No Sew Fail

My first ever project with fabric was this table runner. I just ironed over the edges and called it a day. It looked great on our dining room table and on the dresser in the kitchen. 

As part of my spring cleaning, I decided it was time to wash the runners. Suddenly my no-sew runners turned into a big fat fail. When I took them out of the washer, they were a tangled mess. The edges had frayed and they were ugly. I put them in the dryer and went to bed, ashamed of the turnout.

The next day, I took them out of the dryer and started trimming the frayed edges. I ironed them again and then sewed a quick seam on one of them and put it back on the dresser. It was a quick fix and now I can wash it without worrying about what will happen. Instead of just fixing the second one for the dining table, I decided to make place mats. I measured some place mats that we already had and realized that the runner could easily be cut into 4 place mats.

Each one was going to be 13" wide, before sewing the edges. I simply measured this and cut the fabric.

 
Once I had the 4 pieces cut, I ironed a hem around all 4 sides of each one. This was the most tedious part. Then I pinned down where I had ironed so I could sew them. I even clipped the corners so they'd be nice and neat.

It took about ten minutes to sew all four of the place mats. Now I have 4 pretty place mats that bring some pattern to the dining room table. We always use place mats on the table because I don't want to scratch or damage the table.

I'm looking forward to making more using different fabric for different seasons and occasions. It was such a simple project, especially if you have a sewing machine. I'm sure it wouldn't take that long to hand sew them either. I never really changed my decor with the seasons, except for Christmas, but I think that's going to change now that I have so many options! Do you change items in your house based on the time of year? Or do you only decorate for holidays?

Thanks for reading,
Kathleen