Fanciful Flight Table Runner

I was inspired to make a “Flight of the Monarch” table runner by not only the Tim Holtz Fanciful Flight die but the masses of butterflies that have been appearing in my garden in recent days. Just the other day we counted over a dozen butterflies on my ornamental oregano. I wanted the striking design of the butterflies to take center stage so I created a low volume patchwork background.

I assembled three 12″ courthouse steps blocks. The center most square was cut using the Sizzix 4″ Finished Square Die out of a great script print, Black Old Script from Urban Grit by Michael Miller Fabrics. I then cut all the strips that formed the rest of the block using the 2 1/2″ strip die.

The courthouse steps block is constructed by sewing two pieces that measure 4 1/2″ to the sides of the square and ironing. Then attach two pieces of fabric measuring 8 1/2″ long to the top and bottom and ironing. Repeat in this manner to create a 12 1/2″ block (12″ finished).

Then seam the blocks together to make the base of your table runner. It should measure 12 1/2″ x 36 1/2″.

Now it’s time to create the applique butterflies. You will need to match your fabrics up with the correct sections of the die. Before cutting, I applied Steam a Seam 2 fusible webbing to the wrong sides of my fabric.

I used the black fabric to cover the lacy wings and body and my colorful prints (I used mostly Indie by Pat Bravo) for the solid portion of the wings. Remember to cut one piece with the right side of the fabric facing up and one with the right side facing down since the wings are mirror images of each other.

Once cut, I assembled my butterflies.

Then I place them where I liked them, making sure that the butterflies faced a couple of different directions so it looks good from both sides of the table. Then I fused the appliques to the backing.

After fusing the appliques, I used my free motion presser foot and lowered the feed dogs on my machine to edge stitch around the wings and bodies. Then I assembled my quilt sandwich and quilted with a double loop meandering stitch. I thought that sort of gave the feeling of butterfly flight.

Here is the runner in the garden where I saw all the butterflies!

supplies: http://www.sizzix.com/product/656681/sizzix-bigz-xl-25-die-strips-2-1-2-wide http://www.sizzix.com/product/657609/sizzix-bigz-die-square-4-finished-4-1-2-unfinished http://www.sizzix.com/product/656635/sizzix-bigz-die-fanciful-flight
Steam a Seam 2 http://www.warmcompany.com/saspage.html
White and Warm Batting http://www.warmcompany.com/wnwhitepage.html
1/2 yard fabric for backing, 1/4 yd fabric for binding, scraps for strips piecing the top and butterflies
thread