Upcycle a Fall Table Runner into Perfect Placemats

Halloween is only one day behind us, but when I look around online, it's apparently Christmas!

Hold on, I say.

Aren't we forgetting another important holiday?


I mean doesn't Tom Turkey deserve even a little attention?

I certainly think so.

So in honor of all things Thanksgiving, today I'm going to set a table and share a craft.

It's an upcycle of a table runner I won last year in a Halloween raffle basket. I couldn't believe it when my name was called. There were so many neat gifts inside.

However, one of them, the table runner, wasn't something I could really use.

My Instagram Post From Last Year

Oh sure, it was pretty, but it wouldn't fit well on the round table in my kitchen nook...and our DIY rectangular island is a spot we eat at regularly. A large, decorative table runner wasn't functional.

Plus, the pumpkins fell off the side of the table and it was hard to admire them that way.

So instead I decided to cut that runner up and turn it into 4 placemats for fall. 

And my Thanksgiving table.

How To Turn A Table Runner Into Placemats

This was a super easy DIY. I did use a sewing machine but you could fusible web or fabric glue and get the same results.

Now, I've turned placemats into pillows and aprons before, but never attempted to upcycle the other way. 

This was a first for me.

The Step by Step

 
I started with this fall themed, reversible pumpkin table runner.

MY EXACT TABLE RUNNER// PRETTY TABLE RUNNER OPTION

When I opened the package and expanded the runner, I could see there were two pumpkins and a beautiful green plaid on the back.

Lovely. 


It was clear that the runner was large enough to make four really good sized placemats.

Measure and Cut

I started with the pumpkins. I measured and marked my fabric with a pencil, leaving as much space above the artwork as there was below.

Leaving the pumpkin centered.


Then I cut.

I used my very sharp fabric scissors, to get as clean an edge as possible.

Stitch It Up

Next, I needed to finish the cut edges nicely.

To do that I turned the pumpkin inside out.


And I stitched the open side up with my machine.

As I said, if you don't sew you can use iron on fabric tape, like I used on my skirted chair and my pom pom trim sofa.

For tasks like this though, I really prefer sewing, simply because it's more durable and washes well. 


I left a small opening in the corner so I could turn the placemat back, right side out.


It took a little work, since I left a very tiny hole to push the fabric through, but the larger the hole, the more sewing (or gluing) necessary to close it up.

For that, I used a very basic stitch that was almost invisible when I was done.

Iron

When all the sewing was complete I went over my new pumpkin placemats with a tiny craft iron I ordered recently. Red. Big surprise. 😉

I bought it to use mainly for decoupage, but turns out, it also removed wrinkles in a jiffy.

TINY IRON FOR CRAFTS

Repeat

Once the pumpkins were finished, it was time to move on to make the green checked mats from the remnants of the original table runner.

Waste not, want not, as my mom would say.

To do this I simply repeated the same process I used to make the pumpkin placemats.


I will say that since I had so much fabric leftover, I made the second set a bit larger than the pumpkins.

It worked out really well, since that meant I could use them on their own, or layer them for a more interesting look.


Which looked quite beautiful on my Thanksgiving table.


Set with my grandmother's crystal, my mom's gold flatware.

And a few thrifted glass plates, because those pumpkins were just too fabulous to cover up.


Much better than the table runner. My makeover put those pumpkins front and center.

Ready to welcome good old Tom.

And the next big holiday on the calendar.

Even if everyone else thinks it's Christmas.

🦃

Gobble, gobble!

Are you ready for more Thanksgiving fun? I hope so because now it's time for a little November blog hop.

Well, it's not really little. There are 14 of my creative friends to visit today. So grab something yummy, get comfy and let's start hopping! 

• Shop At Blu
• Cloches & Lavender
  
• Sweet Valley Acres
• Gathered In The Kitchen
• An Organized Season
• Everyday Edits
• My Home and Travels
• Now Choose Life
• Birdz Of A Feather
• From Farmhouse To Florida
• At Home With Kristy
• The Stylish Maker
• Bushel And A Pickle
• Houzewize
• Exquisitely Unremarkable - You are here!

Happy November, Friends!