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Make this no-sew DIY table runner in time for your spring feasts

Warning: Take your appliqué obsession to the dinner table, and no one will be talking about dinner.

Warning: Take your appliqué obsession to the dinner table, and no one will be talking about dinner.

A dinner table set with a white tablerunner that has a fringe detail and floral appliqué patches on it.
(Photography by Wade Muir)

Believe it or not, this chic, attention-grabbing table runner is a no-sew, anyone-can-do it, budget project. Made from materials that you can find at your local fabric and sewing supply stores, our floral appliqué runner is colourful, totally customizable and so simple to make. You don't need a sewing machine or fancy tools, or even a ton of time. Use the runner down the centre of your table to add a pop of colour to any upcoming feast, and it makes for a wonderful gift — if you can bear to part with it. A perfect project for spring or Easter, fill the ends with your fave flowers and colours. In our case, we used a mix of roses, butterflies, fringe and 3D peonies for a super funky, fresh look.

Here's what you'll need:

  • Cotton fabric in the colour of your choice (we made ours 5'x22")
  • Hemming tape
  • Iron
  • Scissors
  • 2" fringe or any trim for the edges
  • Hot glue gun and lots of glue
  • 50-60 patches and appliques between 1-5" depending on how full you want to make your design. We used 60 patches.

Here's how to do it:

1. Lay out your fabric and cut it to the shape and size you'd like your runner to be. We made ours 5 ft in length, 22 inches wide and with pointed ends. To ensure opacity, we folded the runner to double the thickness.

2. Once cut, lay hemming tape along the open edges of the runner and iron closed. Don't worry if you have rough edges showing – these will be covered by the trim. Ensure your runner is "hemmed" all the way around. Helpful tip: Iron the runner as you go to ensure the fold is perfect. Once you use the hemming tape to close it up, any imperfections are very obvious if they weren't ironed out to begin with.

3. Using your hot glue gun, cover the rough edges along the outside of the runner with your trim. We used a 2 inch fringe that had a thick border that made covering the rough edge of the cotton very easy. Be careful not to burn yourself!

4. Once your runner has been edged with trim, begin to lay out your appliqués. This is the fun part! Be creative with layout and try multiple options. In the end, we settled on a chevron shaped cluster of florals and butterflies that had a focal point right at the tip of one large, sequin rose. Then, our smaller butterflies trailed up the runner in an asymmetrical fashion. Depending on the patches and appliqués you are using, the ways you can arrange them are endless.

5. Using your hot glue gun, begin to glue down the appliqués. Some of ours also had the option of being "iron-on" but to keep the project as simple as possible, we opted to hot glue all patches on.

6. Lay your completed runner down the table you plan to use it on. If it is spilling off the edges of the table as our does, you might notice that some of the patches require more glue and reinforcement on the "bended" areas. Reinforce them as needed.

And that's it! The prettiest and punchiest no-sew runner that everyone will be obsessed with! I highly recommend considering the items you already have in your home or the items you plan to use in your tablescape before purchasing your patches and appliqués. We knew we wanted to style ours with vibrant flowers, orange glassware and floral plates, so we opted for patches that worked with this scheme.

Photography by Wade Muir, Florals by Blush and Bloom


Lynzie Kent is the founder and creative director of Love by Lynzie Events + Design, the company behind Makeful TV's new show "Crazy Beautiful Weddings". Lynzie is also the lead singer of Electric Blonde, the host of Makeful TV's "Post My Party" and the creator of the Toronto Pop Up Wedding Chapel in collaboration with The Drake Hotel. She is wife to Andrew and Mom to Archie, which she considers to be her most important work. View our events portfolio at Lovebylynzie.com and visit Lynzie on Instagram.