Modern Appliqué Table Runner

My latest experiment with improv appliqué is perhaps the simplest of all - organic ovals not unlike stacked river stones. Each shape was cut by eye and appliquéd in place with matching thread. The fabrics are all shot cottons, and their shimmering colors are hard to capture in photographs. While not a strict gradient, the colors are arranged to shift harmoniously from one to the next. I think the design is at once bold and peaceful.

To add texture, I quilted the runner densely with organic straight lines in creamy Aurifil 50 weight thread. Keeping the focus on the appliqué, I bound the runner in the background fabric which makes it nearly disappear.

The runner finishes at 16 x 49, and this unique art piece is available in my etsy shop.

Scattered Colors Table Runner, Custom

I was commissioned to make a Scattered Colors Table Runner with teal and mustard solids. I used mostly shot cottons on a peppered cotton background in charcoal.

This is a really quick project if you need a housewarming or hostess gift. It's also a great pattern to double. Like cookies, it is just about as easy to make two as it is to make one, while you've got all the strips out. You can find the pattern for this runner in Improvising Tradition.

I grabbed a few shots of the runner in the golden morning light.

Quick Fall Table Runner

There's no denying that fall is my favorite season, especially since becoming a Midwesterner. There is just so much to do outside as the air turns cooler, and every weekend hosts a slew of possibilities for family activities. Trips to the apple orchard as well as the pumpkin patch are on my must do list every year. September is quite possibly the best month of fall too, so today is the perfect time to share my latest fall make. The inspiration for this piece is a runner I pinned years ago. (I've been made aware that the maker, Emily, has since created a pattern for the runner which you can find here.) This table runner came together very quickly; I didn't use a pattern. I pulled out my 2 1/2" scrap strips and a lovely grey woven solid and created mirrored chevrons using the same method for creating the improv angles I describe in my book Improvising Tradition for the Shattered Chevrons quilt. 

I paired simple straight line quilting to accentuate the chevrons with a bit of free motion quilting in the center of the runner. The same Aurifil thread worked beautifully for both. I like to use 50 weight for quilting because of how it sinks into the fabric while still creating a lovely texture.

For the back I used an Anna Maria Horner print that I really love. I think runners should be reversible whenever possible, so this side will work well for table decoration when I need something a bit simpler.

Appliqué Table Runner

This project has certainly been in the works for a long time (Instagram tells me I started is this past spring). I decided to take my time with it, which I think is the best way to approach needle turn appliqué. A variation on my MarimeFaux wall hanging, this 20" x 51" table runner uses a slightly different template but the same folding, cutting, and appliqué technique. The method is a cross between cutting paper dolls and Hawaiian appliqué, and its one I’d like to continue to explore.

Instead of the high contrast black and white solids, in this variation I played with fabrics that blur the boundaries between appliqué and background. It's a trick I used in improv piecing, and I think its so interesting in this application.

 

Once the appliqué was complete, the project stalled for a while as I tried out different quilting patterns. I settled on a free motion figure eights, as you can see. If I had it to do again, I think the modern design and fabric would be better complimented by simple, matchstick quilting.

I enjoyed the process of making this quilt, from the template creation, to folding and cutting, and appliqué. The quilting went quickly on the machine, but the facing did take some time. I think it is more tedious than binding, but some quilts really demand one.

I think I’ll experiment more with this technique, perhaps on a smaller scale.

Machine Pieced Pojagi

Pojagi is a traditional Korean form of patchwork used to make wrapping clothes and ceremonial items. It is pieced using a special technique than encloses all raw edges so that the finished item is lovely from both sides. This patchwork is not layered with batting and back and is not quilted. When placed against the light, which highlights the seams, this type of patchwork is especially beautiful.

Although traditionally pieced by hand using a variety of stitches and methods, I've tried my hand at machine pieced pojagi in the past. More recently, I've discovered that the use of a flat fell foot speeds up the process quite a bit, eliminating several steps.

 

If you'd like to learn this technique, while exploring improv piecing, join me for a Machine Pieced Pojagi class at the Overland Park Bernina store on March 4th. Contact the store for more details.

For lots of pojagi inspiration, you can peruse my Pojagi Pinterest board.

A Tale of Two Table Runners

Believe it or not, this is the first project I've made from Improvising Tradition since it was published. A family member requested a handmade item, and the Scattered Colors Table Runner came to mind because it is quick to make and easy to customize. I loved seeing it come together in the cool colors he requested, and I shortened the runner lightly to fit his table by simply omitting a couple of strips. It would also be easy to make it wider or narrower. The pattern is very specific, but it also teaches you the method. Once you understand the method, you can adjust it to fit your needs so simply.

