2 disappearing 9 patch blocks make 1 modern table runner

Yesterday you learned how to finish up a stylish tote bag made from Banyan Batiks Intaglio fabric. Today I’ll use the same fabrics and the same disappearing nine patch technique to create a modern table runner.

Let’s get started!

• As with the previous projects this week, start by making a Nine Patch Block using 7½” squares of 9 different fabrics from the Intaglio and coordinating Shadows fabrics.
• Make a second block, arranging the colors in a different order.

• Make 4 – 45° diagonal cuts through each nine patch block. An easy way to do this is to place the 45° line on your ruler along one of the seam lines and then cut the strip. The strips don’t have to be the same width, so you can just go ahead and cut the strips or you can draw a guideline first.

• Rearrange the strips to create your own original design. I like to use a design wall for this step.
• You might find that one or two of the strips are too short, but you’ll have extra fabric that you can join on to the end of the strip. You can see on my strip arrangement that the 3rd strip down was too short, so I just sewed on another piece.

• Now you need some contrasting fabric to go between the strips. I tried a couple of versions – a light gray Shadows fabric and a solid black Northcott ColorWorks fabric. The Intaglio fabric is quite busy, so I chose the solid black ColorWorks to make a nice contrast. ColorWorks comes in dozens of colors and there are even 2 different blacks – black and ultra black!
• Cut strips 1¼” x WOF.
• Sew the strips between the rows.
• Press seams toward black. Make sure to leave an extra couple of inches of black at the beginning and end of each row. You’ll need this extra when you come to square-up the block.

• Square up the edges of the runner. Mine ended up being 17½” x 36″. Yours may be a different size, depending on how you arrange the rows.

Now it’s all ready to quilt and bind. For binding I like to cut strips 3″ wide for a ½” finished binding. If you have a favorite width you like to use for binding, just go ahead and use that.

For my favorite way to make and sew on the binding, check out my previous QUILTsocial post, Change up the way you make your quilt binding.

Who would have thought that 2 nine patch blocks could ‘disappear’ and turn into this modern table runner!

I hope you’ve enjoyed using the Banyan Batiks Intaglio fabrics this week. If you’re ready to start making more projects with Intaglio fabrics, there’s a free download pattern on the Northcott website.

And remember to click the Product Finder Button on the Northcott site to find out which shops have your favorite Banyan Batiks.

There are more fabrics being added to the Banyan Batiks collection all the time. Be sure to visit the Banyan Batiks website to see all the newest fabrics. On each fabric page on the Northcott site, you’ll also see a button that says Download Fabric Files. If you’re using a quilt design program such as Electric Quilt, you can click on that button to download the fabrics for your program.

Make sure you check out the Banyan Batiks essentials as well. These basics come in many colors and styles and they’re great blenders to use with all the fabric collections.

Look for the very newest Banyan Batiks fabrics from Northcott. These fabrics will be arriving in quilt shops in the very near future. Enjoy!