Hey everyone! Today we're making a fresh table runner with a bright aqua cotton, and I'll show you a simple way to let its bubbles do the work.
Here we go.
Meet the fabric
This is the Aqua Bubble Celebration Cotton 44"/45" Fabric Per Yard from Northcott.
It's 100% cotton. It's from the Celebration collection. And it was designed by Jayme Crow.
The group name on this one is Celebration - Single Colorway. The width is 44"/45". That's our standard quilting cotton width, folks.
The color is aqua. Clear and bright. Really really cheerful on a table.
The design is bubbles. Plus brush strokes and a textured feel in the print. The product notes say it plain. Bold texture and color. Various patterns. Movement and modern flair.
So this is not a quiet, flat solid. It has energy to it. It lifts a plain table in about two seconds. Just like that.
The notes also list quilting, home decor, apparel accents, and crafts as good uses. We're going with home decor today.
The project: a table runner
We're making a table runner that finishes about 14" by 42".
That's a good center-table size. Long enough to make a statement. Short enough to finish in an afternoon.
Why does this fabric suit it? A runner is mostly one long, open surface. There is nowhere for a fun print to hide. Those bubbles get room to float and repeat, and that aqua color becomes the whole mood of the room.
You do not need a pile of blocks for this one. One main fabric, a simple border plan, and straight seams. Super duper easy to keep straight, even if this is your first runner.
Materials
- 1 yard of Aqua Bubble Celebration Cotton for the runner top — that gives you enough width and length to cut your center panel and have a little extra for squaring up
- 1/4 yard of a coordinating solid or blender for a narrow inner border, if you want one
- 1/2 yard of fabric for backing, 44"/45" wide
- Batting cut about 18" by 46", so you have about 2" extra all around
- 1/4 yard for binding, cut into 2 1/2" strips
- Thread in aqua, soft white, or light gray to blend
- Rotary cutter, ruler, and mat
- Pins or clips, and a walking foot if you have one
Brief steps
One. Press your fabric well. Lay it flat. Look at how the bubbles run. Decide if you want them flowing lengthwise down the table. I do, every time.
Two. Cut your center panel at 10 1/2" by 38 1/2". That gives you a 10" by 38" finished center with a standard 1/4" seam allowance.
Three. Add borders if you are using them. Cut side strips at 2 1/2" wide. Sew, press flat, then add the end strips the same way. Your top should grow to about 14 1/2" by 42 1/2" before quilting.
Four. Layer backing, batting, and top. Backing goes right side down. Smooth from the center out. Pin well, about every 4".
Five. Quilt it simply. Stitch in the ditch along the border seams first. Then add echo lines about 1/4" away, or a soft meander across the bubbles if you prefer freehand. Both work. My preference is the echo. It frames that print without fighting it.
Six. Go slow at the corners. Slow down or you can catch a pucker right there. Ask me how I know. A little patience saves a lot of seam ripping.
Seven. Trim the edges square. Bind with your 2 1/2" double-fold strips. Tie off your ends nice and clean.
Practical tips
Use a fresh needle. I reach for a size 80/12 for piecing and quilting a quilting cotton like this. You will feel the difference in your stitches.
Keep your quilting lines about 2" to 3" apart. Close enough to hold through washing. Open enough that the runner still drapes soft over the table edge.
Press as you go, y'all. Press each seam before you add the next piece. That one habit fixes half the wobbles folks worry about.
If a bubble gets cut in half at the edge? Leave it. That is how a repeating print works. It still looks intentional once the binding goes on.
And here's the permission beat, because I mean it. This runner does not have to be perfect. If a seam is off by a hair, you are your own worst critic. Nobody at dinner is measuring it. If I can do this, y'all can do it. Take your time. It's not a race.
Alrighty. Thanks so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Aqua Bubble Celebration Cotton 44"/45" Fabric Per Yard at Linda's Electric Quilters.
