Or, you know, whatever you want. You dont have to use a removable fabric marker. Sure. Sure. And this is, i mean, this is efficient. You are, like, stacking it up so you can whack it, and its ready to go. I am. I am. Yeah. I like it. Just make sure everythings lined up, you know, pretty perfectly. Mmhmm. So, now were just gonna mark our sections, and i just eyeball it. Again, you know, you can get crazy and measure them, but i think the less similar they look, the better. Yeah, you could cut a template, certainly, or you could, you know, measure out the sizes of your little pie wedges there, but this is kind of a style of the runner that you made is that it looks almost kind of improvisational or, you know, its just got that wonky look to it, which is popular today and also kind of easy and fun to do when youre at your sewing machine. You dont have to think too hard. Who knew we were popular . I know, right . That never happens. [ both laugh ] so, now were just gonna cut along these lines. And thats the good part, too, is were eyeballing it here. If you get to this point, and youre like, hmm. This one looks really tiny, and this one looks really big, you can always just adjust it after that, cause those markings are gonna go away. Theyre gonna be inside. Exactly. Wont matter. So were just gonna go with it. And just get a really sharp rotary cutter, and ke youephand on that ruler so you dont slice it. Mmhmm. D youre good to go. And thatsyeah, thsy, vatquick. Youre busmom, so, you know, efficiency le, the name of the game. , de efficiency le, the name of the game. O an u so ilst. Jus. Efficiei knowery il does,ame of the game. Buca o an u so ilst. Tyst eat. Us. And then you can arrange your table runner however you want. So were working in these two sections here. So you can see, you know, we have the tops. Mmhmm. Not the tops, but you know. Yep. Just kind of section them out, and then you can get a visual of what youre doing here. So as youre doing those, ill just show you. All im doing is swapping them. Mmhmm. So you just take the top. Put it on the bottom. Mmhmm. And then youre gonna start sewing. And at this point, you know, you can have some more fun with it, too. And as long as you have straight ends. Yep. You can switch it up a little bit. You could even throw one of those in. Eeuher. You could. You could. Exactly. Just mixing it up. Great. Okay, and so we have one thats sort of good to go. Yeah, we have one thats halfway. Okay. So now im gonna show you how to kind of. Yeah, and i was gonna work my way out. Well, you cant really do that with the serger. Youll never enclose the other side. Right. So [laughs] trial and error. Exactly. You learn that, you know, eventually. But i was trying to manage the bulk and, you know, i was concerned. I have to say, i learned this technique from rebecca kent brent, who came on sew it all. Great. She did a big blanket, using this technique, and had four big sections. Thats a quilt. A quilt. Okay, sorry. [ laughs ] not a blanket. A quilt. Were getting you there. Youre right. Youre right. Love of blankets doesnt, like, make quite the same ring. Youre right. Okay. She made a quilt, but it was four big sections. Yeah. So there was not a lot of bulk to contend with. Mmhmm. So it wasnt a big deal. But then i thought, if im doing these little pieces, you know, i dont want these big, bulky, kind of wavy seams, when you have all of those layers of batting and everything in between. Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Especially because of what it is. Its a table runner. You know, you want things to be as flat as possible. Exactly. Mmhmm. So when you do start along one edge, and youre building, you know, it gets kind of heavy alongside of the serger, and it wants to pull away from what youre doing that drag. So you need to hold onto this like this as youre going. Aha. And making sure that its not falling off of your table. So thats kind of an important tip. Absolutely. If it were really long, or if you had a lot some binder clips or something would be good. Sure. Just like machine quilting, you know, on your regular sewing machine. Sure. Thats pretty helpful. So as you can see, heres how im sandwiching it. Mmhmm. And, you know, it does kind of mess with your brain a little bit. Just this part. Yeah. You got to grab it and make sure that youre all inside. And then were gonna start serging. Now, youre not gonna pin anything. Theres no point in that. That would kind of knock things around. So youre just sandwiching and holding tight. You know, im not a pinner. Yeah. Im just not. You know what . That i will not try to change you on, because some people pin, and some people dont, and its kind of the way you were taught, and kind of the way you like to do it. I get some flak for it sometimes. Do you . But i just really just especially with something thats just this short. Mmhmm. Something