Oh Christmas Tree Tablerunner by the Australian designer Anni Downs - Hatched and Patched - was purchased from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts in 2020. The kit included the pattern, embroidery threads, fabrics for the applique, the stichery/applique background and the binding fabric. I chose to use the Apliquick method of applique for this project, although you can use whatever method you prefer. These cute Christmas trees were made from 3 different prints that were joined together using a very small machine stitch - I set my Bernina at stitch length 1.90, then the seams were pressed open. I've used the Apliquick method of applique, as my fat fingers are far too clumsy for traditional needleturn applique...
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...these 52 tiny little 3/4" squares were also made with a piece of Apliquick interfacing on the back, along with the jolly Santa. Once the applique shapes were completed, they were placed in postion on the background fabric and hand stitched using a fine thread - I've used an Aurifil 80wt thread in a mid-grey colour, along with a Clover Blackgold needle and a very small slip stitch. The tree toppers were hand embroidered using a DMC stranded embroidery thread that was supplied with the kit...
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...strips of Quilters Tape were used to plan the quilting grid. The tablerunner was hand quilted very simply using a YLI quilting thread in an ecru colour to blend in with the background fabric. I quilted up to the applique shapes, rather than quilting over them. When the hand quilting was completed, I added a very tiny jingle bell on the end of Santa's hat...
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...once the table runner was finished, it was trimmed to size and a narrow double fold binding was machined to the front of the tablerunner. This was mitred at the corners, folded over to the back and hand stitched in place using ladder stitch. A small hand embroidered label was also hand appliqued to the back of the quilt. The central motif was traced from the main pattern, and hand embroidered using the same coloured DMC thread that wa sused for the tree toppers on the front of the runner...
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...and here's the finished runner, ready to use during the festive season. This was such a lovely table runner to make, using a combination of my favourite techniques - and I'm planning to make a few more Hatched and Patched projects next year.
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