FREE project : "Love, Mom" Bed Runner

Hello lovelies, it's time for a sewing tutorial!

Every time I turn on the television there are commercials for back to school. ALREADY?!? It seems like summer just started. Back to school makes me think of all of the kids going off to college for the first time. I remember when my son went off to college. I missed him so. I called him every day! But what an exciting time for him to go away to experience life and education.

I'm  feeling heavy-hearted thinking of all of the moms whose children are going off to school. So I'm inspired to make a tutorial for you moms to give your daughters something to remind them of home. It's a bed runner that they can put at the foot of their bed to remind them of you!

Finished size: 24" x 60"

MATERIALS:
For this project, I used the Pure Elements solids that I handpicked for Art Gallery Fabrics.

• 2 7/8 yd of PE-427 Spiceberry
• ½ yd of PE-401 Verve Violet
• ½ yd of PE-432 Sandstone
• ½ yd of PE-413 Caviar
• ½ yd of PE-405 Cherry Lipgloss
• Fat Quarter of PE-425 Mauvelous
• 35" x 75" Non-fusible BATTING
• 3/4 yd SINGLE-SIDED Fusible Interfacing

NOTIONS:

• 10 pearl beads
• Hand Sewing Needle
• Color-coordinated thread
• Masking tape
• Safety pins
• Scissors
• Water Soluble marker

INSTRUCTIONS
Sew all right sides together with ¼" seam allowance. Press open.

Cutting:
For base quilt-

• Sub-cut PE-427 into four (4) 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles

For flowers (10 big flowers and 10 small flowers)-

• Sub-cut PE-401 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-432 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-413 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-405 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-425 into four (4) 8" squares
• Ten (10) 8" squares and ten (10) 5" squares of interfacing 

Step 1. Making the base quilt

• Grab the four 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles and sew them in pairs creating two rectangles that measure 24" x 60". One rectangle will be the TOP fabric and the other one the BACKING fabric. Place the BACKING on a large surface (wrong side up). Stretch it with masking tape against that surface.
• Place the BATTING on top of the BACKING.
• Place the TOP on top of the batting (right side facing up). Smooth away wrinkles using your hands.
• Pin all layers together and baste using long stitches. You can also use safety pins to join the layers.
• For this quilt, I chose a straight and modern motif. Start quilting right at the center where there is a seam. From there, create parallel lines 5" apart from each other and quilt. Use a contrasting color thread so that the stitching really pops out. I used beige on the Spiceberry tone.

After you have finished, trim any of the excess fabric or batting, squaring the quilt to proceed to bind it. To obtain the binding, cut enough WOF strips of Spiceberry with a 1½" width to create a long strip measuring 180" (about 5). For detailed instructions on how to finish binding, check out my Free Quilt patterns here, and at the end of each quilt, it has diagrams on how to do it!

Now that the base is done, I will show you how to construct one of the big flowers and you can follow the same steps for the rest of the flowers, big and small.

Step 2. Flower Construction

• Start by grouping the flowers. For each flower, grab two squares with the same size and color and one square of interfacing (also with the same size). Place one fabric on top of the other (right sides facing together), leaving the interfacing on the bottom (fusible side facing up).

• Now trace the Flower Template on the top fabric, making sure you transfer all the points. Pin the edges of the three layers.
• Sew on top of the line, going all the way to the points. Go over the first stitches you created to secure the stitching.

• Trim down the excess fabrics to 1/8" all around the stitching line and clip in between each petal to allow for better turning.

• To turn the flower inside you, draw a 1½" long line on the center of the flower.

• Being super careful in order to cut JUST the top layer, pinch the fabric so that you can cut the line you traced.

Try to separate the top layer from the bottom and interfacing.

•  Carefully turn the flower inside out through the hole.

• Press well.

• Close the hole using a hand needle. Press the raw edges towards the inside of the flower and close with a slip stitch.
• Repeat this process to finish all of the flowers.

Now that you have the base and the flowers ready, it's time to sew them together!

Step 3. Putting it all together

• Pair one big flower with one small flower in a contrasting color so that you have ten combinations. 

• Place them on the base quilt to establish the order that your prefer. Pin them in place.
• Grab one big flower, one small flower, and a pearl bead. You will now begin to hand sew them to the base of the quilt. First start by putting the needle through the center of the wrong side of the big flower and go through the center of the flower, catching the bead as well by going through the hole.

• Now, go back through the center of the small flower, then though the big flower and catch the top layer of the base quilt.
• Repeat again.

• Do this a couple of times to secure the flowers well. To finish, do an extra stitch on the bottom of the piece, or in a hidden portion, and pass the needle back through the stitch to form a knot. Do it again to double the knot. 
• Repeat until you have finished attaching all the flowers to the base quilt.

I hope you enjoy making this bed runner. To creating great off-to-school memories!

xoxo