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Give Thanks Table Runner

November 9, 2017 Art Gallery Fabrics

Hello Everyone,

It’s that time of year when family and friends are reunited to enjoy being together! We give thanks for great memories and are grateful for what’s to come. For those of you hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, or want to spruce up the dining room table for the month of November, AGF has an amazing table runner tutorial for you called “Give Thanks”! This is a fun fussy cutting project that it pretty quick to whip up! We cut out letters from the “Joyeux Alphabet” print from Joie de Vivre fabrics and sewed them together to create the phrase “Give Thanks!” We fussy cut varies painterly fabrics by Bari J and fused them to the table runner to create a elegant scene of florals, birds, and butterflies. Get your free-motion foot ready to quilt gorgeous meandering swirls to make the fussy cut elements pop off your runner.

Since November is all about giving, we have a great fabric giveaway featuring the fabrics in this project! See details at the bottom of this post, and good luck!

Finished table runner measures approximately 18″ x 46″.

Materials to Make the Give Thanks Table Runner

Step 1: Fussy Cutting Letter 

To fussy cut my letters I used Dritz Clear Template Plastic. Cut out a 5 3/4″x 6 1/2″ rectangle from your plastic and place on top of each letter you need to fussy cut. With a fabric marking pen trace your template onto the fabric and cut out all your letters.

Sew your letters together spelling out “Give Thanks.” Sew two 5 3/4″ x 6 1/2″ rectangles from Fabric B to each side of  the word “Give” and one 5 3/4″ x 6 1/2″ rectangle to each side of the word “Thanks.” Sew both rows together. Use your Patchwork foot #37 to piece together your rectangles for perfect 1/4″ sewing.

Step 2- Fussy Cutting the Background

Take all of your fat quarter fabrics and apply Steam-A-Seam to the back of your fabrics. Cut out various birds, florals and butterflies from your fabrics.

Peel off the backing paper and start sticking your elements into place. Press with iron to secure your pieces to your table runner.

Step 3- Sewing the Borders and Quilting

Sew your 3 1/2″ x 43 1/2″ strips from Fabric C to the top and bottom of your tablerunner. Press seams open and finish sewing your borders by sewing a 3 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ strip from Fabric C to each side of your runner.

Make a quilt sandwich with your quilt top, batting and backing. Choose a quilting thread that will show off the beautiful florals in your runner. We choose a soft pale pink that pops on the yard dye fabric and blends in on the center of the taberunner to show off the fussy cutting.

Attach your BERNINA Stitch Regulator to assist you in whatever free motion quilting you choose. Here is a great video for beginner free motion quilters.

To bind our quilt we used the refreshing frosted sage solid denim. Use whatever binding method that you prefer to finish up your runner!

Give Thanks Fabric Giveaway!

We wish you all a great November! One lucky WeAllSew reader will win a stack of fabrics used in this project. To enter our giveaway, just post a comment below and tell us how you plan to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

The giveaway is open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. One comment per fan. Comment must be submitted to the WeAllSew.com blog by November 15, 11.59 pm Central Time. Winner will be chosen randomly. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to contact to claim the prize.

Happy Sewing,

AGF

Difficulty level
Intermediate
Time to Complete
Evening
Used Material
coordinating thread, cotton batting, cotton fabric, fusible webbing, plastic template, scissors
Projects
home décor, table runner
Seasons
fall
Techniques
applique, free-motion quilting, patchwork, quilting
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Used Products

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197 comments on “Give Thanks Table Runner”

  • This is such a gorgeous piece with the fussy cut letters! I would love to make one! Our Thanskgiving will be on a smaller scale this year, with just my children and husband gathering. It will be a cozy holiday!

    • This project is so inspirational! I believe i can do this and learn techniques at the same time. My sister and i will celebrate thanksgiving with close friends this year. I am grateful for their invitation and thankful for their friendship.

  • This is gorgeous! My in laws will be coming from out of state and my kiddos are so excited to see grandparents. They only see them a few times a year so it will be extra special.