thats just this short. Im just doublechecking to make sure everything is lining up so that nothing is, you know everythings gonna be caught in the serger stitches. And i should mention how ive set up the serger. Yes. So, im doing a threethread overlock stitch. Mmhmm. And i chose the narrow stitch, because, again, i dont want this giant, bulky serger, you know, chunk in the center of the seam. So i chose a very narrow pen or stitch. And youve also turned off the cutter, right . Yes, i disengaged the cutter, because, you know, you have such a straight cut here. If the cutter is here, you inevitably are gonna trim something off, and, again, it gets all bunched up. Youve got so many layers youre going through here. Yeah. It bunches up, and it causes some stress. So, well just give it a go. Again, take my own advice and hold onto this. Mmhmm. Yep. There you go. Hello. Go all the way down. Mmhmm. And you can see its pretty flat and nice. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And then you just come out here, and you keep going. Thats really great. And i dont bother pressing it or anything. I know, its probably bad, right . Thats your next lesson pressing. No, i do press a lot of stuff. But i just find with this, you dont really need to. You can just kind of flatten it out. And seeing as how your backing is, like, you know, pretty much glued temporarily. Youve got that spray adhesive, too. Yeah, but it just look how flat it is. No biggie. It is. And if you wanted to touch it with an iron, you certainly could. But, you know, if youre doing a quick project and you want to kind of just get going, yeah, you could do it ellens way. Exactly. Yeah, thats good. So, ill just show you again so you get the idea of this whole sandwich process. You know, put the front on and then kind of grab it like this. Thats the magic step. Yeah. Yep. And then just keep going until your entire runner is pieced and sergequilted. Quilted. Is that a term . Quilten . Quilgered . And, yeah, but once it is quilgered, its gonna be time to talk about binding. Exactly. Right. And to make the edges really nice for your binding, you know, of course, you can go through and trim off everything so that, you know, you have some Little Things going on, theyre out of the way. Also, you want to serge around the entire perimeter. Thats right. So were not ready for binding yet. I jumped the gun, because youve got to do your thats okay. We already did it. Okay. Okay. Good. And that just makes it nice and flat, and it also gives you a little bit of a guide, you know, for your binding. Absolutely. So, im just gonna show on this little one, so we can get around the corners. Mmhmm. That the way that i did the binding for this particular sample is the way my grandmother taught me, and its just, you know, engrained in my mind. So maybe i am a quilter, like, by birthright or something. I think so. The seed was planted. Its true. And she always told me to just cut 3inchwide binding. I dont even know if thats, like, standard. You know, its interesting. Its a good thing to talk about, because the standard for one quilter or quirger [ laughs ] the standard does sort of change. I mean, my mother always taught me, i believe, well, 2 1 4 is what a lot of the frenchfoldbinding tutorials that ive read and used have told me. My friend sewer that i hang out with and quilt with, she does 2 1 2, cause its easy. Its just easy sort of math to kind of work with a 2 1 2inch strip. She also has a lot of 2 1 2inch strips. So if your grandmother taught you 3 inches, then thats what you do, and thats how you like it. And some people like a wider binding, some people like a thinner one, one thats more filled. They trim the side of their quilt, you know, tighter. Some leave more. It really is a matter of taste and, certainly, if it looks pretty and you like it, then its okay. Im a big advocate of, you know, what can you live with . Exactly. We want it to stay on. Thats the most important thing. You dont want your binding coming off, cause thats a big problem. So as long as its sturdy, youre okay. Right, and i think, actually, this is the sturdiest i can think of, because i dont do the whole, fold it, and then fold the corners, and press it again, and the la, la, la. I just fold it in half. Yeah, youve got double strength. And then, you know, apply it to the right sides first. Mmhmm. Which is probably how everybody starts out doing it. I would say so. And then, you know, fold it to the back, and then handsew it. And, you know, spend half of the day, you know, handsewing your binding. Your very leisurely day when youre just sitting back, drinking, eating bonbons, and doing your binding. Exactly. So thats how i did the sample. However, i thought, as im handsewing this, how can we make this easier . You know, theres tons of tools that make this easier. So i thought i would experiment with pretty