Creating beautiful quilting projects has never been easier, thanks to Designs by JuJu’s Quilting Backdrops! In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use her innovative, quilting blocks to make an adorable autumn table runner.

This table runner design is extremely versatile and allows for lots of customization and personalization.  Whether you’re using seasonal palettes, sports team colors, or holiday patterns, using Quilting Backdrops will ensure you have the perfect table runner for any occasion.

To start, I brainstormed how I wanted my table runner to look on some graph paper.

After I had my design figured out, I moved to my computer and I used Inkscape/Inkstitch to lay out the design with the colors and center designs I wanted to use. I used this to help me visualize how things would look with the colors and center designs when it’s finished.

My table runner ended up being 48” × 18”, which fits well on my large, kitchen table. You can alter your design to be larger, smaller, wider, or more narrow, by adding or removing blocks accordingly. Do what works for you. It’s fun to play around with different designs and figure out how you want things to look in your finished project.

Supplies

Now, let’s gather our supplies. Check out JuJu’s favorite supplies on Amazon.

  • No-show mesh
  • Thread
  • Batting - I bought crib size and had some leftover material
  • Fabric
    • I used a 55” × 22” piece for the back and binding. I bought 1.75 yards of red, cut out my back piece, and used the rest for the blocks.
    • I used 1 yard of white.
    • If you're using a different fabric for the red squares than your back, you would need 1⅓ yards for the red squares on top.
  • DBJJ Designs
    • DBJJ Quilting Backdrops, Daisy Chain
      • 2” square,
      • 6” square, and
      • 2” × 6” (both horizontal and vertical layouts)
  • Sewing machine for piecing blocks and binding

Preparation

To prepare the fabric, I cut 3.25” squares:

  • 40 white
  • 32 red

I cut the rows/columns next, to 3.25” × 7.25”:

  • 10 white
  • 20 red

Lastly, I cut the large squares at 7.25” × 7.25” out of white fabric. 

Then I repeated this for the batting.

  • 72, 3.25” squares
  • 30, 7.25” × 3.25” rectangles
  • 3, 7.25” × 7.25” squares

I have to admit, at this point I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. I asked myself, should I have used bigger squares and fewer of them? But, since everything was already cut, I was ready to press forward. I was so glad I did! Things came together so quickly after my lengthy fabric prep and the look was exactly what I wanted.

Stitching

Let’s move to our embroidery machine. Starting with the rows, I ensured my directional design (the Daisy Chain) was aligned correctly. For the vertical designs, we will need four white and eight red. For the horizontal designs, we will need six white and twelve red.

Hoop no-show mesh and stitch out the first step, the placement stitch for your batting.

After it’s stitched out, place the batting, completely covering the placement stitch, and run the tack down stitch.

Trim the edges as close as you can to the stitching.

Cover the batting with the fabric. Make sure each side is covered by at least ½”.

Next, the fabric tack down stitch will sew, holding the fabric in place. It will stitch out larger than the batting tack down stitch, giving us guide lines to stitch our seams when we piece the table runner together.

Next, stitch out the decorative quilting stitch.

I use a 6” × 10” hoop, so I was able to fit two columns or rows and 2 squares in each hoop. Feel free to utilize the extra space your hoop has, just make sure your extra fabric is out of the way. I did this by spacing things apart far enough that they were not in the space of the other blocks, but you could also use painters tape and hold the excess fabric back while you stitch additional pieces.

The small squares are done the same way as the columns and rows. Make sure you’re leaving at least ½ inch around all edges with your fabric. I did the columns and rows first, so I could complete some squares with them. After I was done, I counted how many squares of each color I still needed and did them in a hoop by themselves.

To do the center blocks, I hooped the no-show mesh and stitched out the placement stitch.

Again, completely cover the placement stitch with the batting and then, stitch the tack down stitch for the batting.

Trim the batting and cover with fabric, leaving at least ½” around all your edges.

Next, we will stitch out the quilting for the large square.

After this segment was stitched out, I loaded the design I wanted to insert on top of the quilting into my machine and stitched it out. If you have software to combine the patterns, feel free to use it.

Then, we stitch the steps for the designs in the center of the blocks. You can use applique, word art, stitched pictures, or whatever fits your vision for your autumn table runner. 

Continue stitching out your design until it’s complete. Repeat for the other, two, center blocks.

After all your blocks are stitched out, it’s time to prepare them for sewing. Trim the no-show mesh closely to the stitches.

