My sideboard's got the runs

One of the projects that I quickly whipped up during my dining room decoranza was the table runner for the sideboard.

This little diddy took me (at the most) 15 minutes to make. After posting my tv entertainment unit makeover, I realized I desperately needed a table cloth or runner to break up the long white table top and tie everything together. Luckily, for my wedding, my helpers and I made about two dozen accent table cloths out of a thick chocolate brown satin fabric and I had some scraps left over. I dug through my fabric box and pulled out the longest piece I could find and got to work.

First to go was the pressed crease right down the middle of the piece. I took out my trusty Oreck iron and it was gone in a flash.

I also grabbed my Dritz Stitch Witchery, which is a no-sew fusible bonding web similar to glue for fabric, but cleaner and it doesn't soak through either side.

This stuff is pretty fragile so when you get to the part of unrolling it and cutting your piece off, make sure not to stretch it or you might end up with a bunch of small pieces.

Next, you need to iron your edges over to create a nice fold before ironing in the stitch witchery. Fold over 1/4-1/2 inch and make sure the fabric has a nice crease so that it can hold itself.

Then unfold the hem, cut your stitch witchery to length and fold it in.

Once you have made a fabric sandwich with the stitch witchery in the middle, run your iron over the hem. This melts the stitch witchery, adhering the two side together.

As you can see here, the stitch witchery glued the side together creating a solid, straight hem. This stuff is so strong that it is machine safe and dry cleanable.

To create a crisp corner, repeat the above steps and be extra careful when tacking the corners down so that you don't get a bubble or odd overlap. Think military corners!

In no time flat, you'll have a quick-and-easy runner fit for any table or sideboard. This is the perfect way to inexpensively dress up your Thanksgiving table without worrying that your relatives are going to ruin your uber-expensive table cloth with their messy eating habits.