much every option i could come up with. So if you want to do all of the binding, all the construction, all of everything using your serger and nothing else, you certainly can. Great. Because they have this handydandy binder attachment that fits on the serger. And, of course, theyre all going to look different depending on what serger model you have, so just check with your sewingmachine manufacturer. But this particular one fits this model, and you just cut your strips. No need to fold. No need to press. My kind of thing here. Great. And you do need to make sure that its the width thats going to fit this, obviously. And then you attach it, and, as you can see, its folding it as it goes, and you fit the edge of your project right in that little groove. And then as you sew, its going to attach the binding as you go along. Thats pretty great. It is. So you can see, though, how skinny this binding is. Very narrow binding, yeah. Very, very narrow. And i like to really show off the binding, especially if im making it myself. Yes. And i want it all to coordinate so cutely. You chose a darling fabric for your binding. Show it off. Exactly. So i like a thicker binding. So this wasnt really for me, this particular one, although its the coolest thing ever, right . Yeah. Pretty neat. So, there are some options for your regular sewing machine. This one does kind of the same thing, although you do need to fold the binding first. So it works really well with prepackaged bindings, which is all nice and crisp and, i mean, its so crisp that it could probably hurt you with it and scratch up against your face. Prior to washing. Yeah. Exactly. Its true. The prepackaged binding, you know, i guess it works in a pinch, but its pretty stiff. I dont tend to use it. I have a lot of fabric scraps. If i need to make binding, im gonna usually coordinate it or make it myself. Exactly. Yeah. But if you are using that i mean, especially for a place mat or Something Like that, where its not that big of a deal. Or a trim. You know, weve used it as trim on some sewing projects before. Mmhmm. So, this works really well for that. Obviously, i didnt use that, and its working just fine. You just need to make sure to fold and press and follow ttr and what i experimented with most for this project is this adjustable binder foot. And, as you can see, it has different little markings on it, so you can make superfat binding if you want. I just did standard with this cause i was making a ton of binding, and i just kind of did it all the same. Sure. But, you know, you can see stick the fold of your fabric in there. And then you stick your table runner inside, and its probably better if you just feel. Yeah, i can probably feel it. How it just slips right in there. Mmhmm. And then youre always gonna need to move your needle position a little bit to the left, to the right, you know, just to kind of mess with it and make sure that the needle is right on the fold of the fabric there. Did you do that, ellen, or do we need to check it . I did it already for you. Okay, great. So nice to have another host on the show like this. Theyre just so prepared. Okay, now i may not speak too soon about me. Okay, here we go. It takes a little yeah, it does. It takes a lot of practice. You got to zhuzh it. Okay. I just want to make sure its all the way in. Oh, i think i need to come under the foot and then ah there you go. Under the foot first, and the pull it through that foot. There you go. Figured it out. Okay, and im gonna stop 1 4 inch from my corner, right . Yes, the corners do get a little tricky with these attachments, and, you know, i will be honest. There is not a lot in the packaging that tells you how to do the corners. So i did have to experiment, and i went and looked at some tutorials on youtube mmhmm. So youve got to kind of get it out of the groove here. And pull it all the way out, okay . Ill just give you some slack. Okay. And then when you get to the corner, miter it. You know, like you normally would. Fold it over. Or maybe not like you would normally. Well, you know. There are different mitering ways. Right. And then, you know, maybe put a pin in here. Let me grab a pin so that i can get my hands out of the way so you can see. I dont know if this is in the books or anything like that, but this is just what i found is gonna work best with this particular foot is once youve pinned this here, take your needle and thread and do a simple, little tacking stitch. Just it does not pretty. Whatever. Youre gonna cut it out. Just go around there. And you want your stitch to be, like, right inside of here. Right. You dont want to go on this corner, because you need to still fit this corner inside of that little groove. Youre gonna turn. Exactly. So put your little stitch maybe out here, and then you can still fit this under the groove. Stick it right back in there, and keep going until