Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WI
Age and Occupation: 28, Knowledge Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment Advisor
Engagement Date: July 20, 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: February 5, 2008
Venue: The Abbey Resort
About Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Let The Production Begin!
March 25th, 2008 @ 2:27 pm by Mrs. Sundae
As I mentioned yesterday, we got a ton of wedding related work done it at my parents house this weekend! And when I say “we” I really mean that everyone else worked and I walked around and gave direction while taking pictures. It’s the way to be. Besides the foam letters, Mama Sundae and I made one of the runners so that we can take it up to Wisconsin for our table mock-up in a few weeks. We were originally planning on making them 14-16″ wide, but when we laid the fabric out it was clear that each runner could only be as wide as the biggest part of the pattern:
So each runner is almost exactly 12 inches. If you can see those little diamond things on the outside of the large pattern, we cut right down the middle of those to make each runner. That way we could fold each edge under about 1/4 of an inch. We made the first runner 120″ long, which will be the longest possible length. When we put it on the table we’ll decide how long we actually want them to be and trim accordingly. The first cut was through the width of the fabric, to get the appropriate length:
Then we cut out each runner…if you look closely you can see the lines that we drew right on the fabric. The ends get folded under, so even if you’re not completely accurate (I am nearly incapable of cutting in a straight line) you won’t see the lines.
Then you pin each of the edges under 1/4 of an inch. After Mama Sundae pinned them this way she realized it was easier to put in the pins in vertically because you can run the sewing machine right over them.
We decided that white thread would blend the best, and it turns out you can barely see it. The actual sewing takes only a few minutes, it’s the cutting and the pinning that takes awhile.
Here is the first finished product! As you can see, my Mom’s measuring skills were right on and the large pattern is perfectly centered all the way down.
The lumps in the fabric are just because we didn’t feel like ironing at the moment. They lay quite nicely and the fabric is a great weight so that they hang over the edge perfectly.
We also decided that sewing some black ribbon onto the edges might make it look more finished. Mama Sundae is going to get some ribbon and make another runner with the ribbon attached this week. We’ll take both of them up to Wisconsin and decide which we like best when we see them on the tables. I would guess it will take about an hour to make each runner (okay, it will take my Mom about an hour to make each runner. It would take me about a day per runner), and I tried to let my Mom off the hook several times this weekend but she insists that she wants to make them. Thank goodness for Moms 
29 Responses to “Let The Production Begin!”
Oh that looks lovely! I can’t wait to see the table mock up
Just to make things easier on Mama Sundae, you might want to try using double folded black bias tape to get the finished look on the edges. It will probably be alot easier than using ribbon. And the best part is you can use it to finish off RAW edges, so it might save you (er mama) some time too!
Those look great! I was in a store in San Francisco this weekend and saw something in the same pattern as this material and I thought Miss Sundae would love this!
Love it!
Wow, those look awesome!! Those will be awesome to use in your house after the wedding! Heck, I want one! Those owuld look great on our black dining table with these candle holders:
http://tinyurl.com/2wlyz5
and these candles:
http://tinyurl.com/2lhgcb
(they come in black–they’re glittery beeswax candles. I got mine at Paper Source. They would look FABULOUS on a table with that runner!!)
You’ve got some great style, sister!
gorgeous!
These are so beautiful! They are going to make your tables! Any tips on cutting in a straight line? I’m about to start my runners, and I’m so worried I’ll cut crooked-ly and mess up the fabric! Do you think a fabric store would do it for me?
Michelle, thanks for thinking of me!
Creampuff, you crack me up. If you’re lucky you just might get one in the mail 
And thanks, Tiramisu I wish I could give you pointers on cutting a straight line, but I must have missed that day in kindergarten. I am completely worthless at cutting! My Mom drew lines on the actual fabric & said the trick was not to cut all the way to the end of your scissors. Slow and steady.
I love that pattern. Where did you get the fabric??? Thanks!!!
gorgeous
Muriel - if you click on “the fabric” link in the post it takes you to all the details about the fabric. I’ll try and repost it here:
hi miss sundae!
