Hey everyone. Today you'll learn how to make a pretty bed runner from one extra-wide fabric, with the same cloth on the front and the back.
The fabric is the 118" Candlelight & Romance Stylized Floral Sprays Cotton Wideback Fabric from Henry Glass & Co., designed by Kim Diehl. It's 100% cotton quilting cotton, listed as a quilt back, and it runs a full 116 to 118 inches wide.
The color is a soft cream. The design is stylized floral sprays from the Candlelight & Romance collection. Those sprays have room to breathe on this cloth. Nothing gets chopped up small.
This fabric was made to back a quilt. But cream goes with just about every bedroom on earth. So today it gets to be the star on top of the bed, not hidden underneath it.
The project: a bed runner
A bed runner is a long, narrow quilt that lays across the foot of the bed. Think of it like a table runner's bigger cousin. Ours finishes at about 26" x 92". That fits a queen bed nicely, with a good drop hanging down each side.
It warms up the whole room for very little sewing. No blocks. No piecing. Just one beautiful print, quilted and bound. Super duper easy.
Why does this fabric suit it so well? Three reasons. The wide width means your 92" length comes off in one clean cut, no seams. The cream color sits happily on white, colored, or patterned bedding. And because the same fabric makes the back, your runner is fully reversible. Flip it over and it still looks finished. Just like that.
What you'll need
- 1 1/2 yards of this wideback — that gives you two cuts, each about 27" x 93", one for the top and one for the back
- Batting about 27" x 93" — a leftover strip from a bed quilt works great here
- About 1/2 yard of a coordinating cotton for binding, cut into 2 1/2" strips — you'll need roughly 240" of binding
- Matching or soft neutral thread, a size 80/12 needle, and a walking foot if you have one
- Your usual rotary cutter, a long ruler, and plenty of pins or clips
How it comes together
First, press your fabric nice and smooth. Lay it out flat and check the floral sprays. Decide which way you want them running before you cut. Here we go.
Cut your top piece at 27" x 93". Cut your backing piece the same size. Use that full width for the long direction. It feels a little odd the first time. Trust the tape measure, not your habits.
Layer backing right side down, batting, then the top right side up. Baste well. A long, narrow piece likes to shift, so pin every 4" or so along both long edges.
Quilt it simply. Stitch in the ditch won't help you here, since there are no seams. Instead, echo around a few of the floral sprays, freehand or with a walking foot. Or run gentle wavy lines the length of the runner, spaced about 2" apart. On your machine, a stitch length around 3.0 to 3.5 gives a nice relaxed quilting stitch. Slow down and let the machine feed. Pulling a long piece through in a hurry is how lines go wobbly. Ask me how I know.
Trim everything even, square your corners, and sew on your binding. I join my strips, press them in half, and stitch with a good scant 1/4" seam. Hand finish the back or machine finish it. Completely up to you.
A few tips before you start
Measure your own bed before you cut. Mattresses vary more than patterns admit. Add the drop you want on each side to your bed's width, then cut to that number.
Cream shows quilting beautifully, and it also shows every stray dark thread trapped underneath. Give your batting a good shake and a lint roll before you layer up.
Here's your permission beat, folks. Your echo lines do not have to hug every petal. Your binding corners do not have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic, and nobody lying in that bed is inspecting your stitches. Take your time. It's not a race. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Alrighty. Thanks so much for spending a little time with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the 118" Candlelight & Romance Stylized Floral Sprays Cotton Wideback Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
