Petite Plaid Quilt Pattern - the Nutmeg Table Runner

With Thanksgiving just weeks away, I wanted to share my latest Petite Plaid project with you. It’s perfect for the Thanksgiving table (or couch)...so let me tell you all about my Nutmeg Petite Plaid quilt!

The Petite Plaid quilt pattern so far

The Petite Plaid quilt pattern has been out for just about a month at this point…and it’s been such a fun month for me!

I’ve really enjoyed making Petite Plaid sample quilts. Whether it’s been playing with new color combinations (with my fall-inspired Petite Plaid cover quilt), revisiting old colors with a new twist (in my Sugar Plum quilt), or finally creating the Christmas tree skirt I’d always dreamed of, the Petite Plaid quilt pattern keeps inspiring me to try new things. (And luckily, I’ve been happy with all the results!)

Today I’m sharing another kind of project I’ve never made before…a table runner!

Petite Plaid - Nutmeg table runner

Here’s a fun thing about the Petite Plaid pattern: The lap size (50.5” square) and table runner size (25.5” x 110.5”) use the same number of quilt blocks! You just put them together differently. So when I started my latest Petite Plaid project, I could have gone either way. And honestly, I almost made a lap quilt.

Pete and I have a circular dining room table, so I’ve never really thought about making a table runner. I just envision them on rectangular tables, you know?

But while finalizing sizes for the Petite Plaid pattern, I realized the table runner could work on our kitchen island instead. And when I started pulling fabrics for this sample, it seemed so perfect for a Thanksgiving feast that I just had to go with the table runner!

FABRICS

Knowing that I wanted to use my table runner for Thanksgiving really helped me hone in on the perfect colors. I leaned into very earthy tones with small bits of color.

For the background, I went with Coffee Bean, a beautiful rich brown. I kept all my other colors lighter, using creams, golden browns, and taupes as my accents…plus some pops of pink and green! Here’s the complete list:

A1: Creme de la Creme
A2: Meditation
A3: Ginger
B1: English Toffee
B2: Miami Sunset
B3: Macchiato
C1: Nutmeg
C2: Popsicle
C3: Latte

(All fabrics are PURE Solids from Art Gallery Fabrics.)

The resulting blocks definitely have that Thanksgiving feel, but the pinks and green keep it feeling fresh and just a little unexpected.

I love this colorway, and I’m really looking forward to using it as part of our Thanksgiving celebration…and with our Nutmeg quilt kits in the shop, you can too!

QUILTING, BACKING, AND BINDING

Once I had my table runner top together, we quilted a super classic and timeless straight-line quilting with a ¾” diagonal cross-grid. You really can't go wrong with diagonal cross hatch, especially with how many vertical and horizontal seams there are in this quilt. It gives a nice contrast!

Quilting a table runner is a little bit of a different experience. I’m so used to settling in and quilting super long lines on throw-size quilts. But for this long-but-narrow table runner, be prepared to keep stopping and starting!

So even though the quilting process wasn’t difficult at all (and table runners are much easier to maneuver in the machine than big throws), it's a little more challenging to get into the groove. That’s okay, though, because I love how it turned out. I even used a cedar-colored thread to really lean into the Thanksgiving feel, and I’m so happy I did!

I backed my table runner with Watercolor Blooms, from Art Gallery Fabrics’s Geobloom collection. This sweet floral looks like it was made to go with my quilt top. The only shame is that no one but me will ever see it, since the backing will always be facing down on my island countertop! (Maybe I’ll have to make a matching lap quilt?)

I used AGF Popsicle for my binding, which I’d already used as my C2 color in the quilt top. Having it as the binding too really helps the pink pop, and it lightens up the whole quilt. I opted for machine binding to get a fast-but-durable finish.

And now I can’t wait for Thanksgiving! I don’t know what I’m more excited for…Pete’s cooking, or seeing my new table runner in action!

We had so much fun creating a little Christmas-y scene at the studio to show off the Spiceberry Tree Skirt, so I thought it'd be fun to do something similar with this! We grabbed the sewing table and a few autumnal-inspired decor items and had so much fun with it. Peter even made everyone mock-tails with lime seltzer, cranberries and rosemary. Wouldn't this be the perfect scene for a Friends-giving meal? 😍

I really like the size of this table runner because it's slightly wider than I would imagine a typical table runner to be. Depending on the size of your table, it might cover most of it, which could mean that you eliminate the need for placemats. Personally, I love the contrast of seeing the circular plate overlapping the table runner a little bit. Paired with the texture of the table, and goodness it's a match made in heaven!

Make your own Petite Plaid quilt

Now that I’ve made one Petite Plaid table runner, I’m so tempted to make more for the rest of the year. I’m still in the planning stages, though…and speaking of quilt planning, we have products and resources to make your Petite Plaid quilt planning easier!

QUILT KITS

If you want to make your own fall table runner, you can snag the Nutmeg quilt kit in the shop. Thanksgiving comes later this year, so you might even have time to get it done before your holiday feast! (And remember, you can use the same quilt kit to make a lap quilt instead.)

For a more Christmas-y table runner (or lap quilt), we have the Spiceberry quilt kit.

Plus, we’ve got three other Petite Plaid kits:

DESIGN YOUR OWN

I’d love to see your unique ideas for Petite Plaid! You can color Petite Plaid on PreQuilt to easily play around with colors, or you can use our free printable quilt coloring pages.

If this is your first time making a plaid-effect quilt, you may want to read our guide to choosing colors for Petite Plaid.

Whatever you come up with, I want to see it! Tag me @loandbeholdstitchery and #loandbeholdpatterns so I can see your project.

Happy quilting!