Cut ½” from the front edge stitching line on all four sides. Don’t skip this step! It makes the piecing go by so much easier and faster.

Here are my finished center blocks, ready to be sewn into the table runner.

Assembly

I started piecing my 9-patches first. I took my trimmed pieces and laid them out in the configuration shown below. I took care to make sure everything was the same direction when using the directional Daisy Chain design. We will be using a ½” seam allowance for all of the piecing.

Take two pieces, right sides together, lining up edges and seams, and start sewing from the edge of the fabric. You will want to place your seam line in between the two lines of stitching. I first sewed the three rows together.

Press your seams open. Pressing your seams and having the ½” borders on your pieces helps everything come together smoothly.

After the squares are stitched into rows, do the same thing to connect the rows together.

As I stitched the rows together, I watched to make sure all the lines on the right side lined up with each other. Press seams open again.

Once we have finished one of the 9-patch blocks, we need to make seven more just like it.

After I did the 9-patch blocks, I did the columns next. You can see the difference in the directional stitches here. In this layout, my center block is directed differently than the two edge blocks.

I flipped it top to bottom before I sewed them in. We will make a total of four sets of the columns.

Now, we can take two sets of the 9-patches and pair them with one column block. Sew a 9-patch to the top and bottom of the columns. Continue to sew them the same way as before, matching seams and sewing in between the two stitch lines. Press your seams open when you're done.

We will make four of these sets.

Now, we can sew together the horizontal block sets.

Sew them together to make a block and repeat to make six blocks total.

Take two horizontal block sets and pair them with one of your center blocks.

Join them as shown above and repeat with each of your center blocks and the remaining horizontal blocks. I needed to rotate the bottom block 180 degrees to get the patterns correct.

Now it’s time to piece it all together. Lay out your work with a vertical row and 9-patch piece, then a center block and horizontal row piece, and alternate until you end with a vertical row and 9-patch piece.

Taking two neighboring sections at a time, piece all of the table runner together. The ½” seam allowance and the outside stitching made this so simple to work with. I was thrilled with how easy it sewed up and how precise the blocks were when I finished.

To add the back to my autumn table runner, I placed the back, right side down, and carefully centered my finished table runner on top. I pinned it in place to hold it while I stitched it to the back.

I chose to "stitch in the ditch" to connect the backing to the front of the quilt. You could do as little or as much as you want. I started at the seam line and finished at the seam line on the opposite edge, so I didn’t stitch through the part of the fabric I’ll be binding with. I stitched every seam.

Here’s how the back looked after I finished stitching.

For the binding, I trimmed the backing fabric so it extends 1” from the edge of the fabric and 1.5” from the edge stitches. I did this on all 4 sides of the table runner.

Next, I folded the raw edge of the back just shy of the stitching line of the table runner. Press it in place.

Next, fold it again so the fold on the outside is sitting slightly over the outside row of stitches. Press it into place and pin or clip as you go.

I completed this all the way down the first side. To make a mitered corner, I opened up the bottom of the binding so the raw edge is visible.

Fold the corner up at an angle until the outside fold is just shy of the stitching line.

Fold the edge you completed back in place and then continue with the new side. Bring the raw edge up, just shy of the stitching line. I found that pressing the fabric at every step was very helpful to help keep things in place.

Fold the pre-folded edge of the second piece up to where it lies barely over the stitches. This will create your mitered corner. Pin into place.

Continue for the rest of the edges and corners. I don’t think you can use too many clips or pins for this.

We are almost done. Now, we just need to stitch the binding down. I chose matching thread and a straight stitch, but if you want a decorative stitch and contrasting thread, go for it.

To successfully sew the miter, I make sure my machine is in the needle down position when it stops. I sew until I take the first stitch on the bottom fabric for the miter and stop.

I lift the presser foot and turn the whole table runner, so I’m ready to stitch the next side.

I continue sewing the binding down until I reach the next corner.

After you arrive back where you started, your autumn table runner is finished!

And there you have it, a beautiful autumn embroidered table runner made with ease using Quilting Backdrops! I hope you had as much fun creating your table runner as I did. Feel free to get creative and experiment with different colors, patterns, and themes.

I can’t wait to see what you make! Tag us (#designsbyjuju) on social media to share your creations with us!

Melanie Zitzman

Melanie Zitzman

Melanie has been sewing and crafting from a very young age. She loves to quilt, embroider, and paper craft and is always looking for her next project. She loves gnomes and they are overtaking her house! When she's not crafting she is a part time dental hygienist, a voracious reader, and volunteer hospital pianist.