Halloween Table Runner

Jose and I went to Lowe’s on Friday night to pick up a new houseplant to replace a bromeliad that had seen better days. I thought we might find a couple cute things for Halloween too, but NO. There was only ONE aisle end cap of Halloween items left, because the other two aisles are already filled with Christmas items. The plant section is already showing off their selection of artificial Christmas trees. So if Lowe’s is already geared up for Christmas on September 24, I can certainly put out a Halloween item without fear. Right?

So this weekend, I made a Halloween table runner. I’d been wanting to try another easy sewing project and this seemed to fit the bill. I didn’t use a pattern or tutorial; I just made it up after measuring the table and deciding how long it needed to be.

(Please ignore my sad-looking orchids. I always try to get them to flower again but they never do.)

I picked out two cute prints of bats and pumpkins, and then decided I probably needed a third fabric to run between them to tone it down just a bit. I bought some black fabric with a subtle print that looked a little like spiderwebs (perfect!) and used that to create strips between the two busier patterns. Since the bats are a “one-way” pattern, I put them on each end of the runner so that they face toward each end of the table.

I’m really enjoying my little sewing projects, although I have to admit that I may be too much of a perfectionist to deal well with still being a beginner. In other words: this table runner ain’t perfect, and that’s a little annoying. But it’s definitely not bad for a first attempt! In the interest of documentation, here’s what I need to work on next time:

1. Making straight cuts. I tried very hard to make everything square so that the pieces lined up nicely, but it still turned out a little wobbly in parts. This makes me scared to try a quilt, because I’d probably get really frustrated in trying to make things line up. I think I need to invest in a big cutting mat and rotary cutter if I’m going to be cutting squares or rectangles.
2. Table runners probably should have a backing of some kind. This is just one layer of fabric that I hemmed around the edges with a decorative zig zag stitch. It feels a little flimsy. In retrospect, I could have added a backing to give it some thickness — and a backing could make it reversible too! Two in one!