4th of July Table Runner Tutorial

Can you believe that the 4th of July is only one month away?  With the chilly weather we've been having, it hardly seems like summer yet.  I'm ready for some warmth and flag waving, so here's a little table runner I whipped up this week.

Would you like to make one?  Here's how:

Supplies:

1 @  6.5" x width of fabric (wof) strip of blue

2 @  2.5" x wof strips of red

1  @  2.5" x wof strip of white

fusible web

white fabric for stars

4.5" star to trace (I just cut one out on my Cricut, but you can create one in Photoshop or google a star image and make it about 4.5" tall)

Step 1:

Using an accurate 1/4" seam, sew the red strips to either side of the white strip.  Press seams.

Step 2: (not pictured)
Sub-cut the red & white strip set and the blue strip into 6.5" squares.  You should be able to get 6 of each.

Step 3:
Trace 6  4.5" stars onto fusible web and fuse to white fabric.  Cut out the stars and center them on the blue 6.5" squares.  Press to fuse.

Step 4:
Secure the stars to the blue squares.  I like to satin stitch.  I use a short stitch length and a middle stitch width, keeping the outside of the zig-zag close to the edge.  You could also use a blanket stitch or just a straight stitch close to the edge.

Here are the appliqued stars and sub-cut stripe blocks.

Step 5:
Using an accurate 1/4" seam, sew a stripe block to the right of each star block.  Note that I have all of the stars pointing out, so I made all of these star/stripe pairs identical.

Step 6:
Sew three pairs of blocks together to make two identical rows.

Step 6:
Sew the rows together as pictured below.  The stars should look a little off-center at this point.  The binding will re-center them.

Step 7:
Quilt and bind as desired.  I straight stitched around each star and stippled everywhere else.  I did try straight stitching a 1/4" from all the seams, but I liked the stippled look much better.

Let me know if you make one.

Happy Summer!!!