  • We will be traveling to my mother’s house. There will be five generations there! Thanks for the giveaway. Would love to win this beautiful collection of fabrics.

  • We will be hosting dinner this year for my sister and family. There will be 10 of us. Then later in the day we’ll travel to my husband’s cousin’s house to celebrate with more family. So much to be thankful for!

  • How gorgeous this is. We will travel to Illinois to celebrate with my daughter and her family. After losing several members of the family this year, family is important

  • I just adore this runner! I plan to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and brother, it will be very warm reunion because my brother never comes around for the holidays or at all, but he’s trying to be a better brother/son so this Holiday season will be a special blessing!.

  • I am super excited to celebrate this year as I will have my 2 yr old grand daughter – that I have only met 3 times – living with us all month!!! As well as my 2 month old grand daughter! SO both my kids and their famiies will be here – has NEVER happened! I plan to make it VERY festive! Especially with this pattern!
    Thank you Bernina and folks!

  • I love this table runner. We will celebrate at my son and daughter-in-law’s house this year. My youngest son will be out of town so my oldest son and his wife have offered to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. It will be great to spend the time with them and my 2 1/2 year old grandson.

  • This runner is beautiful. My entire family and my best friend from Florida will be at my house for Thanksgiving dinner. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by a large and loving family.

  • Great use of color and added interest. I’d love to pull it off by the Holiday, but it could be a good reminder at any time. Log these Bernina ideas. Keep up the good work.

    • Forgot to say, we are celebrating with Breakfast foods. This us to go elsewhere as needed to meet the familiy’s growing family. No pressure on me to cook a turkey!

  • I really adore this project! My Thanksgiving will be a quiet one this year. I plan to make lap quilts to be given to Veterans at the nearby Veteran’s hospital and pillowcases for the pediatric department of a local hospital.

  • I love those fabrics used in the Thanksgiving table runner, especially the alphabet. Our son and wife and their five children live just up the street. How lucky can this grandma be! We will fix Thanksgiving dinner here, and have our son’s family of 7 join us, as well as an elderly couple from our church who live down the street who have no grandchildren of their own. We will share together our Thanksgiving meal with those we love.

  • Elegant table runner! Our Turkey Day will be on Friday so that our kids can spend Thursday with their in-laws. No need to eat two tummy buster meals in the same day.

  • I love the delicate and colorful runner! I enjoy the evening projects like this that are doable for the season. I made the Halloween trick or treat bag for our grandson, with a few changes. Keep on sending the ideas out, thank you!

  • Four generations of our families gather every year to celebrate Thanksgiving but this year will be a bit different. We have all decided our gathering would be better served if we worked at our local food shelter who hosts foster children. After we help our community then we will continue with our usual traditions. Thanks for the opportunity to win this fabric and make this wonderful table runner! I love the napkins, too. What a great piece to pass on and use year after year!

  • these fabrics are just about the prettiest! When I saw the project I was deterred because I thought the letters were individually embroidered, and then heartened when I read all about. What a great idea to use fussy cuts.Thank you for this great idea.

  • My husband and I are going to Virginia to visit our daughter and future son-in-law. This will be our 1st Thanksgiving that we’ve traveled out of state. However, the hubby just can get over not having leftovers, so we’ll be making another turkey when we get back with our son and D-I-L and our new grandbaby girl!

  • Such a pretty runner! I purchased a wreath this year for Thanksgiving which says, “Give Thanks.” We will celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting friends at the YMCA where we have a community Thanksgiving Dinner.

  • Dinner with family. “Little Larry” will be visiting from out of state & since he loves to cook has volunteered to be our chef for the day. “Little Larry” is a giant 6.5′ tall (+/-) but because he is a junior & such a big kind guy the nickname stuck all these years. Happy Thanksgiving!

  • I love the table runner you’ve created. Also, stunning fabrics. Thanks for the chance to win it!
    I’m traveling to see my 83 years old father who’s 6 hours away. I didn’t think my grown children would want to do that long trip, but they are joining me. It will be a fun, new experience.

