How to Make a Bed Runner

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Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure

  • Fabric

  • Fusible interfacing

  • Dressmaker’s pins

  • Sewing machine

  • Iron

  • Quilt batting (optional)

Add tassels, ribbons or trim to embellish your personalized bed runner.
Image Credit: allhive/iStock/Getty Images

Like a table runner in your dining room, a bed runner adds color and texture. Usually 18 to 24 inches wide, a runner generally rests along the foot of the bed, although you can also position it down the center, from head to foot.

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Basic, Simple Runner

Step 1

Measure the width of your bed. Add 26 inches.

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Step 2

Fold the fabric in half, selvage edges and right sides together.

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Step 3

Mark a rectangle measuring 1 inch wider than your desired finished width by the width measurement you made. For example, if your bed is 48 inches wide, and you want a runner that is 18 inches wide, you would mark a 74-inch (48 inches + 26 inches) by 19-inch rectangle.

Step 4

Cut on your marks to make two matching strips.

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Step 5

Cut one matching piece of fusible interfacing.

Step 6

Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of one of your fabric strips.

Step 7

Pin the two long sides and one end together, right sides facing.

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Step 8

Stitch the three pinned sides, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

Step 9

Turn the runner right side out.

Step 10

Press the seams flat.

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Step 11

Slip-stitch the open end closed.

Step 12

Press the seams flat.

Step 13

Top-stitch 1/4 inch from the edges, all the way around the runner.

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Padded Bed-Top Runner

Step 1

Cut two fabrics strips with a length equal to the width of your bed plus 26 inches. Make the strip 1 inch wider than the desired finished width.

Step 2

Measure and cut a matching piece of batting.

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Step 3

Pin the batting to the back of one of the fabric strips.

Step 4

Position the other fabric strip on the front side of the first strip and pin them together.

Step 5

Stitch around the two long sides and one end, using 1/2-inch seam allowances.

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Step 6

Trim the seams to 1/4 inch.

Step 7

Turn the runner right side out.

Step 8

Top-stitch the runner with your favorite quilting design or top-stitch 1/2-inch from each edge.

Tip

Make your bed runner reversible by cutting one strip from each of two different fabrics.

Most fabrics will work well for a bed runner, but woven fabrics -- such as cotton, satin, silk or linen -- will produce a crisper look than knits.

Instead of a single, long strip of fabric, consider making a patchwork design by cutting pieces of coordinating fabrics into different lengths and stitching them together to create a rectangle of the correct dimensions.

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