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Chevron Table Runner free tutorial with foundation paper piecing

So St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner–let’s face it–everything is right around the corner!  I feel like I blink and the week is over ;)–anyway, you probably need some greenery in the kitchen to avoid getting pinched, right?  Well, you’re in luck (like what I did there??), because I’ve teamed up with Janome to bring you a super simple tutorial for a table runner.  If St. Patty’s Day isn’t your thing, you can easily swap out the colors for something more suiting and make it your own.  

So pictured below are a few great supplies to have on hand for foundation paper piecing.  I absolutely love my add-a-quarter ruler.  It has a little lip that you butt up against the edge of your fabric for easy trimming.  I’m also a big fan of Cristy Fincher’s glue basting tips that you can get HERE.  They screw onto the top of a regular bottle of Elmer’s school glue and are fantastic for distributing just the right amount of glue to the fabric.  And some 8.5″ x 11″ newsprint paper–you can use standard printing paper if you don’t have this on hand and don’t want to make a special trip for it.  The newsprint tears away a little easier than the heavier weight printer paper, so that’s why I prefer it.  And a glue stick!  The rest of the supplies are pretty standard sewing supplies.  

Foundation Paper Piecing Supplies

When you foundation paper piece, you sew on the printed side of the paper.  The fabric is secured by using a little glue from the glue stick to adhere it to the opposite side, and the elmer’s glue to add another piece of fabric.  Be sure you shorten your stitch length–a good rule of thumb is to shorten your stitch length to 1.5 or smaller.  This perforates the paper enough to easily tear away later.  If you don’t shorten the stitch length, you could play tug of war trying to tear the paper away once your blocks are complete!


Use a ruler to trim away the excess fabric and paper (you may want to use a rotary cutter that you designate for paper use for this), making sure you leave the 1/4″ seam allowance in tact!


Visit the Janome Website for the full instructions on how to finish this sweet project!


Enjoy the rest of your week!  I know I will–as I type this, my husband has taken our 3 month old for a walk so I can have a little break 🙂  I love her to pieces, but my lanta–sometimes it’s nice to have a minute for yourself!  Happy sewing!