DIY Fabric Alternative for Table Runners

Gift Wrap

• 1

  Cut the runner to the required size from the gift wrap using the pinking shears. Roll the paper in the opposite direction to flatten it. Unroll it and smooth it onto a protective plastic sheet on a flat surface.

• 2

  Cut stars -- or another shape to match your gift wrap -- from the colored paper, using the pinking shears again. Cut enough to form a design on the runner while leaving some of the background paper showing. Glue the shapes to the runner with white glue.

• 3

  Apply acrylic gloss medium to the entire runner with a large foam brush, to seal it and make it waterproof. Do not shake the bottle of acrylic medium, as this action introduces air bubbles into the liquid. Leave the runner to dry thoroughly and wash the foam brush in warm water and liquid soap.

Bedding

• 4

  Wash the bed sheet in a washing machine with laundry soap and then thoroughly dry it to prepare it for dyeing. With pinking shears, cut out a piece of the bedding that is 6 inches wider than the size of the runner and 12 inches longer. Iron the sheet if it is wrinkled.

• 5

  Place the piece of bed sheet into the washing machine along with the dye according to the instructions on the packet. Follow the directions to dye the fabric. Before dyeing the sheet, fold it accordion style along its length and tie it in several places with string to produce a tie-dye pattern.

• 6

  Dry the table runner and iron it flat. Use the pinking shears to cut the runner to the required size.

Painted Canvas

• 7

  Cut the canvas to the required size with the pinking shears. Paint the canvas with the base color of paint using a foam brush. Apply the paint with strokes in different directions and completely cover the canvas. Let the canvas dry thoroughly overnight.

• 8

  Write text on the canvas background using a small brush and a variety of colors of fabric paint, acrylic paint or fabric markers. Use different fonts to write recipes, food-related quotes, poems or verses associated with different seasons or celebrations.

• 9

  Draw outlines of images with the colored markers, and color them in with the paints. Layer these over the text so that they hide some of the words. Alternatively, use a dark-colored marker to add doodles to the canvas.

• 10

  Mix a glaze from a small amount of transparent paint and water so that it has a runny consistency. Apply this all over the canvas with a foam brush. This adds a transparent color layer that pulls all the artwork together and seals the canvas.