Christmas Truck Quilted Table Runner
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.I always enjoy decorating for the Christmas holidays and the other day I decided to make a new Christmas truck quilted table runner that is fast and easy to make.
You may remember that I was bidding on a vintage truck that I wanted to put in our yard and use as a prop for my quilt photos. Well, I didn’t win it but I couldn’t get the idea of an old truck out of my mind so I decided to make a table runner that has a vintage truck carrying a Christmas tree.
What do you think? Isn’t it cute!
13½” x 41½” table runner
Heat n Bond Lite is my favorite lightweight fabric adhesive to use when doing applique. I normally have tons of it on hand but with packing to move I couldn’t find any and finally ran to Walmart and picked up a pack.
I pulled out some pieces of batiks that were leftover scraps from quilt projects that I have made for Island Batik in the past.
This is a super fast and easy quilt project!
Supplies needed:
- Scraps of red, green, black, brown, and grey batiks (a layer cake of 10-inch squares will also work)
- ½ yard of a background fabric (I’m using a mini dot fabric)
- ¼ yard of green batik for the binding
- ½ yard of a backing fabric (I’m using premium muslin)
- Heat n Bond adhesive
- Black thread
- Schmetz Universal Needle Size 80/20
- Batting
- Templates for the Christmas truck
Cutting:
- Cut your background fabric 13½-inches by 41½-inches or the length of your fabric
- Trace the Christmas truck templates onto the back of your Heat n Bond Lite. I have included templates for a truck facing left and right
- Cut out the template pieces and apply to your background fabric about 2½-inches from the edge on both sides
- Apply the truck first and center it, then add the other pieces
Tip: The Christmas truck applique can be used on a smaller table runner or even placemats – I plan on making some with different color trucks!
I like to place a piece of typing paper behind my fabric and applique to give it some stability before doing my free motion outlining. A Schmetz 80/20 needle works well for my applique work.
Below you can see the backside of my applique before I tear off the paper.
Here is a closeup of my stitching. There is nothing perfect about it but it works for me. I decided to stitch three times around everything.
Looks like I’m getting a flat tire on the back tire. I guess I didn’t do a very good job cutting out that tire.
I used my vintage 15-91 Singer to do my applique. It is just a straight stitch sewing machine.
If you have a newer sewing machine, you could do a zig-zag stitch or even a buttonhole stitch. I always seem to want to get mine done as fast as possible.
Quilt your table runner
Once you have your applique finished, tear off the paper, and add your backing and batting.
Once again I’m in a hurry, so I just did a simple stipple quilting. At first, I thought about doing diagonal lines and using the dots as a guide but then my sanity returned and simple quilting seemed best.
Trim your table runner and then add the binding. I cut three 2½-inch strips of the green and added my quilt binding by machine.
I found a few Christmas decorations that I could use for my photos.
Mr. Mickey was patiently waiting for me to get finished so we could go for a walk.
I didn’t add any quilting to the Christmas trucks on the table runner, this photo shows the quilting better.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing and includes the Christmas Truck templates.
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This is so adorable! God bless you friend!
Oh so cute, your artistic capability shows .A house down the road has used a metal bed frame painted a bright green as a setting for seasonal plantings, wonder if you could use something like that to display your quilts / runners even.
Very Cool!! I love it. where can we down load it so we can make it??
Fun and absolutely perfect in it’s folksy look! And you can make another with moving boxes piled high in the back and another with beach accoutrements for summer – the truck is the main thing…or a pony or dogs or summer flowers – it’s endless and I think this could be my new car quilt. You know the one you keep in the car for “emergency picnics”. Add a lift gate and you got a PARTY! Thank you!
Glad you like it Joan and I think eventually I’ll make this into a “real” pattern with lots of ideas like that! Moving boxes was one I didn’t think of!
Connie, I love your Christmas truck! Does the pattern include the tree and rails?
Hope so,
Barbara Grant
It does Barbara!
That turned out so cute, Connie. That will certainly add a festive feel to the house. Looking forward to seeing your placemats.
Sounds like a very busy next few weeks for you. Good luck with he move.
Wow you read my mind Connie, I too have been dreaming up a truck table runner, just haven’t gotten the idea to the fabric yet, LOL. So super cute!!
Thanks Vicki!
Just wondering… is there any reason why you can’t make the table runner and then do the applique? You could incorporate the quilting at the same time? And I’m lazy… 😉
You definitely could do that Linda. I was just using muslin for the backing and didn’t want the black stitching to show.
Such a cute pattern 💕
Connie, this is so cute!! You are right that this would also make great place mats.
I’m looking forward to watching your progress in the new house. You surely must be very excited.
Love your new Truck Christmas runner. Nice and easy. Hope all goes well next week with everything you have planned.
Your table runner is perfect
Terri
This is super cute!!
OMG – that has to be my favorite Christmas runner ever!! So cute! I like the rustic look of the stitching on the truck and tree, rather than quilting. Great job!!