Fourth of July Table Runner
When you set out to make a new quilt, I’m all for throwing a project together out of fabric you already have in your sewing room. That’s how I made this quilt-as-you-go table runner for American Independence Day. I used the table runner pattern from my book, Quilts for Beginners, and made it even simpler by omitting the binding and using pinking shears to give the outer edge a zig-zag finish. I found an assortment of reds, whites, and blues in my fabric stash. The stars came from some glittery fabric I had already backed with fusible web to make “paper” snowflakes for another holiday. I cut them out, ironed them on, and straight stitched around their outer edges. The whole project took just a few hours.
If your sewing machine has a library of decorative stitches, it can be a lot of fun to embellish a simple quilt like this with stitches that match the theme of the day. Here are a couple of the stitches I used on this table runner:
