There is something magical about autumn in Vermont - especially the incredible colors that appear across the mountains and forests. While maple trees often steal the spotlight during fall foliage season, oak trees bring their own beautiful mix of deep reds, warm browns, golden yellows, and unexpected pops of color.
This Autumn Leaves Applique Table Runner was inspired by those colorful oak trees and the cozy feeling of bringing a little bit of fall indoors. In this tutorial, I'll walk you through my process for choosing fabrics, preparing the applique pieces, and assembling this fall quilt project from start to finish.
Before You Begin
Skill Level: Intermediate
Finished Size: 17 inches x 44.5 inches
Techniques Used: Applique, piecing, quilting, and binding
This tutorial focuses on the assembly process and shares my personal tips for creating this design. You can find the the full PDF pattern in my shop and it includes the complete cutting instructions, applique templates, and assembly diagrams.
Step 1: Choosing Fabrics
Choosing fabrics is one of my favorite parts of making a table runner! For this Autumn Leaves Table Runner, I recommend starting with your main border fabric and using it as inspiration for the rest of your color palette.
Main Border Fabric
I usually start with the main border fabric because it becomes the inspiration for the entire design. I love choosing a fabric with lots of movement and a variety of fall colors. This gives me a starting point when selecting the applique fabrics for the leaves.
Inner Border Fabric
For the inner border, I choose a darker fabric that complements the main border. This creates a beautiful frame around the applique design and helps the leaves stand out.
Background Fabric
The background fabric should complement your main border fabric as well. For my autumn table runners, I usually select an off-white fabric with warm yellow undertones.
When choosing your background, remember that your leaf fabrics need enough contrast to stand out. Very light fabrics may blend into the background and make the applique design harder to see.
Leaf Fabrics
Select nine coordinating fall colors that work with your main border fabric. This is where you can have fun and add personality to your table runner! I love using eye-catching autumn shades like:
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deep golden yellows
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burnt oranges
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deep reds
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teal accents
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warm browns
- dark plumbs
Mixing unexpected colors like teal, mustard, burgundy, and rust can create a more interesting and realistic autumn palette!
Branch & Acorns
Choose up to three shades of brown for the branch, acorn tops, and acorn bottoms.
I recommend choosing:
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a darker brown for the acorn tops
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a lighter brown for the acorn bottoms
Using contrasting shades helps the acorns read clearly as part of the design. If the two browns are too similar, the details can blend together.
Step 2: Tracing & Cutting the Applique Pieces
Begin by cutting the main border, inner border, and background fabric according to the instructions in the pattern.
For the applique design, start by tracing all design pieces onto HeatnBond Lite.
Important tip: Trace on the paper side of the HeatnBond, not the bumpy adhesive side.
Per the pattern instructions, I strongly recommend labeling each leaf with:
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the corresponding leaf number (Leaf 1A, Leaf 1B, Leaf 2A, etc.)
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the coordinating fall fabric number
This will make assembling the design much easier later.
Rough cut each traced piece outside of the traced lines. Do not cut directly on the traced line yet.
Next, arrange your nine fall fabrics in a color order that feels balanced and number your fabrics 1 through 9. I like to avoid placing similar colors too close together. For example, if I have two green fabrics, I may place one as Fabric #1 and the other as Fabric #7 so they are spread throughout the design.
Organize your traced leaves with the assigned fabrics:
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Fall Fabric #1: Leaf 1A and Leaf 9B
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Fall Fabric #2: Leaf 2A and Leaf 8B
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Fall Fabric #3: Leaf 3A and Leaf 7B
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Fall Fabric #4: Leaf 4A and Leaf 6B
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Fall Fabric #5: Leaf 5A and Leaf 5B
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Fall Fabric #6: Leaf 6A and Leaf 4B
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Fall Fabric #7: Leaf 7A and Leaf 3B
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Fall Fabric #8: Leaf 8A and Leaf 2B
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Fall Fabric #9: Leaf 9A and Leaf 1B
Iron each applique piece onto the wrong side of the selected fabric. Then, cut each piece along the traced line. Keep the paper backing attached until assembly. This allows you to easily reference the leaf numbers when arranging your design.
