March It's All Up to You Challenge - Capped 60 Runner

March’s Island Batik Ambassador Challenge is called "It’s All Up to You," meaning the Ambassadors have a month to create any project of any size, theme, and technique using Island Batik fabrics. This gives us a chance to have a little fun this month.

What was I going to make this month? I knew I had the Sunlit Garden Strip Set and Coordinating fabrics, including Egg White from the Neutrals collection and Vibes from the Marvelous Multis. But what could I do with Strip sets? I wanted to make a new spring table runner for my coffee table.

While reviewing my Studio 180 Design Technique Sheets, I discovered a Star 60 technique that I enjoy working with called the Capped 60. I then opened Adobe Illustrator on my computer, where I kept all my Star 60 shapes, and located a project that needed a few adjustments for a table runner. Now that I had the design prepared, it was time to tackle this quick and easy project.

The project started with the creation of strip sets. I took half of the stack of fabric, cut the strips in half, and began sewing the strips together randomly, pressing all the seams open as I went. This strip set-making method is known as the Mirrored Image Capped 60.

With all my strip sets prepared, I began cutting my oversized Capped 60 units from the half-strip width sets.

Once they are cut out, I need to trim the sides and bottoms of the triangles to the size of the finished capped 60-unit size.

After trimming down the fabric, I divided the stack in half. I then began arranging the units and companion triangles, which I had cut from strips of the Egg White fabric. I randomly placed one stack of the units on one side, replicated that arrangement on the opposite side, and added the Egg White companion triangles down the middle to create rows.

I created half triangles from rectangles and used the Star 60 tool to complete the rows by adding them to each end. I carefully sew the triangles together to maintain my arrangement on the design board.

Pressing the seams is essential for keeping everything flat while I work with these units. Once I have sewn all the triangles into a row, I can add the half-triangles to each end of the row to square it off.

After assembling two rows, I carefully sew them together. I repeat this process for all the rows to create a long runner. To finish off the quilt top, I add a thin border.

I used Schmetz needles and Aurifil thread in my Bernina sewing machine to create the quilt top.

I quilted the runner using Hobbs batting on my Bernina Q16 sit-down machine, trying out a circle ruler for the first time. It took me a little while to learn how to use it, but once I found my rhythm, the process went quickly. Considering this was my first attempt, I am pleased with how the quilting turned out. For the back and binding, I chose Island Batik Vibes from the Marvelous Multis collection.

Thank you for joining me as I shared my March project. Be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors listed below to see what they are working on.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt