it's a month of runners and you will be going into circles with Rhonda on this Transformer Table Runner

Hey Y'all my name is Rhonda and I blog over at Quilter in The Gap. I live in the most amazing place called Cumberland Gap aka The Gap. Here in The Gap there aren't too many people - only 210 and of that 210, I don't know of any other quilters. Now there is a very good chance there is another quilter here, I just don't know who they are....if you happen to know who they are will you send them my way? Oh how quickly I digress....

When I was about 9 my mother decided she needed to have more children (at the time I wasn't sure why) and not being a woman to do anything in a small way she took me from being an only child to being the oldest of three...she had twin boys....ugh!!! As they got older they watched all kinds of gross shows like Dukes of Hazard, He-Man, and Transformers. Now I am not talking about the cool Transformers of today with the great effects but instead the terrible cartoon of the mid-80s. I hated boys TV but it does stick with you!!

So, when it came time to name this table runner that easily converts to placemats, hot pads, and even wall art if you so desire, Transformers were the first thing to come to mind! This Transformer Table Runner is super easy to make! Before we get started let me show you a Christmas version I make for Cindy:

Picture taken by Cindy

Here is the version we will work on today:

Cindy's picture is much more creative!! LOL

You probably noticed today's version only has 4 circles instead of 6. The choice is yours. You can make it as long or as short as you like. Think of the fun the kids would have with this runner if it were 10 or more circles long....UBER FUN!!!

Ok...let's get started...I have babbled on long enough!!

Supplies Needed:

1 yd. white solid or fabric of choice
1/2 yd red solid or fabric of choice
1/2 yd turquoise solid or fabric of choice
5 fat quarters Rendezvous fabric or fabric of choice
1/2 yd for binding
white thread and/or matching/contrasting thread
2 yds Insul-Bright Batting
2 yds lightweight fusible interfacing
3 fabric covered buttons & fabric to finish
3 "under" buttons (this will make sense later)
wire
embroidery floss or ribbon
rulers and rotary cuters choice


1.  First you need to decide the size of your background circles. I would start with the dimensions of your table. You don't want it to be too wide for you table or too small for your table. For me, 18" wide was just about right. So, knowing this dimension, cut your base circles this diameter. You need two circles for each piece (front & back). For today's runner you need a total of 8-18" circles. I cut 4-18" white circles, 2-18" turquoise circles, and 2-18" red circles.

2. Now you need your decorative circles. This is all about personal preference. You can cut as many or as few as you would like. I cut the following sizes: 13", 2-12", 11.5", 10.5",2-7", 6.5", 6", 2-5.5" 3.5". It is very possible (and quite probable) and I didn't use them all.

NOTE: I used the following rulers to cut my circles: Circle Cut by ezQuilting and Cut A Round. I would highly recommend the CutARound but I think I need more practice with the Circle Cut.

3. Lay out all your decorative circles (this does not include your background circles) on your interfacing. Be sure your fusible side is facing the front of your fabric. This will make sense later. Pin. Roughly cut around each circle.

Circles are face down and the interfacing is fusible side up!

Pin the circles to the interfacing and then roughly cut out so they fit in the sewing machine easier.

4. Sew all the way around each circle - do NOT leave an opening for turning.

5.  Trim tightly around each circle with pinking shears if you have them. If you don't have pinking shears be sure to snip into the seam allowance.

A circle trimmed all the way around with pinking shears.

Trimmed very close to the stitching line.

6.  Carefully pull apart the interfacing and the fabric and snip the interfacing enough so that you can turn the circles right side out.

Carefully cut a slit in the interfacing.

Turn circle right side out.

7.  After turning the circles right side out, carefully press them on a pressing sheet (I use a piece of parchment paper). Press them so that they are nice & round and there is no interfacing showing on the front.

Press on Parchment paper so it doesn't stick to your ironing board

No interfacing showing from the front.

NOTE:  Don't skip using a pressing sheet or parchment paper because at this point the fusible part of the interfacing will be on the outside and if you aren't careful you will press it to your ironing board!

8.   Carefully place each circle where you want them on the front and back. Remember you will be stitching through all the layers so you might want to think about how that stitching will show through the various layers. I used pins to show placement. I didn't want my stitching to cut through a circle like this:

Test project where the stitching cuts through the circle. YUCK!!!

Instead I wanted my circles to be more concentric like this:

Much prefer the a more concentric look - again the choice is yours!
(please ignore ugly stitching - my machine hates me!!!)

I use the pin method for placement. Let me explain... I put pins in the perimeter of the circles. The allows me to see where I can/need to place the circles on the other side. Does that make sense? Maybe pictures will help....

Place pins around the circle on the top side.

On the backside the pins without heads (the ones not holding the background piece on) are the ones you would want to stay within the perimeter of. 

9. After placement has been worked out, press them where you want them. This is why you wanted the fusible to be on the outside - it does away with pins through all those layers which will cause ugly bumps. Now, stitch all the circles down using a walking foot. I stitched very close to the edge of each circle because I liked the look of that. I stopped there. You may decide to do some more decorative stitching or maybe even some hand stitching (I did hand stitching on the Christmas version above).

Circle after stitching, prior to trimming and binding.

10. Trim each circle and bind using your favorite method. Here is a great tutorial on bias binding - which is needed for these circles.

11. Let's make our buttons! First cover your 3 buttons by following the directions on the package. Your three "under" buttons should be a bit smaller than your fabric covered buttons but not too small. they are the buttons that will really be used. The fabric covered buttons are only for decoration.Using a piece of wire that is about12" long run it through the fabric covered button and then through the "under" button leaving a space of about an inch between the two. Run the wire back through the "under" button and wrap that inch long piece of wire several times. Snip wire once you have a strong enough piece. Tie off a piece of embroidery floss or ribbon and wrap the wire so as to hide it. Glue down the edge using Fabri-Tac or glue of your choice. See collage below for what I hope will be clarification. NOTE: you are essentially trying to make cuff links.

12. Now to turn these circles into Transformers!!! Each circle needs two buttonholes and they need to be directly across from each other. This allows them to used in any configuration desired. The button holes should fit the "under" buttons NOT the fabric covered buttons. Lay your circles out and decide where the buttonholes should go - they should be directly across from each other.

You are done! Phew!

BUSTED!!!! Standing on the table for that one shot!

Even the backs are cute...so essentially you have 8 circles!

My sad attempt at an "artsy fartsy" shot...so, not a photographer!!!

I sure hope you will try making your own Transformer Table Runner. Since you used Insul-Bright Batting you can unbutton your runner and use the individual circles as potholders or hotpads. They can also be used as placemats. The choice is yours!

A great big THANKS to Madame Samm for having me over for a visit today! You are much appreciated for all you do in blogland!

I would love to have you stop by the The Gap sometime. We have a grand time there! We are getting ready to start a new round of the Finish A Long with some spectacular prizes....come check it out....UFOs be done!!!