I used the exact same fabric and had table runners made and my aisle runner made for my wedding last June! I was obsessed with the fabric and also found napkins with the same print for the cocktail hour! It was a big hit and everyone loved it– if you’d like to see some photos of how it turned out, there are a few here on my blog:
http://yesimthirty.blogspot.com/ just click on the photos to see larger versions…. also it was published in San Diego’s Ceremony Magazine which you can see on my photographers blog:
http://skyebluphotography.blogspot.com/2008/02/ceremony-magazine-sd-edition-published.html
it’s going to look so awesome and I’m so excited for you!
Another good way to get a straight line is to get a circular cutter (from the quilting section in any fabric store - looks like a pizza cutter), a quilting ruler, and a self-healing mat (also great for exacto knife crafting). You lay the fabric on the mat, and the ruler (which is about 6-inches wide and clear so you can see the fabric through it) on the fabric, and just run the circular cutter up the edge. Much like using a paper cutter. Unfortunately for long cuts (like your runners) you would have to keep repositioning the fabric - so I would just do them with scissors like your mom. An advantage of the circular cutter is also that you can cut multiple layers at once - if you have a firm hand and can keep the fabric from sliding.
It would look nice with black piping instead of ribbon because the ribbon might cut off part of the pattern. There doesn’t look like there is too much wiggle room on edges.
Love that pattern! Can’t wait to see the whole set-up!
These turned out incredible, great work! Cant wait to see it all put together!
I absolutely love these… they are exactly what I am looking for. So, when are you getting married and would you be interested in selling them when you are done? Email me at colleen.noble@gmail.com if you are!
Those look amazing and are exactly what I am looking for too! How many are you making and would you be interested in selling them when you’re done? Email me at colleen.noble@gmail.com if you are!
Sorry for the duplicate posts (well, almost duplicate)
Beautiful. I absolutely love that fabric. Now I want table runners! (Can I have table runners on round tables? Hmmm…)
I’m also loving that fabric. SO PRETTY! I want one for my dining table.
I love it, you have given me the courage to try my own table runners!!! I have the same pattern for my wedding and after hours of scouring the internet, I decided the world was not ready for damask table runners…but alas, you have proved them wrong!!!
I’m so happy to see this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for a damask print to use for my wedding. I’m using it throughout my wedding with hot pink accents. Any luck on finding other damask items on-line???
Any help would be MUCH appreciated!
Thanks - J
They’re turning out great! I had been planning to make damask table runners too. And after seeing your earlier post about the fabric, started thinking about getting the same stuff. The price is fantastic. Although, I’d love something with a smaller print. However, your runners are making me rethink the smaller print, as they make a great statement.
@Jenny:
if you do a black and white damask search on Etsy…you’ll find some cool things, just sift through the clothing stuff that comes up http://shaun.erikka.googlepages.com/home has some things on there as well(it’s my bio)
Hi again. Just wondering how many yards does it take to make 1…I think I will be having 22 tables so just wanted to make sure we were covered. Thanks!!
Muriel - it depends on the size of your tables and how long you want the runners to hang down. Our tables are 72″ round, so we made the runners 12″ across. We don’t know the length we’ll use for sure yet because we’re going to measure them on the table, but the longest length we wanted for that size table is 120″ (about 3.3 yards). Sorry there isn’t an exact answer, there are just a lot of variables to consider!
[…] Mom is bringing up two table runners - one without any edging and another (this cracks me up) that has ribbon on one side and bias tape […]
I used to work at an event supply company and we made our own chair covers, table covers, chair sashes, and table runners.
Though it’s not imperative that you cut in a straight line, b/c you’re going to hem it anyways, we used one of those lasers that you use when cutting wood in a straight line. They’re circular, about the size of a hockey puck. You can get them at most hardware stores. Now this sounds shady, but we honestly set up a really long table and measures the length of the runner we needed. We put plastic knives on each side of the table where we would cut. Then, set up the laser pointing from one knife over to the other knife. It sounds strange, but it totally works.
hope this helps!
[…] like Miss Sundae, I wanted to have black and white damask table runners on our reception tables. Since I had […]
