SEW SIMPLE
Play with stripes for a show-stopping geometric runner made from simple squares and triangles
Want to impress your dinner guests? Try making your very own tasselled table runner! We have a showstopping geometric pattern for you.
The food won’t be the only thing that impresses your dinner guests with this stylish patchwork table runner. It may look tricky, but all you need is striped fabric cut into squares and triangles, then sewn together to create a funky geometric pattern. Neatly finished with binding around the edge and a tassel at each end, it’ll make a striking centrepiece whatever the occasion.
1 Start by cutting out nine squares from the striped fabric at a 45° angle to the straight edge of the stripes. Measurements may vary depending on the exact width of your stripes, so first measure from the far edge of the first stripe to the far edge of the seventh stripe. This will give you the measurement for the other dimensions of the square.
2 Once all of the squares are cut out, take four of the squares and cut them in half diagonally from corner to corner, cutting perpendicular to the horizontal stripes.
3 To arrange your cut pieces into the geometric pattern, first place each of the squares on a flat surface with the points at the top and bottom, in a diamond shape. Then place the triangle pieces in between the squares with the central points facing inward, using the layout diagram for reference.
4 To start joining the pieces together, take the first top triangle piece and place it right sides (RS) facing with the top-right edge of the first square, make sure that the stripes line up, and pin it into place. Sew them together on your machine with a very narrow seam of 2-3mm. Open the pieces out and press the seam.
5 Take the bottom triangle and the next square, and pin and sew the top-right edge of the triangle to the bottom-left edge of the square in the same way as before. Then, take the next top triangle and sew its bottom-left edge to the top-right edge of the same square. Repeat this process to join the other squares and triangles in the same way.
6 Once the squares and triangles are sewn together, place each joined piece RS together with the next along the long straight edges. Pin and sew into place using a narrow seam allowance of 2-3mm, again ensuring the stripes match, to assemble the runner top.
7 Use the assembled runner top to cut a matching backing piece from the plain cotton fabric and heat-proof wadding. Put the plain cotton fabric piece down wrong side (WS) up, place the heat-proof wadding piece on the plain cotton, and then the runner top RS up on top to sandwich the three layers together. Using a tacking stitch, hand-sew the layers together all the way around to hold them in place.
8 Open out the binding and pin or clip it into place all the way around the edge of the top of the runner with RS facing, then sew it into place. Fold the binding over to the back and sew it into place by hand using a slip stitch or by machine. Hand-sew the tassels to the pointed ends of the runner to finish.
Top tip
When pinning the pieces together, insert a pin at the top edge of every stripe, making sure it is also going through the same top edge of the stripe on the bottom layer of fabric. This will help ensure the stripes match up when you sew
them together.