Decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a burlap table runner. Purchased 1 1/2 yards of burlap and washed it on gentle cycle. Air dried and shook all the shreds off. (well, as much as I could. It is messy!) I then ironed the burlap with a steam iron to smooth it all out. Started by measuring a 17" width of the burlap, full length of fabric. At the 17" mark I pulled a thread out. I was then able to cleanly cut the burlap.
Then I sewed in one inch all the way around the piece and repeated about 1/8 inch (one thread worth) inside that stitch line. This will prevent any unraveling of the burlap.
I then taped the runner down to my work table trying to get it as straight as possible. I used painter's tape to mark a one inch strip inside the stitch marks. And another rectangle of painter's tape 1/2 inch inside that. Using fabric paint, I painted this 1/2 inch border. Then I used some letter templates to paint my Thanksgiving message on the table runner. Lastly, I removed all the threads outside of my stitch lines to give a 1 inch fringe. A quick morning project.
