Reuse Old Clothes to Make a Flannel Table Runner for Fall
2 Materials
1 Hour
Easy
I love decorating for the seasons and holidays without spending a lot of money. This would be easy, if I was fine using the same decorations year and after, but I sort of crave change, and like to add in new stuff every year. Last year, I decided to reuse some of my dad's torn and holey flannel shirts to make a table runner. The great thing about this project is that it was absolutely free! I will say, having completed this project a year ago, and now having learned a few more sewing tricks within that last year, I would actually have made it differently. I'll share with you the way I would do it if I were to make one today, but if you head over to blog post linked at the bottom I'll share both versions of the process.
I started with some old flannel shirts and sweaters that no longer fit, or were too deconstructed to wear out in public My mom had no problem going through my dad's drawer and removing them from my dad's flannel shirt rotation!
I cut the shirts into pieces that were all the same width (the width I wanted my table runner), and varying lengths (depending on how long of a piece I could get out of a shirt)
I placed the right sides of the fabric together and stitched them together. Then, an iron helped to press out the seams.
This is the step I didn't originally do, but I would suggest creating a back panel for your table runner. Measure the length and width of your completed table runner and cut a piece of scrap fabric to those dimensions.
Then, place the right sides together and sew along the entire perimeter, leaving an opening a couple of inches wide to turn the table runner right side out. Switch up that opening and iron everything flat.
You can see I tried to cut pieces that included buttons and pockets. There's no hiding where I go this fabric from!
You can see mine ended up being a little uneven around the edges because I just sewed a hem around it, rather than adding another piece of fabric on the back. I wish I had done it that way, an may actually update mine in the way I described above.
Super easy, and I love that every fall season when I open up my decorations, I'll have something that was once my dad's! Do you love reusing and upcycling too? I have a ton of other upcycled projects that I've used to decorate my home here!
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Just an FYI next time after piecing the "top" place another complete piece of fabric for backing sew around right sides together leave an opening to turn inside out press and stitch around entire piece done. Your table runner is darling.
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Nice. I have some green and red plaid flannel that will make a nice country Christmas runner.
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How did you keep the sweater from unraveling after cutting it?
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