DIY Burlap Table Runners

Get ready, this is my first DIY crafty post. Don't expect many more of these as I'm rarely patient enough for crafting. 

About a week before our wedding, I finally pulled out the large bolt of burlap I had purchased from JoAnn Fabrics to start working on our table runners. I used a 40% off coupon on the burlap and paid about $65 total for it. 

As we would be using about 17, 8' rectangular tables, we needed to make about 20 so we'd have a few extra for the cake table, wishing tree table, etc. The first night we worked on it, it took a while to figure out exactly what we wanted to do, but we got a few done. 

First, Pete measured the distance we wanted the runners to be (~ 9 feet) on the floor and taped two lines so it was easy to measure and cut each length of fabric. The width of the burlap allowed us to get about three runners wide (each was ~ 1 foot wide).

I have to say, this was one of the wedding projects that Pete really helped out on! That Saturday morning I came home from yoga to find that he had already plowed through nine table runners without me prompting him to.

Somewhere in wedding planning mode, I had pinned this post about how to cut straight lines on burlap, which made it really simple. Speaking of which, I haven't really touched Pinterest since the wedding - ha.

How to cut a straight line

Basically, you measure and choose where you want to cut your line. Then you snip the horizontal fibers to the left and right of the string where you want to cut. This loosens that string of burlap so you can start pulling it out of the burlap until it's completely gone and what's left is an empty row made just for your scissors!

Once you've removed your row and cut through the length of the burlap, you have your edge! For our tables, we wanted a little fringe on the edges, but not much. We pulled out about three more strings {as shown in the pic below} off the ends to give a little fringe.

After we got the hang of it, each runner probably took about 10 minutes to complete.

I bought more burlap than I needed, but you can't return fabric so oh well. Before we knew it, we had stacks of table runners neatly folded ready to go. We didn't worry about ironing them at Aspen Hall because they really weren't that wrinkled. 

Hello post running, yoga, wedding planning hair...

What else is going through my head? Stressed. Glad to be done with that project. The list never ends. 

And finally, a glimpse at the finished product in action!

It's funny, a few times since the wedding little things will pop in my head about the reception decorations that weren't "perfect" to my Type A wedding dream expectations. It's silly really, but also a reminder that life is just too short for me to worry about the stuff that doesn't matter.

Our day was us - it was fun, it was hectic, it was in a gorgeous location, the drinks were stiff, the food was tasty, the dancing was lively, and the people were amazing. We are truly lucky and it's hard to imagine we'll be celebrating two months of marriage tomorrow!

Other Wedding Related Posts: 
A Mini Moon
Finding the Dress
The Reception
Our Wedding Day
The Before
On Getting Married
Hair & Makeup Trial