  • What a beautiful table runner. I would really like to make this piece. My family will get together for Thanksgiving at my grandson’s home. He has a beautiful table that he made. This would look so pretty on his table.

  • THE TABLE RUNNER FOR THANKSGIVING 2017 IS A PERFECT PICTURE OF WHAT GIVING THANKS IS ALL ABOUT. OUR FAMILY WILL BE ENJOYING THIS LOVELY PIECE FOR YEARS TO COME. IT’S SO INSPIRING AND UTILIZES MANY FO THE TECHNIQUES I’VE JUST LEARNED AT MY LOCAL BERNINA DEALERSHIP, AAA SEWING AND FABRIC. I LOVE MY NEW BERNINA MACHINES, KAND THE STAFF AT AAA WHO ARE SO ENCOURAGING TO A NOVICE.

  • Free motion quilting is my weakness so having a lovely but simple design like this one is very helpful and nice to see. Winning the fabrics would give me an opportunity to try it out.
    Thanksgiving with family. With so many grown and gone, scattered like seeds, the gatherings seem to shrink every few years.

  • This year out Thanksgiving family reunion will be bittersweet. My family gathers in the town where my Mom lived this last few years of her life, coming from all over the country. She died last February at 93. We will miss her

  • We will celebrate the Saturday after to accommodate family in the resort industry who work on Thanksgiving .. this table runner is wonderful, of course I would love to win the fabrics and sew it up for our dinner!

  • I love this fabric, and what a great idea for a table runner! We are a small family and will be celebrating with a 20 lb. turkey for days of leftovers — looking forward to turkey dinner round 2, and cranberry and mayo sammies, pot pie, and may I have another, please?!

  • This is beautiful fabric, and will make a stunning table runner for Thanksgiving. It will be just my hubby and me, this year. My mobility issues and all family out of state sons’ and family schedules, not working out.

  • Beautiful! And thank you for making the giveaways possible! We will be spending thanksgiving with my 95 year old aunt and laughing the day away I’m sure! She’s a. Character!

  • Such a beautiful centerpiece for the dining table to admire when we gather around to give God thanks for all of His blessings. We will be with our daughter’s family.

  • Such a fun project! I’ve made Christmas table runners, but never on for Thanksgiving. We are celebrating twice this year. Once the weekend before Thanksgiving with my in-laws and on the actual holiday with my own family.

  • We moved to America 12 years ago so Thanks Giving is a fairly new thing for our family. We grew to love it over the years. Our new tradition is to have “International Thanks Giving” – where our family gathers at my in laws home and our friends from around the world join us with dishes that are special to them. Last year that included Indiana style turkey and kebabs, and Brazilian dessert as well as my own British favourites – pigs in blankets. We love the relaxed feel of this holiday compared to the hacric Halloween and chaotic Christmas.

  • Oh my how I’d love to make this! To give as a gift to any of the kids in this family who now host Thanksgiving. I go to one or the other’s house as my house is teeny and the family is large! Can’t fit into my house anymore. And I do have to share with their in laws, they switch back and forth every other year. So this year is my year at a son’s house. My fingers are all crossed.

  • I really felt the cheerfulness and joy this table runner project-Give Thanks-seemed to create?.
    As my retired Naval Officer husband of almost 59 years is now on Hospice here at home, our Thanksgiving Day celebration will be slightly different than previous years, as we’ve converted our small dining room into his ‘hospital bed’ room. Depending on whether he can be lifted into his wheelchair or if he will need to remain in bed, we’re working on having ways to have him be very involved in all of our traditional Thanksgiving meal —whether our family and friends are gathered around a table or two or around his bed. We share the things for which we are grateful- particularly for each day that he is with us. ?

  • Just beautiful. Would love to make one. I don’t care ‘when’ we do Thanksgiving as long as my sons, DILs & sweet 2 yr old can all come together ?

  • I love this project! I would make this tablerunner according to these instructions, but add Insulbrite below the batting and not only use it to decorate my dining table for my guests, but also use it as a hotpad/tabletop protector to place casseroles and hot dishes on during my Thanksgiving meal.

