Woven Table Topper and HST Wall Hanging Tutorials
My mom and I have a good deal going for quilted projects. I’ll pretty much make her whatever she wants, as long as she pays for the materials. Since I have lots of time, and not a lot of money, I still get to do what I love and she gets to line her house with my projects. Win-win!
Our latest venture was to make her a fall-themed table runner. So we went to Pinterest for ideas. Where else do you go?? Check out our joint board on Pinterest for lots of quilted table runner ideas.
Follow Rachel’s board Quilted Table Runners: Autumn on Pinterest.
We found one that we liked, but made a number of changes.
1. Quilt dimensions: Mom wanted a table mat rather than a table runner.
2. Piecing: I threw out flying geese in favor of snowball blocks.
3. Block size: Mom purchased a super cute layer cake for me to use, so I wanted to use the fabric as efficiently as possible.
It was a super simple project to make…I cut and pieced the top in only two days. My table is a bit smaller than hers!
Want to make one too? Here’s how:
Each block is 9″ finished so figure out how many blocks you want based on your desired finished size. You’ll need as many layer cake squares as you have blocks and half as many 9.5″ background squares as you have blocks.
Take all of your layer cake squares and cut them into fourths, getting four 5″ squares from each. Mix them all up in a container if you want your final project to be super scrappy.
Every other block is a basic 4 patch. First, pull four squares from you box laying them out in a way that’s pleasing to you. I had a few directional prints so I tried to keep them all in the same direction. You don’t need to though!
Sew the top two together, and press to one side. Repeat with the bottom two, pressing to the opposite side.
Sew the two rows together, nesting your seams to get a four patch block.
Now for the snowball blocks:
For each block, you’ll need four of the 5″ squares pulled from your box and one 9.5″ square from your background fabric.
Gently fold your squares in half to get an idea of where you want the triangles to fall on the block.
On the same diagonal as your fold was, draw a line from point to point on each of the 4 print squares.
Starting with two opposing sides, pin the squares in place and then sew directly on both of the lines.
Trim off the excess a quarter-inch from the seam. IMPORTANT: do not discard those extra triangles. Keep the pair together for a super special project!
Make sure to trim up both sides.
Press each side open.
Repeat with the two remaining sides to get your final square!
Arrange the blocks on your design wall alternating the 4-patch and snowball blocks.
Last but not least, stitch all the blocks together and you’ll have a scrumptiously scrappy quilt in no time!
I’m sure you’re sick of pictures by now, but I wanted to show you one (super special!) idea of what you can do with those extra triangles. I definitely don’t like wasting fabric!
Each print is conveniently paired with a solid square so it only took me a few minutes to chain piece all of those triangles together. Once pieced, I pressed my new half square triangle units, trimmed them to 4″ squares and went to the design wall. There are about a million and one things you can do with HST units, but I wanted to create something that was fun, modern and used up every single one of those little squares!
Isn’t that fun? I decided to make my little quilt square by adding in a few 4″ squares from my background fabric. I apologize for the wrinkly mess. My iron has been on the fritz lately…
Piece it all together and you’ve made a totally modern, totally cute little wall hanging!
Not bad for 2/3 of a layer cake and some background fabric! I’m off to baste and quilt these projects!
Let me know if you find this tutorial helpful and if you make something with it. I’d love to see! Happy quilting, friends!