placemats | Frankenstein's Fabrics

Hi all!

I’m back after 2 months of non-FF blogging. I’ve been out and about blogging for other pages/sites (list at the bottom), plus I’ve had markets and shows, birthdays, custom orders and Easter in amongst all that too…

I’m here with something that always crops up – especially when I am asked to make table runners for the magazines is what size…

Now this is a question that’s a bit like “How long is a piece of string?” because everyone has a different table or needs a different type of runner for their needs.

So there are some suggestions for making a table runner that I’ve come across in my internet searching –

1. A table runner averages 14 to 17 inches wide.

2. Martha Stewart says to make it as wide as you think looks good, and they should hang down 18 inches at the most.

3. Some suggest that a table runner should be one-third the width of your table.

3. Pick the length and width that look right for your table. If you are unsure make a mock up of the size with paper or spare length of fabric.

4. Table runners run down the middle of a formal dining table. Short runners should hang at least 12 inches off the end of the table on both sides.

Now if that all seems a bit too much to take in just have a look at your dining table and do what feels/looks right to you. Mine is a 6-seater and measures 104cm x 180cm, because of it’s size I would normally make a runner that measures 30 – 35cm wide and 120 – 135cm long. This is sticking to rule #3 of a third of the width of the table and brings the length in enough so that a placemat will fit comfortably at either end of the table. BUT it all depends on the design I’m working on – I may need to adjust the size a bit to allow for firstly metric to imperial conversion and then the block I’m making or the strips I’m cutting. Play around with designs and see what happens – remember graph paper is your friend.

I don’t like things hanging off my table so when I make a runner for my table I make it so it’s more like a table topper – a giant placemat for the centre of the table, so that the placemats sit at the same level around the runner on top of a plain tablecloth (or none at all).

I’ve just finished making a table runner for a magazine commission – it’s a long runner – 1.8m which is the length of some tables (my market trestle tables are this size for example) and 1.8m is a good size if you have either a large table (8-seater) and want to pop placemats all the way around or have a small table and want the runner to drape off the ends.

Like every craft project out there on the net and in every book and magazine you’ve ever read there are specific sizes for things, standards that the industry has put in place for consistency (like mattresses for example – single bed etc) but like anything it is open to interpretation. Make your runner to suit your dining table, coffee table, side tables and even bedside tables – wherever there is a need for something to sit make a runner or mat for it to sit on.