That’s not a weird way of saying I’ve got a lot of coin, but rather the material I used to make this super-de-duper table runner.

My friend Amy and I were tooling around town looking for trouble when we found ourselves in a fabric store. Do you think it’s weird that trouble lies in a fabric store? I sort of do, but our husbands would disagree.

In any case, we came across some lovely Amy Butler fabric but were afraid to buy any for fear of messing it up. We’re pretty amateur seamstresses. On a little display table, though, was a basket of fat quarters. If you’re a quilter you know what a fat quarter is, but if you don’t it’s basically a square of fabric (I’ve seen them in different sizes I think) that is pre-cut and sold at a flat price/quarter. You’ll often see bundles of them in coordinating patterns/colors sold as a set. These happened to be 5/$10, mix and match.

Amy: I looooove this fabric. Maybe I could recover that chair that Blu [the cat] destroyed in something like this.

Rachael: That would be SO cute. Do you want to get some?

Amy: Nah it’s kind of pricey, and I’ll probably eff it up. Plus it’s not really upholstery fabric.

Rachael (looking at basket of fat quarters): Let’s get fat quarters and make a table runner!

Amy: YES!

Seriously I have no idea why I blurted out that idea, but we were both so stoked about it that we spent the next 30 minutes picking out the 5 most perfect coordinating squares (polka dots-you’re out…no wait, you’re back in). Amy chose blue and green (shocker!), and I went a little crazy with some peachy pinks and purples.

I’m not even going to show you the step-by-step because this was so stinking  easy. Just pin all your squares together in a row (right sides together!)  and sew each seam, then trim the whole runner  to the width you want and hem all the edges.  My table is rather wide, so I only cut off about 4″. Five pieces seemed to be perfect for my table length, but you may need more or less. It’s not really an exact science (you know how I feel about measuring).

What you’ll end up with is a super cute $10 table runner!

 

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16 Responses

  1. Kristin

    Total awesomeness! That’s the perfect amount of sewing I ever really want to do… You know, just barely having to sew at all!
    Now, where to find me some fat quarters, because my dining room table is really boooooring!

    Reply
    • wendy

      You can buy them at ANY fabric shop, online or in the flesh. If they don’t have them specifically laid you, you can ask for them.

      Reply
    • cherri

      just stumbled onto your blog from another log. wanted to say tho-if it’s pre cut fabric you gals are looking for (I am not affiliated with ANY OF THEM) you might try these online sites: Missouri Star Quilt Co. or Connecting Threads, Favorite Fabrics, A Thousand Bolts. Moda or Fabric.com. I admit to doing most of my online shopping at A Thousand Bolts and Missouri Star Quilt Co. but lov all these sites. There are tutorials for every skill range at Missouri Star Quilts too. love your blog.

      Reply
  2. wendy

    Lovely table runner, good on you for giving it a go.

    A fat quarter IS a fixed size. In the US they are a quarter of a yard. A long quarter is a quarter of the yard across the width of the fabric (something like 44 x 11 inches) and a fat quarter is as if you folded the yard in half and then half the other way so it’s about 22 x 22 inches.

    In the UK, Canada and other metric-using countries, we get a bit more as a fat quarter is quarter of a metre.

    Reply
    • Lovely Crafty Home

      Wendy- Thanks for the clarification, I think I have come across the long quarter as well but I didn’t know there was a different term. I figured sometimes the bolts are different widths and that might have something to do with it lol.

      Reply
  3. Beth

    What a great use of fat quarters! I love fat quarters; so many possibilities!

    Reply
  7. Haley

    I really love this! I have lots of extra fabric sitting around, and this is the perfect way to use it! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  8. cindy

    Hi- this is my first time to your blog and I love it!

    I am a beginning quilter and have a question I think you can answer.
    I’m making a quilt for my 2yr old granddaughter and I’m using fat quarters to assemble the quilt. I have been finding more and more that even though the peices look even cut in the package, when I sew them together they are not all the same size. Is this a problem that is universal and I shouldn’t question my beginner quilting skills or is there something else I should be doing?

    I’m joining your blog. Thanks
    cindy

    Reply
    • Lovely Crafty Home

      I wish I could help Cindy, but I am not a quilter myself at all! From what I know, I think there are fat quarters and long quarters or something and perhaps what you’re getting is a mix?

      Reply
  11. Spring Foyer

    [...] As usual, I tried to use and rework things I already have- including the “new” runner which I finally put together. I actually bought the fat quarters last SEPTEMBER. I made it the same way I did my other pink/purple fat quarter runner. [...]

    Reply

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