Burlap Table Runner

Hi All- it's looking like Christmas up in my neck of the woods this morning with all of the snow. I was immediately inspired to bust out the Christmas garland and replace my pumpkin spice candles with pine bough scented ones, but it's still almost two weeks til Thanksgiving. "Drat", I thought, as Toad would say. So in the spirit of Christmas decorating, I thought I'd share a project I completed this summer.

As most of my ideas go, I saw this table runner at Pottery Barn and LOVED it. But didn't love it enough to pay $30 for it. Really that's not spendy, I know, but I error on the cheap side when it comes to decorating- especially accessorizing. I figured I could make a similar looking one for a lot less. Here's the original:

Cute, huh? I still haven't gotten around to making second runner that goes below the burlap one, but all in due time. Here's what you need:

• Burlap (I used 3 yards to make a 90" runner, but you can custom yours to whatever length you need to fit your table)
• Sewing glue (like Unique Stitch or Stitch Witchery)
• An iron

If you can glue, this runner is for you. Figure out how long and how wide you want your runner (mine is 90" long by 12" wide) and then added a 3/4" hem on each side. So before being hemmed, my runner was 91.5" by 13.5". Next, iron the 3/4" hem on each side of the fabric. Try to get as crisp of a edge as you can- this will help when you glue. Which is the last step (and the easiest!) Glue each hem using a bit more glue than you think you might need. I had to go back and add more since some of the glue just seeped through the burlap threads. Let it dry, and you're done!

I actually had planned on sewing the hem around the edges, but it wouldn't have held. Glue was a lot quicker, and worked better anyway. This project cost me a grand total of $4.50. The burlap was $3 per yard and I had a 50% off coupon. The greatest thing about this runner is it's versatile with any season of decor- who doesn't love some great, nubby textured burlap? :)