Felt is wonderful to work with. It’s so easy to cut and stitch and the edges never need finishing, so it’s a great material to use for a quick sewing project.

It’s rich and textural, just like Fall, so it “felt” like a natural choice for this Fall Table Runner.

Select several coordinating 8.5 x 11 sheets of felt. I used four colors total, but feel free to use more or less depending on your taste.

The number of sheets you use, depends on the size of your table, and the desired length of your runner. For a mid-sized kitchen table, six sheets for the runner and four sheets for the flowers and leaves should be plenty. Twelve sheets total would be plenty for a dining room table or sideboard.

To begin, with the felt sheets positioned vertically, lay the sheets out side-by-side and determine the order of the colors in the runner.

Align the first two felt sheets of the runner, right sides facing. You can pin them together along the right hand side if you like, but the rough texture of the felt keeps the sheets from slipping while sewing, so it’s not really necessary.

Machine stitch down the right hand side of the sheets, leaving a ¼ inch seam allowance.

Fold open the joined sheets. Take the next sheet and align it with the sheet on the right, and stitch them together, just like the first pair.

One by one join the remaining sheets.

Place you runner face-side down and use a warm iron to press open and flatten all of the seams.

Flip the runner over and press along the seams on the front side until the runner lies flat. Set the runner aside on a flat surface while you make the flowers and leaves to trim.

Use a rotary blade, straight edge and cutting board, to cut several ¼ inch strips of felt. For each bloom, you’ll need four to five 11 inch strips.

Take a scrap of cardboard approximately three inches long and wrap four to five strips of felt around it. Slide the felt off of the cardboard and tie a length of yarn around the center. Make a double knot to secure it. Basically, you’re making a pom-pom out of felt.

Snip each of the felt loops, and fluff it into a flower shape. Neatly cut the end of each “petal” at an angle.

Repeat and make five or more blooms.

To make the leaves, start by manually winding a bobbin for your sewing machine with a thin yarn. Sock yarn is the perfect weight.

Thread your machine with a coordinating thread, and load the bobbin.

Take two sheets of felt and cut them vertically into thirds. Take each strip and sew a straight, vertical line down the center of each.

Flip the strip over so the yarn side is facing up. This yarn line will be the vein in the center of the leaf so use this as your guide and cut several 2 inch – 3 inch long leaf shapes from each strip.

Randomly place clusters of flowers and leaves all over the runner. Hand-stitch the leaves down first. Just a few stitches at the base of the leaf should hold it in place. Stitch the blooms in place next, and they you’re done!

Place on your table or sideboard and enjoy!

If you have some extra felt, it’s easy to make coordinating napkin rings. Make a flower and two leaves for each place setting. Cut a strip of felt measuring roughly two inches by four inches. Make a loop with the strip, over-lap the ends and hand stitch together. Hand-stitch the leaves to the ring followed by the flower. Roll a napkin and insert it into the ring.