How to Make a Bunny Table Topper or Placemats

Make something personal for those you love with this uniquely charming Bunny Table Topper. The primitive bunny pattern is versatile in that it can be used to make a table topper, a wall hanging, or placemats. This bunny craft will add a fresh look of today’s country style to any home.

Supplies:

1. Sewing machine and coordinating threads
2. Scissors
3. Stencil brushes
4. Ruler or measuring tape
5. Masking tape
6. Iron
7. Safety pins
8. Cotton batting
9. Hand-sewing needle
10. Straight pins
11. Fabric: 

• 1/8 yard of purple cotton print
• 1/8 yard of blue cotton print
• 1/8 yard of green cotton print
• 1/8 yard of yellow cotton print
• 1/2 yard of cream cotton
• 24 x 24 piece of printed cotton for backing
• 12 x 25 piece of coordinating green cotton for binding

12. 24 piece of Heavy-duty Wonder Under Transfer Web
13. 24 piece of Machine Embroidery stabilizer
14. 2 ¼ Stencil for corners (carrot or cabbage)
15. ¾ Stencil for center (flower or heart)
16. Green stencil paint
17. Lavender stencil paint
18. Orange stencil paint (if doing carrot)
19. Bunny pattern

Instructions for Table Topper:

Note: Wash and iron all fabrics before cutting.

1. Cream fabric: cut one 1 ½ x 1 ½ square, four 3 x 3 squares and four 8 ½ x 8 ½ squares.

Lavender, blue, green and yellow fabrics: Cut one 3 x 17 strip from each. Then cut one 1 ½ x 8 ½ strip from each.

From green binding fabric, cut four 2 ½ x 25 strips.

2.Tape 3 square to flat surface. Tape cabbage or carrot stencil over square. Using dark green paint, stencil cabbage or using orange paint, stencil carrot with green paint for carrot top. Repeat for remaining 3 squares. Tape 1 ½ square to flat surface and stencil small flower or heart over this square using lavender for flower and green for leaves. Allow paint to dry before continuing.

3. Print out the bunny and heart patterns and cut out.

4. Appliqué: follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the Wonder Under to transfer the bunny and heart pattern to each of the four different colored fabrics. Cut out fabric bunny and heart from each color and center each over an 8 ½ x 8 ½ cream square. Iron on patch according to Wonder Under directions. Place stabilized on wrong side of cream fabric. Using small appliqué stitch, sew around each bunny and heart, using either a clear filament thread, or a matching thread.

5. Note: Use a ¼ seam allowance. With right sides facing, sew yellow 1 ½ x 8 ½ strip to right side of yellow bunny panel. With right sides facing, sew left side of blue bunny panel to yellow strip. Press seams toward darker fabric. See photo below:

6. With right sides facing, sew green 1 ½ x 8 ½ strip to right side of lavender bunny panel. With right sides facing, sew left side of green bunny panel to green strip. Press seams toward darker fabric.

7. With right sides facing, sew right end of lavender 1 ½ x 8 ½ strip to one side of 1 ½ cream square (making sure square will be right side up). With right side facing, sew left end of blue 1 ½ x 8 ½ strip to opposite side of 1 ½ cream square. Press seams toward darker fabrics. See photo. See picture below:

8. With right sides facing, sew bottom of yellow and blue bunny panels to top of lavender and blue strips. See photo below:

With right sides facing, sew top of lavender and green bunny panels to bottom of lavender and blue strips.

9. With right sides facing, sew yellow 3 x 17 ½ strip to top of yellow and blue bunny panels. Repeat for green 3 x 17 ½ strip and bottom of lavender and green bunny panels. Press seams toward darker fabrics.

10. With right sides facing, sew one carrot 3 x 3 square to each end of lavender 3 x 17 ½ strip. Repeat for blue x x 17 ½ strip. See photo below:

With right sides facing, sew lavender strip to left side of quilt. Sew blue to right side of quilt.

11. Place backing fabric facedown on hard surface. Using masking tape, secure all edges to the hard surface, making sure there are no wrinkles in fabric. Place batting over backing fabric. Place quilt face up over batting. Pin layers together using safety pins, about every 3.

12.Using sewing machine, quilt around each bunny and inside each square ¼ from edge. Add additional quilting as desired.

13. Trim extra batting and backing ¼ from edge of quilt front. Sew binding strips together diagonally end to end to create one long strip. Press seams open. Fold in half lengthwise with wrong sides facing and press. Pin binding to quilt, placing raw edges together and making sure binding seams do not fall near corners of quilt. Sew pieces together. Turn binding to back of quilt and stitch in place by hand.

Instructions for Place Mats:

1. To make six placemats increase yardage to 3/8 yard of each color, 1 ½ yard of cream color, 1 ½ yard backing fabric and 1 yard binding fabric. Batting yardage will need to be increase accordingly.

2. Use same basic pattern, just cut table topper in half, using only two bunny squares side by side for each placemat. Side panel pieces will be 3 x 8 rather than 3 x 17 ½ and one of the 1 ½ strips through the middle will be and replaced with a 3 x 17 ½ strip.