Detour Placemats & Table Runner

I made this Detour table runner and set of 6 placemats for my sister-in-law Christie.  I loved how they looked on my table, but when I saw the fabrics they immediately made me think of her so it made it easier to give them away.

I like to have a good amount of quilting on placemats to help them keep their shape as they get washed quite often.  I decided that a mix of straight lines and e's and l's would be the right compliment.

When it came time to do the binding I realized that I was having a bit of a fabric shortage.  So, I decided I would make the 'Magic Binding' as it utilizes more of a fabric you hardly see.  I thought I would add the beige flange to the red outer fabric to make my binding cover what I needed.  As soon as I started the first one I really wasn't happy with the look.

I felt the beige flange was competing with the design instead of enhancing it, and worse yet, the flange was hiding my points in many places!  Now what??  I decided to turn the binding around and put the flange towards the back.  It is a little odd, but I am much happier with the end result. Sometimes you really need to listen to your gut and stop when you don't like something before you get too deep to change directions.

This is one of our Highway 10 Designs patterns and is available in our Etsy Store.  Your local quilt store can also bring in our patterns for you as we are carried by Checker Distributors (US & International), Quilt Source Canada and Contemporary Sewing Materials.