Quilted Table Runner

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Scissors
• Muslin Fabric: 2yds for oak leaves, 2yds for maple leaves, 1 1/6yds for oval leaves
• Heavy-duty thread for leaf vein detailing, approx four 33yd spools
• Thread for leaf assembly and final quilting, approx two 33 yd spools per leaf type
• Batting (enough for all fabric yardage)
• Walking sewing machine foot_x000B_Felt tip pen
• Bone folder or point to point fabric turning tool

DIRECTIONS:

1. OAK LEAVES
2. Cut (32) 8 1/2"x 11" fabric squares and (16) 8 1/2"x 11" batting squares. Arrange into 16 piles with fabric squares right side to right side, and batting square on top.
3. MAPLE LEAVES
4. Cut (32) 9"x 10" fabric squares and (16) 9"x 10" batting squares. Arrange into 16 piles with fabric squares right side to right side, and batting square on top.
5. OVAL LEAVES
6. Cut (32) 5 1/2"x 8" fabric squares and (16) 5 1/2"x 8" batting squares. Arrange into 16 piles with fabric squares right side to right side, and batting square on top.
7. Use felt tip pen to trace corresponding leaf pattern to batting of each fabric pile. Use dots along the edge, not lines for quicker tracing. DO NOT CUT yet.
8. Using walking foot, stitch along traced shape, leaving a 2" gap in stitching to allow fabric turning.
9. After stitching, cut out shape, allow 1/8-1/4" seam. Clip seams every 1/2" and on tight curves to allow for easy turning.
10. Turn each leaf, so right sides are out and batting is inside. Use bone folder or turning tool to gently push out leaf points.
11. Turn in seam over the gap allowed for turning and top stitch entire leaf. Use the smallest seam size you are comfortable with.
12. Using heavy duty thread, apply leaf veining to each leaf. For maple and oak leaves, stitch one vein down center of leaf, top to bottom. From the tips of the right-side lobes of each leaf, stitch straight to center seam. Slow down as you approach the center and hand crank the last stitch or two until the stitching meets the center seam. With needle down, lift foot and rotate leaf. Stitch to the end of the opposite lobe. Repeat for all lobes on leaves. For oval leaves, stitch one vein down the center of the leaf.
13. When all leaves are complete, lay them out in the arrangement you'd like for the table runner. There should be one leaf on each end, and 15 pairs of leaves forming the body of the table runner. Each pair will be attached by an oval leaf in the center.
14. Starting at one end, pin leaves together in a set of 7 (end leaf plus 2 rows of leaves with oval leaf connector). Using a walking foot, quilt the leaves together using a free form stitching pattern. When all leaves are firmly attached, pin next set of 6 leaves (2 rows plus oval connectors) to the quilted end. Continue this process until runner is completed, rolling the quilted end of the runner up as you attach each new section, for easier maneuvering.
15. Leaves can be attached to one another with hand stitching if preferred, but this will increase project time considerably.
16. Trim any threads that fall off the edge of quilted leaves.

Craft Hack Tips and Tricks:

• Plan ahead. If you don't want leaves to match or be mix and matched, make sure you buy appropriate amounts of fabric accordingly.
• If curves of leaves are difficult to stitch, you may prefer to hand crank the curves. Stop the machine just before each curve, put needle down, hand crank one stitch, keep needle down. Lift foot, rotate fabric, hand crank next stitch. Repeat until curve is complete.
• For leaf veins, back stitching is not necessary. However, it is a good idea to make sure ends of thread are not too loose. If the end stitch is falling out you can use a needle to redo the end stitch and tie off on the wrong side of the leaf.