Super Simple Squares

If you can cut and sew a straight line, you can make this simple yet beautiful runner. I think that it would make a great quilt too if you kept going. Four different fabrics are used here, cut into long strips with or without a border. I really like the silly, happy little characters on these fabrics and the way the colors are carried throughout.

Super Simple Squares

• Four fabrics cut into 2.5 inch strips 
• Border fabric cut into 2.5 inch strips
• Backing fabric 
• Batting 

For every two strips of each fabric you will yield two squares. Here that means one with santa on the outside and one with santa on the outside. 

Cut and ready to go

Often times while I'm sewing, studying, typing or just about anything my little helper will jump up and "assist". She is great at holding fabric down and stealing pins.

Ninja wanted to help too

 Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance sew the strips to one another long ways. Be mindful to keep the patterns going one direction, like the trees here I want pointing toward the snowmen.

Iron each one flat with the seams going the same direction 

 My dad says quilting is "cutting up perfectly good fabric to sew it back together again." He's quite right, and not only do we cut up good fabric once in this pattern, but twice! Using a right angle and a cutting wheel cut out triangles, you should achieve two triangles of each side (Santa and snowmen).

Using a right angel and cutting wheel

Here are four triangles all ready to be sewn into one block of our table runner. Take care to line up each of the fabrics before sewing the block so you get nice, crisp lines.

Ready to sew the first square

Once you have your desired number of blocks for the length of your table sew them together and add on the triangles to the ends. For a finished look use a solid colored fabric as a border. Sandwich with the backing and batting and finish off by sewing over the seams in either red or green. 

Holiday Stars Table Runner

Another "cheater" quilt pattern, devised by my mother, is this three fabric holiday star table runner.

It utilizes the same principle of cutting cardboard patterns to iron the pieces around and pinning them into place on top of the "sandwich" with right sides facing out, then sewing them down. I love this cheater style with precision pieces that require points to match up perfectly.

Holiday Stars 

Here we use:

• Small triangles - 3.5" equilateral triangles 
• Hexagon & large triangles - 7" equilateral triangles & 4" sided hexagons
• Base fabric 12" x desired length rectangle.

The difference with this project is that to decrease the amount of ironing, we can sew the small triangles to the hexagon before ironing under the edges. Make sure to leave 1/4" hanging over each hexagon edge, and use a 1/4" seam allowance. 

The star is one unit

Also, the large triangles only require 2 sides to be ironed under.

Assemble the pieces with the points all meeting in the center of the base fabric rectangle, 6" from either edge starting from the center of the base fabric and working out to the ends. 

We'll finish off this piece with the small triangles' fabric as a 1" border around the whole thing. 

Squares and Triangles

This beautiful table runner is super simple to make, and is the first piece I made quilting in the midwest. Using a ton of pins and a iron you can create this festive set too.

Fall leaves are great all season.

Begin by selecting four fabrics that highlight one another, using a mix of light and dark fabrics lends a nice drama to the finished quilt. As well as material for the back, and either interfacing (for a thin runner) or batting (for a puffier runner).

• Outer border & triangles 
• Large square 
• Small square
• Base color 

Next measure and cut cardboard templates of each shape. Shoebox cardboard work best, its thin and durable.

• Large square -  5 & 3/4"
• Small square - 5"
• Triangle 3x3x5 (right angle)
• Border - 2"  

Cardboard cutouts, iron, pins and sewing machine.

The "cheater" part of this style is that you don't have to be precise in cutting the fabric, nor with stitching perfect seam allowances. Each piece is ironed into its designated shape using the cardboard templates, and arranged on top of the base fabric then pinned into place.

Before sewing, add the batting and back fabric to create a "sandwich" with the right sides facing out. Add few pins to make the sandwich stick together while you sew.

Using a color thread that either highlights or hides will give your table runner a different look. Here I went with a light yellow that is just visible, but not a huge contrast to the color scheme. Sew just along the edges of the pinned down shapes, taking great care to not let the stitching waver.

I like to finish the edges by wrapping the border fabric around to the back and ironing the edge under and hand sewing it down for a clean look.