Using the fabrics from the front as a simple striped backing makes the runner reversible. Love that! I used beautiful blue and green shot cottons, and the gray is a Moda crossweave.

Once you have the fabrics out and begin cutting the strips, it is just as easy to make two runners as it is to make one. I made both over the weekend, finishing up the binding over the course of a piano lesson and an evening of movies. I have listed the second runner extra for my etsy shop. It measures 13" wide by 51" long.

Scattered Colors Table Runner

One of my favorite projects from Improvising Tradition: 18 Quilted Projects Using Strips, Slices, and Strata is also the simplest to make. Scattered Colors Table Runner is the perfect pattern to try if you are new to improvisational piecing or if you are more experienced and want a quick project. The pattern is in the Slice and Insert section of the book. The design is simple, but it really packs a visual punch. (I can't believe I haven't shared the photo before now, even though I shared a project inspired by it in this post.)

photo by Joe Hancock

I made the runner using a crossweave for the background and shimmery shot cottons for the pops of color. The straight line quilting and matching binding keep the focus on the design.

I used rectangles of the featured fabrics on the front to create a striped backing, making the runner reversible. The texture of this runner is delicious.

Color Gradient Runner

For the longest time, I kept these gorgeous, glowing, hand dyed fabrics, made in a workshop with Kim Eichler-Messmer who wrote Modern Color, folded neatly in a pretty stack. I couldn't pick one design that I thought was special enough for them. I finally decided to try it all. I chopped my fat quarters into a variety of shapes and sizes, and I've tried a bit of everything with them. I'm planning a random sampler of sorts. More on that later, but no promises it will be soon.
These chevrons didn't fit with the rest of the blocks, so I combined them into a minimalist runner. I seem to be on a bit of a table runner kick recently.

In any case, the poor fabrics sat for the longest time again, as I tried to decide how to quilt the runner. I wanted to play off the directional arrow-like design of the chevrons by creating a rope pattern, moving as it weaves under itself. If I had to do again, I would stick with simple straight line quilting. I like the rope motif, but I think it takes away from the simplicity of the chevron design. I'm glad I tried it though.

At 16" x 57" this a big table runner. Between the original design and the hand dyed, color gradation fabrics, it really is one of a kind. I'm listing it in my esty shop.

Improv Scrappy Table Runner

Ah, what can scrappy, improv strip sets not accomplish?  Many things, I'm sure, but at the moment they are just what I want for making this rainbow table runner.

I was able to use some of my smallest scraps to create monochromatic strip sets. I added neutral strips sets to each end, trimming and sewing at a 45 degree angle. I staggered the strip sets to make a serpentine like arrangement.

Within each strip set, I tried to work from darkest to lightest value. I really like how this complicates the design slightly, by softening the points at the lightest end of each strip set. I flipped the strips sets around at random, so the values flow erratically across the runner. I think this kind of subtlety adds so much interest to a design.  If the strip sets were made of fabrics, all equal in value, the pointy design would be too stark in my opinion.

I had so much fun making this. I seem to make a lot of rainbow things from my scraps, but that is really part of the joy for me: getting to play with every color and all my favorite bits of fabrics from projects past.

While I love to sew rainbows, I don't actually decorate with them often. So this 16" x 47" table runner is available in my etsy shop.

Table Runner Times Two

These improv, striped table runners were inspired by Laura's hand knit sweater (which she tells me was inspired by the pattern sample for Tanis Fiber Arts' Lifesavers sweater pattern).  I love the random color changes against the constant background of black Essex linen. I chose a variety of shot cottons from my stash, cut them into strips of random lengths and pieced them end to end.  Next, I sew the length of shot cottons into width of fabric strips of the black linen.  Then I chopped the strip sets into 14 1/2" widths.  It was all very casual and fun.  It turns out, I had enough strips to make two runners.

It's always fun to see what quilting does to differentiate two nearly identical items, as I've noted before.  So, I quilted one with straight lines and one with free motion figure eights.  I think the texture of each is so different but equally lovely. 

I chose to finish the edges with a facing, rather than binding, because I like the look of the stripes running right to the edge, with no border.  I referred to several facing tutorials.  I wanted to use a mitered corners, and I mostly followed this tutorial by Susan Brubaker, although there is a great one by Victoria Gertenbach that is even easier and does not require mitering.  It's a little more trouble than a regular double fold binging, but I'm glad I learned something new. I especially love the backing fabric I chose: four different voile prints from Anna Maria Horner's Folks line.  It was so nice to stitch.

 

 

These two 14" x 56" table runners are listed in my etsy shop. Sold out.