How to make: a French inspired ruffled runner

Happy Friday to ya! Obviously spring has put a fire under me, because I’m back on track and ready to roll. Well ready to sew. Anywho…. Let's make a table runner, shall we?

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared a sewing tutorial, so it’s about time, eh? Wanna do a little French inspired ruffled runner? Well alrighty then! You’ll need some osnaburg fabric, plus basics like scissors, a yard stick, a sewing machine and thread. Can’t really sew without thread, can we? Oh! And you’re gonna need some freezer paper… but that’s for part 2. First let’s make the runner.

I feel the need to forewarn you that there are a LOT of steps.

It’s not hard, so don’t be skeered!

For this project I used 2 1/2 yards of osnaburg that I washed and dried before cutting. This takes care of any shrinking. First I ripped 3 pieces. One at 23 inches wide, and two at 6 inches wide. The 6 inchers will become the ruffles. Just set them aside, we’ll get to those in a minute. I snipped and ripped the fabric. This fabric rips really well – it doesn’t go all wonky on ya. If you’d rather do it properly, then cut it nice and neat, m’kay?
After you cut (or rip) your pieces, take the “center” of the runner (that’s the 23 inch wide piece) and iron down the ends. Just an inch or so will do. You just want some room to create a hidden hem. Don’t sew it – just iron it.
Now it’s show time… I mean sew time! Fold your runner in half, so you’ll have a long, piece. You want the “ironed hem” facing out. Run a stitch all the way down the side. YAY! You made a longggg skinny tube.
Now flip it to the other side, and run a seam right inside the fold. Sounds crazy to sew a fold, but stay with me… it’s all good.
After you have a long tube with a seam on each side, you will turn it out and iron those seams flat. You want the seam right in the middle, of your crease. Now it’s starting to look a little more runner like.
Go back to your sewing machine and run another line down each side, close to the seam you just ironed out. this will keep everything together and fabulous.

Awww yeah babe! Perfect! Put it aside, so we can make the ruffles.

Don’t have a ruffle foot attachment? No worries – you won’t need one! We’ll have this done before you can get it on your machine, anyways. Take the pieces for your ruffles and iron a little hem line just like for the runner middle.

Then fold it together, with the ironed hem facing together and iron it in half.

Run a stitch right on ONE edge of the “hemmed” end.  Do one end of each piece.

Next I did a little tuck and stitch motion. Start with the end you hemmed. I just created a little fold by hand, then run a few stitches. Fold, stitch, fold, stitch. Do both of your ruffle pieces this way. Ruffle all the way to the end.

You want it to be a little too long. To get your perfect measurement, just measure it against the width of your runner, then go over one ruffle.

Cut open the stitch on that ruffle you chose. You’re trying to get it open to trim.

Cut it a little past the ruffle that will fit inside the runner bottom. You do want to leave abut 1/4 an inch, though.

Tuck that 1/4 inch extra inside to create a little hem, then run a stitch to sew it down.

 

After both ruffle pieces are cut, hemmed and ready, then you just insert them into the ends of the runner and stitch it all together.

And your runner is done – yay! Want to glam it up a bit? Come on over to see me at The Graphics Fairy DIY site where I’m a new contributing editor. I’m so excited to be sharing some of my ideas over there – like this method on transferring print with freezer paper. Join me?

Linked to My Romantic Home & Funky Junk Interiors

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