The Fat Quarter Gypsy Lacy Leaf Tischläufer-Muster

The applique-and-trim technique is so clever—I love watching the background disappear and the lacy leaves pop. Using up felt scraps from my stash felt productive, and the full-color photos made each step foolproof. This one's going into my regular rotation for gifts.

The instructions say to use felt, so I grabbed some scraps from my stash, and the finished runner has a beautiful, airy look that dresses up my dining table perfectly. Cutting away the background fabric was oddly satisfying and really made the leaf shapes pop.

The applique-and-trim technique sounded fiddly, but the felt shapes press and stitch down so cleanly that even my first block looked neat. The pattern makes great use of the fat quarters I had stashed, and the full-color photos really help when you're placing the lacy layers.