you get to the next corner. Great. And then youve never touched a handsewing needle. Yay. Yeah, thats and youve done the front and the back at the same time, and its perfect. Absolutely, and, you know, i think its important to mention that sometimes, you know my mom always says this is her metaphor she says, if you want to get someplace, you can take a walk and get there. If you want to walk to the store, you can take a walk and get there. You have a nice time walking to the store. Thats one way to go. If you want to get there a little faster, you can ride a bike. If you want to get there really fast, you can drive the car. And sometimes, you have projects where its all about the process. You want to sit down with a quilt. You want to bind it by hand. You want to hang out and do that. And sometimes, you just need to get it done, and when you do need to get it done, these kind of tools are amazing. They are. And i like to fly the plane. Yeah, fly the plane to the store. Pick me up in a helicopter. I need milk. Exactly. Lets get it. So, one last thing i want to talk about before we close the show its been great to have you here, ellen is kind of talk about the style of this runner. I think its a good example of some of the new flavor, the new colors that are kind of happening in the quilt world right now. It looks like its in sort of the modern style. Can you tell me about, like, the fabrics you picked and why you chose them . Well, actually, i really love this chevron trend. And its funny you say its a trend in quilts cause its a big trend in garments. Cool. And, you know, chevron is everywhere, and were even experimenting for the magazine making our own chevron print using striped fabric and piecing it together. Oh, great. Yeah. So i started with the chevron, and then i just really like the look of the yellow and grays together. Its just, you know, kind of a favorite of mine. And then i found the print for the backing, and i was like, tada yeah, big time. So we started with the chevron. This was coordinating, and Everything Else just kind of fell into place. Absolutely did, and this hexagon binding fabric is clearly, its repeated here. Part of the coordinating sort of family the line of fabric that you used. And i think one of the things that seems very modern about this is that wonky kind of style. A little bit almost looks improvved, almost looks a little bit, like not stringpiecing, but, you know, its kind of randomized a little bit. And also, you know, a lot of times, the Color Choices that we make, we use quilts in our home. And i think these Color Choices, this palette, it reflects kind of what goes on in home deck. You know, you go into a Furniture Store that might appeal to you or i or anybody, but these are the colors that youre seeing in those kinds of stores, too. So quilts often reflect what were doing at home. So, well, thank you very much, ellen for joining us, and dont go away, cause ellens gonna stick around for tips, and were gonna have that for you next. Grab a pencil. Tips and other useful information coming up next. Ellen, what is our first tip today . Well, the first tip is theres yet another way of binding. I mean, theres probably 50 different ways of binding. But another thing i really like to do to, you know, make the process faster is to actually start from the project back. Okay. So you would, instead of applying your binding, you know, sewing it from the front, you sew it from the back with monofilament thread in your bobbin. Great. Okay . So, then, when you fold it around to the front, you can machinesew it, and the monofilament thread on the wrong side is never going to show. Noseeum. Exactly. And you were saying that monofilament thread is now you can get it in cotton . I mean, is that right . Well, you can get it so that its not heatsensitive got it. So its, like, coated. Got it. So you can iron it. You can throw it in the hot, hot dryer, and, you know, its not gonna shrink up and get all weird, and, you know, itll be totally invisible. Thats the whole point. Yeah, and its kind of come a long way. I mean, the first monofilament threads were different than the ones they have today. I assume, because people, you know, write in to us with, you know, problems using the old stuff, or it would stretch and things like that. Yeah. And, you know, whatever ive used doesnt. Technology. So i think its fabulous. I use it for a ton of different stuff, actually. Mmhmm. Mmhmm. It has a multitude of sense. I mean, it can. Not that we ever do that. [ laughs ] exactly. Thats a great tip. Yeah, i like to machinesew the binding as much as possible, but, inevitably, when you are doing the final step of securing it to the back or the front in this case, you know, youre gonna get off or Something Like that. And youre gonna have a little piece poking out that just annoys you for the rest of your life. So invisible thr