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Americana Table Topper Embroidery Project

By Pat Williams on May 10, 2023

PROJECT DETAILS

SKILL LEVEL

Some Experience

TIME REQUIRED

09:00

FINISHED SIZE

40 x 40 inches

Description

This 40” square table topper is perfect for dressing up your picnic table this summer and for years to come. The blocks are surprisingly quick to stitch out with their amazing light fills.

Project Preview Video

Materials

8” x 8” embroidery hoop or larger

13 10” squares of Americana Prints Quilting cotton or Layer Cake “America, My Home”

12 10” squares of White Kona® cloth

1 ¼” of Americana print quilting cotton for back

1/3 yard of Classic Navy quilting cotton for borders

3/8 yard of Dark Red quilting cotton for binding

3 ½ yards of Battilizer® or low loft batting

No show cut-away stabilizer to fit your hoop for 25 hoopings

Spray Adhesive

Invisible thread

Water-Soluble thread

Large clips with 1 1/3rd opening – optional

Designs used in this project

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma05

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma02

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma03

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma04

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma01

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma06

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma07

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma08

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma09

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma10

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma11

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma12

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/fma13

Final Product: What You Will Create

Preface:

These blocks are stitched through the fabric and batting so that they can be joined without the use of sashing. They are stitched together and then backed with a single layer of fabric. If you choose, they can also be joined to make a large table runner or other project of your choice.

Step 1:

This project was inspired by this layer cake, “America My Home”, by Jennifer Pugh for Wilmington Prints. Select 13 10” blocks from this layer cake to make the filler blocks.

Step 2:

Cut 12 10” squares of White Kona®, 25 10” squares of Battilizer® and 25 squares of no-show cut-away stabilizer to fit your 8” square or larger embroidery hoop. Tautly hoop the stabilizer and take to your machine with one white square and one Battilizer® square.

Step 3:

All the blocks are made following the same steps. Load the chosen design into your machine. Run color-stop (CS) 1 in white as a placement line for the Battilizer®.

Step 4:

Spray adhesive on the back of the Battilizer square and position over the placement lines so the Battilizer® exceeds the placement line by ½” on all sides. Run CS 2 to tack it down in white thread.

Step 5:

Remove the hoop from the machine, do not unhoop, trim the Battilizer® right up next to the tack down stitches.

Step 6:

Spray adhesive on the back of the white fabric and place over the Battilizer® so that the fabric exceeds the Battilizer® by ½” on all sides. Run CS 3 to tack down the fabric with water-soluble thread in the top of your machine only.

Step 7:

Run CS 4 in navy or red for the embroidered image blocks, if stitching the filler blocks use invisible thread. Remove the project from the hoop.

Step 8:

Lay the ½” mark of a see though ruler along the water-soluble thread stitch lines. If you have trouble seeing the tack down lines place the block face down on your cutting mat. Trim all sides of the blocks to a ½” seam allowance.

Step 9:

Repeat Steps 3 through 8 until all 25 blocks are stitched. Lay out the blocks in the order that you want them to be in the table topper.

Step 10:

Join 5 blocks together 5 times to make 5 rows of blocks. Place two blocks together right sides together. Use the double pin method to perfectly align the inside top corners.

Step 11:

Stitch the blocks together (1/2” seam allowance) right along the tack down lines. Lift your top block every few inches to make sure your tack down lines are staying aligned.

Step 12:

Press the seams open from the back and then the top of the joined rows of blocks.

Step 13:

Stitch the 5 rows of blocks matching up the block corners and tack down seams to form the center of your table topper.

Step 14:

For the borders cut 4 strips of navy fabric 2 ½” wide across the width of the fabric. Cut 4 strips of Battilizer® 2” wide x 45” long.

Step 15:

Spray adhesive on the strips of Battilizer® align the long edge of the fabric strip with one edge of the Battilizer® to form the border. The uncovered edge will be the ½” seam allowance.

Step 16:

Center the border strips along both sides of the table topper and stitch down along the water-soluble placement lines. Press the seams open.

Step 17:

Trim the excess border strip at all four corners even with the table topper. Repeat Steps 16 and 17 to add the border strips to the top and bottom of the table topper.

Step 18:

Lay your 1 ¼ yard of backing fabric face down on a flat surface. The sample is shown with the fabric clipped to the table to keep it from moving.

Step 19:

Center the table topper over the back fabric and using adhesive spray or quilters safety pins secure the table topper to the back fabric.

Step 20:

With invisible thread stitch in the ditch along the interior seam lines. Stitch a scant ¼” around the outer edge of the border too, to baste the outer border to the back fabric.

Step 21:

Square up the table topper and trim the excess backing.

Step 22:

Cut 5 strips of 2 ½” red binding fabric and stitch to the table topper using your preferred method.

Step 23:

You can see in the previous picture that some of the water-soluble tack down stitches are visible around the outside edges of the block. These are easily removed with a damp sponge so all your seams appear perfect.

Step 24:

Congratulations your Americana Table Topper is complete!

For the love of embroidery…
Pat Williams

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Meet the Author: Pat Williams

Award winning Digitizer, Embroidery Educator, Author and a Consultant to the Industry, Pat Williams has 30 years of experience in the embroidery industry. Pat has won multiple awards for her digitizing expertise including the 2007 Impressions Awards Grand Championship, Best of Show as well as the 1st and 2nd Place Awards. Pat’s love of digitizing has afforded her the opportunity to write numerous articles for Impressions magazine in the United States and Images Magazine in Europe. In 2001 Pat was named “Embroidery Educator of the Year.” For many years Pat taught digitizing seminars at the ISS Shows in Long Beach, CA and for Compucon software. She now resides in Tucson, AZ.

Americana Table Topper Embroidery Project

PROJECT DETAILS

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