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Free pattern: Fourth of July stars and stripes table runner

This Fourth of July table runner takes two blocks you can learn in an afternoon, a navy friendship star at each end and a band of nine red and white stripes in the middle. It finishes at 16 by 46 inches, long enough to run down most of a 6-foot picnic table without hanging off the ends, and the stripe section stretches or shrinks two stripes at a time if your table is longer or shorter.

A folded quilted runner with red and white stripes, a navy border and a navy star on top, on a picnic table beside lemonade and a bowl of strawberries
Fourth of July table runner: a navy friendship star on white at each end, nine red and white stripes in the middle and a navy border
Finished runner: 16 × 46 inches. Two 12-inch stars, an 18-inch stripe section and a 2-inch border.

Our patriotic star throw and the Christmas star runner both use sawtooth stars, which take flying geese. This runner uses the friendship star instead: four half-square triangles, four plain corners and a plain center. There are no points to match across the block, so it's a friendlier first star.

Fabric

Quantities assume quilting cotton at least 42 inches wide, with 40 usable inches per strip.

FabricUsed forYardage
NavyStars and border½ yd
White or creamStar background and white stripes½ yd
RedRed stripes and binding½ yd
BackingOne 24 × 54-in piece, cut along the length1⅝ yd
BattingMiddle layer24 × 54 in

A small red print or a tone-on-tone white reads as "stars and stripes" from across the room and hides crumbs better than a solid. Keep the navy fairly dark so the star points show against the white.

Cutting

FabricStripsThen cut
NavyOne 5-in stripFour 5-in squares (triangles), plus two 4½-in squares (star centers) from the rest of the strip
Four 2½-in stripsLeave whole for the border
WhiteOne 5-in stripFour 5-in squares (triangles)
One 4½-in stripEight 4½-in squares (star corners)
Two 2½-in stripsFour 2½ × 12½-in stripes (three per strip)
RedTwo 2½-in stripsFive 2½ × 12½-in stripes
Four 2½-in stripsLeave whole for the binding

The two navy center squares come from the leftover end of the 5-inch strip: cut two pieces 4½ inches wide, then trim each to 4½ inches tall.

Make the half-square triangles

  1. Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the wrong side of each white 5-inch square.
  2. Pair each white square with a navy 5-inch square, right sides together. Sew ¼ inch from the line on both sides.
  3. Cut on the drawn line. Each pair gives two half-square triangles, so the four pairs make eight.
  4. Press the seams toward the navy, then trim each unit to 4½ inches square with the diagonal running exactly corner to corner.

Starting a little oversize and trimming down is what makes these accurate. Our half-square triangle guide covers other methods and the usual trimming mistakes.

Sew the two star blocks

Friendship star block: a navy center square with four navy triangles turning around it on a white background
One friendship star: nine 4-inch units, 12 inches finished.
  1. Lay out each block in three rows of three: white corner, triangle unit, white corner; triangle unit, navy center, triangle unit; white corner, triangle unit, white corner.
  2. Turn the triangle units so each navy triangle touches the center square along one side and points the same way around the block, like the blades of a pinwheel (check against the diagram).
  3. Sew the units into rows, pressing the seams of the top and bottom rows toward the corners and the middle row toward the center. The seams then nest when you join the rows.
  4. Join the rows. Each block should measure 12½ inches square. Make two.

The full block, with color ideas and other sizes, is on our friendship star block page.

Sew the stripes

  1. Lay the nine stripes side by side, starting and ending with red: red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, red.
  2. Sew them together along the long edges. Sew each new seam in the opposite direction from the last one; long narrow strips bow if every seam runs the same way.
  3. Press all seams toward the red so the white doesn't show a shadow. The stripe section measures 18½ × 12½ inches.

Assemble the runner

  1. Sew a star block to each end of the stripe section, with a red stripe touching each star. The center now measures 42½ × 12½ inches.
  2. Join the four navy border strips end to end with straight seams. From this long strip cut two pieces 42½ inches long and sew them to the long sides.
  3. Cut two more pieces 16½ inches long from what's left and sew them to the ends. The top measures 46½ × 16½ inches.

Before you cut the border, measure your runner through the middle. If it came out a bit shorter or longer than 42½ inches, cut the long borders to your number instead. The reasoning is in how to add borders to a quilt.

Quilt and bind

  1. Cut the backing to 24 × 54 inches along the length of the fabric so it needs no seam. Layer backing (right side down), batting and top, and baste with pins or spray.
  2. Quilt it. Straight lines in the ditch between the stripes and around the edges of each star block take very little time with a walking foot. A second set of lines ¼ inch inside the border finishes it. See straight-line machine quilting for marking and turning corners.
  3. Trim the batting and backing even with the top.
  4. Join the four red binding strips with diagonal seams, press in half lengthwise and bind. The runner needs about 134 inches of binding (the perimeter plus 10 inches); four strips give plenty. Full steps: how to bind a quilt.

Other lengths

Add or remove stripes in pairs so there's always a red stripe next to each star. Every pair changes the length by 4 inches.

StripesRed / whiteFinishedNavy border stripsRed binding stripsBacking
53 / 216 × 38 in3424 × 46 in
9 (this pattern)5 / 416 × 46 in4424 × 54 in
137 / 616 × 54 in4424 × 62 in
179 / 816 × 62 in4524 × 70 in

Each 2½-inch strip gives three stripes, so 13 stripes take three red and two white stripe strips, and 17 stripes take three of each. For the 54- and 62-inch versions buy ⅝ yard of red instead of ½ (the extra stripe strip and, for 62 inches, a fifth binding strip), and for the 62-inch version ⅝ yard of white. The long border pieces are the stripe section plus 24 inches; the end pieces stay at 16½ inches.

Variations

Swap the colors and make red stars with navy and white stripes. Or use a white star on a navy background (navy corners and center, white triangle halves) for a look closer to the canton of a flag. If you'd rather appliqué a five-pointed star, our American flag quilt has a printable star template and fusible appliqué steps.

A runner like this is also a manageable group project for Memorial Day or Veterans Day: one person sews the stars, another the stripes. For a full-size quilt that honors a service member, read about Quilts of Valor.

More free patterns: see them all. This pattern is free for personal and charity use; please don't sell the pattern itself.

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