Burlap Table Runner with Woven Ribbon & Stenciling

My son recently had a day off from school, so I was looking for a project that might be fun for Thanksgiving.  We worked together to make this table runner. 

He was able to choose the pattern for the ribbon and weave it into the burlap while I cut out a stencil for the words and ironed on the freezer paper.

First measure the table and add on your desired length for the runner to hang off the edge.  We made ours 13”x54” so we were able to make 3 runners out of a yard and a half of bolt that was 36 inches wide. 

Decide where you want to weave the ribbon through and remove a couple strands from the fabric to make room for the width of the ribbon you have chosen. 

Decide what you want your pattern to be for the woven ribbon.   My son made each ribbon pattern different – the first was over 4 under 2 etc.  Decide if you want to remove any of the strands at the edges to make fringe.  Machine sew the edges to prevent further unraveling and to hold the ends of the ribbon in place. 

Trace your text onto the dull side of the freezer paper.  Place the template, shiny side down, on your runner and iron without steam. 

Dab acrylic or fabric paint onto the stencil with a foam brush being careful not to work the paint underneath the edge of the stencil. 

Once the paint has started drying (if you are a very patient person you can wait until it is completely dry, but I’m always curious and too excited to see it to wait that long!) peel off the paper stencil – if you are careful you can reuse this stencil once the paint has completely dried.
 

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.  It makes a great project to do with a young elementary aged child and reinforces some math skills with repeating patterns to boot!

Materials: Burlap Scissors Ribbon Kids Plastic Large Eye Needle Freezer Paper Exacto knife Cutting mat/Old magazine Iron Fabric or Acrylic Paint Sewing Machine (I sewed mine, but if you are more of a no sew crafter you might  be able to do this step with fray check.) Brown or Tan Thread