  • We are sharing our Thanksgiving with 8 different families – our first combined family affair. We hope to make it an annual event that will continue for years. These beautiful fabrics would make a beautiful centerpiece for the event.

  • I plan to cook Thanksgiving Dinner for an international community. They are from Jordan, France, Russia, Spain, Mexico and two from America. This fabric is so lovely.

  • That truly is a beautiful table runner! I’m not sure I could actually make it it in time for Thanksgiving, since I’m not very experienced at quilting. I loved all the previous replies, but especially from “angelwhelan” who is having an international Thanks Giving. I think it would be lovely if she wins!

  • Great project and so different. Love it. For Thanksgiving this year we will only have part of the family together. We will have the typical dinner and they watch some christmas movies.

  • I’ll be having dinner with my family (and probably a few friends) after spending a relaxing day sewing and watching football. It’s a great day to sit back and reflect on the blessings of life!!

  • Children and Grandchildren coming to my house. It will be quite a full house, good thing a couple of them are on the off year so they will be going to the in-laws instead. But don’t worry they will be coming over the day after for pie!

  • What a wonderful idea for a Thanksgiving table runner!!! The instructions are very simple to follow and greatly appreciated. I would love to use this table runner more often as I am so thankful everyday and very fortunate to love all things to do with sewing. We are going to have a quiet Thanksgiving this year as my husband is still recovering from his kidney transplant and I am almost 12 weeks past my partial rotator cuff tear surgery to be followed up with surgery for my reconstruction for anterior sternoclavicular joint dislocation and instability with a sports medicine surgeon. I will love sharing this wonderful themed table runner as a reminder for others to experience.

  • That is a very pretty table runner–would like nice on my Thanksgiving table–I am planning on cooking a traditional turkey dinner with stuffing, cranberries, squash, mashed potatoes, salad, dessert.
    barbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)

  • Beautiful idea! I would love to have the opportunity to sew this and decorate my table for the holidays. Thank you for your instructions for a great project.

  • My husband and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with our 3 year old twin grandbabies. A joyful, thankful celebration, thanking God for everything in our lives.

  • When you move away from family, friends become your guests for holidays. Now that family is nearby, we have a como of friends and family. It’s a fun mix as we are thankful for them all!!

  • I was looking at this fabric, so glad to have found a project for it. It is beautiful. We will have a quiet day with a few family and friends. Still not sure of the location yet.

  • This table runner is beautiful and the sentiment is the true meaning behind the holiday of Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for every year, and this year is no exception. My husband and I will spend the day at home, just the two of us this year. We are happy to be healthy and in our home, and plan to visit family and friends between now and Christmas. We are thankful!

  • The beautiful message caught my attention. The florals are spectacular and I got “goosebumps” when I saw the color palette. Viewing the directions gave me hope that I could make this for Thanksgiving. Gathering this year with fewer family. Our 34 yr old son was brutally murdered and his killers’ trial has been bumped from December 2017 to March 2018. We are thankful he was with us for 34 years. A Magna cum Laude graduate and Director at American Express. Our hearts are working to heal.

  • our family will gather at my step daughter ‘s house for turkey and dressing and all the trimmings. we all get to play with jp who will be 1 yr. old 2 days before Christmas.

  • What a gorgeous table runner! This year has been especially difficult for our family. However, my husband and I are extremely grateful to be sharing this Thanksgiving together this year. I would love to make this table runner for our small, but thankful, gathering. Thank you for the opportunity to win the fabric and may you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Love the beautiful table runner. My husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, and were grateful to spend a happy day with our great grandmothers.

  • Beautiful—This would be a great “beginner” project! I’m a beginner!! We are traveling to be with our three sons who are all at college out west—can’t wait for us to all be together!

  • We will be spending Thanksgiving at my daughter’s house again this year. My daughter has taken over all the family gatherings since I am unable to host the gatherings. However I can still use my sewing machine and would really like to make this table runner. Thank you for the opportunity of possibly winning this beautiful fabric.