Repeat this process for the branch, acorn tops, and acorn bottoms. For the acorns, you can remove the paper backing and assemble them on a Teflon mat or parchment paper. Place the acorn top over the acorn bottom, press with your iron, and allow it to cool before peeling it away.
Step 3: Assemble the Autumn Leaves Design
This is the part where your table runner really begins to come to life!
Separate your leaves into two groups:
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Group A (Leaf 1A, Leaf 2A, etc.)
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Group B (Leaf 1B, Leaf 2B, etc.)
When arranged in order, you will notice that Group B creates the opposite color arrangement from Group A. This helps spread the colors evenly throughout the design.
Place your background fabric on your ironing board. I strongly recommend assembling directly on your ironing board because once the pieces are placed, moving the design can be difficult until everything is fused.
Place one branch piece on the left side of the background approximately:
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4.5 inches from the short edge
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5.5 inches from the long edges
Make sure the branch with three smaller sticks (including the acorn hook) is closer to the end of the runner. The branch with two sticks should point toward the center.
Using the assembly diagram included in the pattern, place the Group A leaves onto each branch section.
Remove the paper backing and arrange the leaves as shown and add the two acorns according to the layout.
Important: Leave at least ½ inch to ¾ inch around all edges for the inner border seam allowance.
Once Group A is arranged, you can either:
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iron it in place before moving on, or
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arrange Group B first and fuse everything together at once
Repeat the same process with Group B on the opposite side of the table runner.
Remember: Group B is the same design as Group A, but rotated 180 degrees.
This step can feel confusing at first because the leaf colors are arranged differently. For example, Leaf 1A and Leaf 1B are different colors, but they share the same placement when rotated.
Helpful tip: If you fuse Group A first, simply rotate your background fabric 180 degrees and repeat the same process for Group B.
Once everything is fused into place, you are ready to add your borders!
Step 4: Add the Borders
With right sides together, pin one 1½ inch inner border strip to the long edge of the background fabric and sew using a ¼ inch seam allowance.
Since the inner border strips are cut from WOF fabric, they will likely extend past the edges. Trim the excess fabric even with the background fabric.
Press the seam allowance toward the border.
Repeat for the opposite long edge.
For the shorter edges, cut the remaining inner border strip in half and repeat the same process.
Next, add the 2½ inch main border using the same method:
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Attach the longer sides first
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Attach the shorter sides second
Press all seams toward the main border.
Your quilt top is now complete!
Follow the pattern instructions to piece the backing fabric and prepare your table runner for quilting.
Finishing Your Table Runner: Appliqué & Quilting
At this point, you have a choice: you can appliqué the design before quilting, or you can wait to applique during the quilting process.
Personally, I prefer to straight-edge appliqué the design pieces while quilting. I love that the design becomes visible on the back of the table runner as well.
Straight-edge appliqué is simple and works well for this design, but keep in mind that the edges may fray slightly over time.
Buttonhole appliqué is another option. It creates a more finished look and helps prevent fraying, but because this design has many curves and detailed leaves, I find straight-edge appliqué easier and more enjoyable.
I learned straight-edge appliqué from Shiny Happy World and highly recommend checking out her tutorials. This technique can be done on a standard sewing machine. I personally use my mid-arm quilting machine because it makes stitching around the curves much easier.
After you have appliquéd the design, add additional quilting details as desired. I like to stitch in the ditch along the borders first to stabilize the runner before adding decorative quilting.
Once everything is quilted, it is ready for binding!
I love using this binding method.
Your Autumn Leaves Table Runner Is Complete!
Congratulations! I hope this project brings a little bit of Vermont’s beautiful fall season into your home.
Whether you display it on your Thanksgiving table, decorate your kitchen for autumn, or gift it to someone special, handmade quilts have a way of becoming part of the memories we create each season.
Happy quilting!
Margaret
