Hey everyone. Today you will learn how to make a quilted table runner with a heat-safe center, pretty scalloped binding, and black batting that will not grin through dark fabrics.
Here we go. A regular runner looks nice. This one works for a living, too. The middle section gets a double layer of batting. That extra padding helps protect your table when a warm serving dish lands in the center. Just like that, your runner doubles as a long trivet.
Why black batting? Simple, y'all. White batting can peek through dark seams and shadow through stitch lines. Black batting stays quiet under deep reds, navy, and black prints. I reach for an 80/20 cotton-poly black batting here. It is low to medium loft and quilts flat. You do not want high-loft. A runner should lie flat, not puff up under the plates.
Materials You Will Need
- Top fabric — about 1/2 yard, or pieced fabrics to make a 14 x 44 inch top
- Backing fabric — 1/2 yard, cut a little larger than the top
- Black 80/20 batting — one piece for the full runner, plus a second piece for the center only
- Binding fabric — about 1/3 yard for bias binding
- All-purpose thread to match, and an 80/12 or 90/14 needle
- Walking foot, if you have one
- Small plate, cup, or scallop ruler for marking the edge
- Rotary cutter, ruler, pins or clips, and a fabric marker
That second piece is the secret. Cut it about 10 x 28 inches. It lives only in the middle, where hot dishes sit.
How To Make the Runner
- Build your top first. Piece or cut a simple top about 14 x 44 inches. Press seams flat. Keep the center fairly simple, folks. Dense quilting there will do the real work.
- Layer in the right order. Backing wrong side up. Full piece of black batting on top of that. Then center your smaller batting piece right in the middle. Smooth it flat with your hands. Top goes on last, right side up.
- Pin the step. Feel for the edge of that center batting. Pin just outside it. That little ridge is normal. Your quilting will soften it.
- Quilt the center close. Stitch straight lines or a simple crosshatch 1 to 2 inches apart through the center. Use a stitch length around 2.5 to 3. Closer quilting locks both batting layers so nothing shifts when you wash it.
- Quilt the ends lighter. Echo the center quilting outward, or stitch in the ditch. Firm in the middle, softer at the ends. Completely up to you.
- Trim and square up. Trim the sandwich to your finished size. Check all four corners with a ruler. A runner that starts square binds so much easier.
- Mark your scallops. Along both long edges, mark even scallops with your plate or cup, about 3 to 4 inches wide. Keep corners square. Mark first. Cut nothing yet.
- Make bias binding. Cut bias strips 2 1/4 inches wide. Join them into one long strip and press in half lengthwise. Bias is not optional here, y'all. Straight grain will fight every curve. Bias stretches and hugs them.
- Sew the binding on. Sew binding to the front, following your marked scallops. Go slow at each dip. Slow down or the needle will skip that tight inner curve. Pivot with the needle down, ease the fabric, and keep your 1/4-inch seam steady.
- Clip, turn, and finish. Clip carefully into each inner dip, just up to the stitching, never through it. Fold binding to the back. Hand stitch it down, or machine stitch in the ditch from the front. Press gently from the back.
Tips and Variations
A word on heat, honestly. Double batting adds real padding and insulation for warm serving dishes. It is not magic armor. For a screaming-hot cast iron skillet straight off the burner, set a trivet under the runner too. Protect the table you love.
My mistake, so you can skip it. I once sewed scallops without marking them first. Oh my goodness. No two matched. Mark every scallop, count them on both sides, then sew. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
Make it reversible. Use a fall print on one side and a winter print on the back. Black batting serves both sides without showing through.
And remember, it does not have to be perfect. You are your own worst critic. If one scallop is a tiny bit wider than its neighbor, nobody at dinner will measure it. Take your time. It's not a race. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop Hobbs Heirloom Black 80/20 Batting Package at Linda's Electric Quilters.