  • This table runner is gorgeous! Would love to win these fabrics. Thanksgiving, for us, is a time to get together with some of our closest family and remember how blessed we are.

  • Our plan is a small BRUNCH gathering and then off to other places to visit and share our Thanks.
    What a cute project. This is really such a nice blog. Kudos to whomever is responsible for coordinating this blog.

  • Oh! How this would grace our table! So grateful for the arrival of our first grandchild this year! So blessed to have a healthy child bestowed on our family! Thank you!

  • Looks like a fun project. Looking forward to making one for my son and his new wife. She’s a crafter like me and we really appreciate each other’s efforts. My husband and I will be celebrating together because we live hundreds of miles from family but we’ll be Skyping! Thankful for loved ones and good health.

  • Family dinner but the family is getting smaller so we are thinking about making new traditions with the smaller group. Flexibility makes life easier.

    • I was deployed to Puerto Rico in 2017 to help after all the hurricanes and didnt get home until late Thanksgiving night, so we started celebrating Thanksgiving on friday night, that way my husband can watch football without interruptions and we can have a nice Shabbat dinner.

  • I think the fabric is glorious! And I would certainly give thanks if I won this!! But even if I don’t I still love the fabric and the way it was used in the table runner project. ?

  • This table runner is beautiful. I would love to make it. I will be so excited to see my grandchildren, daughters, brother and his family at my house for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for opportunity.

  • This is a beautiful table runner. Love the idea of also making the napkins. We celebrate at my brothers house. It is the one time of the year all the kids get together and we have a delightful day. Great food, laughter, games, and getting caught up with everyone’s lives. I think I enjoy and cherish this day more than any other during the year.

  • Absolutely beautiful. I just purchased this very machine. Would love to try this.Celebrating Thanksgiving small this year. Not everyone able to come at the same time, but at least we are getting together.

  • Thanksgiving will be a large gathering at my house with family favorites cooked and baked by me and my sisters. The last few years I have hosted the dinner and decorated with woodland creatures. I would love to make the Give Thanks table runner! The floral motif would look amazing with the animals.

  • lovely fabric. Really cute how you used the fabric to state the words in the table runner. First year we are travellng for Thanksgiving to get away from the cold & enjoy the warm weather, eat Turkey and enjoy the holiday while taking in a NHL hockey game during our Thanksgiving.

  • What a lovely project!
    My husband and I are parentless now, but have our children and their families nearby. Hopefully we will see them all at some point during the Thanksgiving weekend!

  • With the covid restrictions my husband and I will be spending a quiet thanksgiving at home…. would love to win the fabric and make a table runner for my Son in NJ so they can celebrate the holidays in style

  • I would love to grace my table with this runner for Thanksgiving. With covid still haunting us, it will be a small family only gathering, BUT there is always hope for the future to share its beauty. Thanks for the opportunity to enter this contest.
    P.S. I made your candy corn mat for Halloween…..one for me, one for my neighbor, one for my niece, and one for my sister. SO cute!

  • I love this project!!!!!I will be spending time with my lovely daughters and families, brothers and their families .And most of all I will be so very grateful to enjoy another year with my 87 year old mother!

  • My husband and I have 3 adult children who are all married and 4 young grandchildren. They will all be over for Thanksgiving. Beautiful table runner! Thank you for the tutorial. I’d love to make it!

  • This year our Thanksgiving will be celebrated with just our son, daughter-in-law and our two precious grandchildren. Normally we have 23 for a sit down dinner plus various walk-ins throughout the day. I’ll miss all the rest of the family, but will be thankful that so far our big Italian family has been healthy. Wishing all my Bernina friends a healthy and happy Holiday!

  • Wow what a stunning piece! My husband and I will be home alone, you know, COVID and all….this would be a lovely piece to send family memories. Thanks for the opportunity, love the fabric.

  • Happy Thanksgiving to all! And thank you for such a beautiful project! We usually have a big Thanksgiving celebration with all my in-laws but this year we will spend with just our 2 adult children their spouses & our 2 grandchildren & my mother, who lives with us. Simple but very special.

