen table. Have an idea of how long and how wide you want your table runner. Panels have fun scenes or continuous scenes on them. Measurements will vary from panel to panel. Don’t worry if the panel you want to use for your table isn’t long enough or perhaps wide enough. There is an easy solution to this problem. Add a fabric border to your panel for a little more pizazz. Before you shop, search the web on sites like Riley Blake or Moda to see what kind of panels are available. This might make your shopping trip a little easier. I found mine at my local independent quilt shop. Now go find a fabric panel that speaks to you.

Contrasting Fabric

Look at your panel. What colors do you want to highlight in your quilt? Shop for backing fabric that will compliment the top of your quilted table runner. You can possibly use the back as a reversible table runner.

Fabric Border

Sewing a border around your table runner really enhances the look of your panel. Your border makes your fabric panel look more complete. Pick fabric for your border by choosing fabrics that are complimentary colors or varying hues of the colors on your panel. This is a quick project if you choose a simple border pattern. Get crazy haha and make up your own design. You may want to just sew the border on the top and the bottom of your panel. Or you can sew it all the way around your panel.

Thread

100 % cotton thread works well for sewing your border. High quality thread can make the difference in sewing your quilting projects. I am still experimenting with thread. My machine struggles and my sewing quickly become a hot mess if I use cheap sewing thread. If one brand doesn’t work well for your sewing machine, then try another until you find the right kind for your machine. Also, quilting thread is different from the thread you will use to sew your blocks together. You will need quilting thread or I like to sometimes use DMC thread for hand quilting so that the stitches pop out more to the eye on my quilting projects.

Batting Yes Or No

Do you put batting in your quilted table runner? This is the golden question haha. My rule of thumb works like this. Once the runner top is sewn, hold your table runner (which is the panel) in your hand with your backing fabric. How does the fabric weight feel in your hand? Is it sturdy enough on its own? Or is still lightweight and needs batting in between to make it sturdy enough to display on your table? This is a question you can answer depending on the fabric you choose for your quilted table runner. I made a Christmas table runner recently and chose to leave the batting out. With all the patchwork, and the backing fabric I felt the fabric weight was heavy enough to quilt my runner with just the topper and the backing. If you choose batting, I suggest you use a low loft. It doesn’t have to be real thick batting for your runner.

How To Make The Table Runner

Now that you have your supplies you need for this project, you are ready to put your table runner together. Here are the step by step how to’s make your fabric panel quilted table runner.

• Pick a cute pattern for your border or just do a simple patchwork around your panel. I chose to do a mini patchwork border for my panel.
• Sew your border on to your panel. If you would rather not have a border that works too.
• Iron and press each of the quilt blocks you sew as you add your border.
• If you are using batting, sandwich it in between the panel and your backing fabric.To make the sandwich, place the backing fabric wrong side up.Top with your batting and then place the panel on top of the batting right side up.Smooth it out. If you are not using batting, continue on to the next step.
• Quilt your table runner with your sewing machine or by hand. Use the quilting thread that best suits your panel. If you want the thread to show up more so that the scene stands out more on your quilt runner, quilt by hand with your DMC thread.
• Finish your runner by binding it. If you want a quick and easy way to bind it, here is the tutorial on What Is The Easiest Way To Bind A Quilt?
• Display your table runner on your table and stand back and admire your work! A table runner would also make a nice gift.

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