  • This table runner looks like fun to make. The only issue for me is the lettering, I am a quilter that is not good doing things free hand. I am going to try this one though because it is bright and thankful.

  • beautiful project to do in this confinement,hope I finish this tabletoper for thanksgiving dinner. I still having my 3 boys at home so my husband, my sons and I will be at home cooking the turkey dinner and giving thanks to God for not be infected yet with the cvid-19.

  • This year will be a small family event but includes my dad who hasn’t been able to travel for several years to celebrate with us – he will get to meet his first great grandson for the first time! Lots to give thanks for!

  • Love this project! This year we will have both of our college kids home and their grandma and grandpa. Kids are Covid-19 tested prior to coming home and I’ve been working with this pandemic in the hospital now since spring so we feel pretty confident that we can safely manage a small family gathering. Grandma and grandpa don’t have too many more Thanksgivings left so we will not miss this year.

  • I would love to make this and am ordering some of the fabric. I’m having a small gathering with my son, his wife and one month old granddaughter. The table runner will make many memories at Thanksgiving.

  • Just looking at this beautiful runner makes me give thanks. This Thanksgiving we are not sure who we will celebrate with since kids are scattered all over country
    But we look forward to wherever we end up and will be grateful! (And stuffed)

  • I plan to have a few family members over for what we call “Thanksgiving Linner” which takes place at lunchtime instead of dinner time. We like this time of day best because it gives you two opportunities to enjoy the wonderful meal in the same day.
    Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and the chance to celebrate it with the ones you hold dear ?

  • Cute project. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – we host it with all my local family, and my husband goes all out and cooks almost everything himself. Thanks for the giveaway.

  • What a beautiful table runner and a great way to produce such a terrific project! I am thankful to be having Thanksgiving dinner with good friends this year!

  • I am very interested in making this project to take to my son’s house for Thanksgiving where we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with their two beautiful daughters
    Janie Nelson

  • I really do love this table runner. I want to make it, I don’t THINK it is beyond my capabilities! But if I run into problems I have a daughter-in-law who is much better at sewing than me that can help me. My husband and I will be alone this Thanksgiving. My youngest is getting married in Costa Rica and the eldest is going. The middle son will be away also. All the grandchildren will be with their spouse’s families. We knew this day would come someday. I want to make it special for my husband, who is having trouble dealing with our nest being especially empty this year.

  • This is really a beautiful table runner and would be a great addition to anyone’s Thanksgiving festivities!! Actually this year I think it’ll only be my husband and myself and of course our two fur kids. Our children are all grown and are many miles away so this year we’ll need to contact them by phone..

  • This collection is sew pretty! Very versatile. I will quietly celebrate with my husband, his Aunt, our son, and my mom. I’m blessed to have a hubby who likes to cook and is very good at it!
    Lynn

  • We are a small family with one adult child. I’ll be fixing a full Thanksgiving spread with lots of leftovers to enjoy over the four day weekend. Your GIVE THANKS table runner would look beautiful as a wall hanging to enjoy year around.

  • A beautiful table runner! Would look great on our Thanksgiving table surrounded by our girls and their families. We always go around the table sharing what we each are Thankful for. Just precious memories!❤️

  • Love this cute pattern and the lovely fabrics! Usually, my son, daughter-in-law and their three children come over to our house for Thanksgiving and we will often invite friends who may not have family close by or who will spend the day alone. This year my son and his family will go to Alabama to visit her family so we will drive to Nashville to visit with my aunt and uncle and to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for them. My aunt has Parkinson’s (as well as my husband) and neither are doing well. The next year could be very difficult for us all and could be the last Thanksgiving with one or both of them.

  • This is such a great message to display any time of year, not just Thanksgiving. I traditionally spend Thanksgiving with friends who do not have family to celebrate with. This becomes a more meaningful holiday for all of us.

  • I would love to make this project and hope I win the fabric to make it. I love the floral alphabet and considered buying it but had a hard time figuring out how/where since it is a UK product. It would be a perfect ‘centerpiece’ for a beautiful Thanksgiving meal.

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