DIY Halloween Door Runner

Hello fellow makers!

As we settle into the first weeks of fall, it’s not too late to add a touch of spooky charm to your home with this boo-tiful Halloween door runner!

The AGF 13 Days of Halloween Panel includes two playful designs perfect for seasonal projects. For our door runner, we chose the right side of the panel and quilted it on the BERNINA Q 16. It’s a fast, fun project that’s perfect for getting familiar with the Q 16 and exploring your free-motion quilting rhythm.

13 Days of Halloween Panel by AGF 

For the backing, we went with Decostitch Elements in Winter Spruce—it gives such a nice balance to the spooky front. And of course, no project is complete without a fun binding! We are using 2.5 Edition binding fabric, which frames the runner perfectly with playful orange and black stripes. The best part is you can switch it up and use either design of the 2.5 strip —that’s the beauty of 2.5 binding fabric!

Materials to Make Boo Door Hanger

• Patchwork Foot #37
• Darning Foot #9
• (1) 13 days of Halloween Panel from AGF Ghostly & Haunted GHH13145 
• ½” yd Decostitch Winter Spruce DSE731
• ½” yd 2.5 Edition Binding Fabric Wicked Bound BINGHH13
• High-loft Batting 
• Aurifil Thread # 2930 Golden Toast
• Aurifil Thread # 2515 Light Orchid
• Rotary Cutter
• Heat Erasable Fabric Pen  
• Iron
• Clips

Let’s have fun and get started!

Step 1: Assemble the Door Runner Top

Cut the Boo side from the 13 Days of Halloween Panel. Measure and cut 5” away from the long edges. Measure and cut 2” from the top and 3” from the bottom.

From the strips we trimmed off the long edges, cut the vine motifs the width of the Boo rectangle—these will be added to the top and bottom.

Save the 4 flower corners (from the long vine strips) for later!

With Patchwork Foot #37 for a precise ¼” seam allowance, sew the vine pieces to the top and bottom edges of the Boo rectangle and press the seams to the side.

Make a quilt sandwich with a 36” x 17” rectangle of Winter Spruce Decostitch as backing and a 36” x 15” of batting.

Tip: To make quilting easier, cut the backing fabric and batting larger than the project. The extra fabric gives something to hold onto, making it easier to move the sandwich through the machine.

 Now let’s take it over the Q 16 for quilting!

Step 2: Quilting with the BERNINA Q 16

The Q 16 is a sit-down longarm that makes regulated stitches based on how fast the fabric moves over the BSR sensors. This Halloween door runner is a great way to get comfortable with the machine’s movements and find your quilting rhythm. Take your time—move slowly and with intention. We’re using BSR1 mode, which keeps the needle moving while pressing the pedal, making it easier to turn sharp corners.

On the touch screen menu, set the following settings to start quilting:

• Needle Position down
• BSR1 Mode
• 8 STI (this is equal to 3.0mm)
• 250 RPM
• Securing Stitches – 4 stitches

These are the locking stitches that will be sewn automatically when pressing on the back of the pedal to finish each quilting line before jumping on the next line. 

Fill your bobbins and thread the machine with Aurifil# 2930, following the user’s manual. Press the bobbin icon and select the percentage at 95% so the machine recognizes the fullness of the bobbin being used.

Use the semi automatic threader to thread the needle. Once threaded, pull a long tail of thread and hold taut. 

Press on the back kick foot control with your heel once, this will make the needle go down and up once which will bring up the bobbing thread and form a small loop at the top.

Pull on both threads to bring up the bobbin thread, now we are ready to start quilting!

Move the project very slowly to start the line of stitching. Make a few stitches back and forth to lock the starting stitches (like backstitching in a regular sewing machine). Follow the outline of the letter about an inch. Now we can cut on both of the threads peeking out from the beginning so they are out of the way.

Continue following the outlines of the letter. Remember free motion quilting is unique and fun so any lines that are not totally straight work well with this project’s theme. The BSR will regulate the stitches so they are even throughout.

When you reach the end of the quilting line, press with your heel and hold the back kick foot control  – this will automatically sew the 4 locking stitches we set up in the machine earlier. Making sure the needle and foot are up, move the project a few inches to gain a bit of top tread. Move the project back so the needle is close to the last stitches made, press the back kick foot control with your heel only once and this will bring the bobbin thread up as a small loop. Pull carefully on all threads to bring up the bobbin thread. 

Leaving a long tail coming off the needle, cut the 3  remaining threads carefully.

We just finished our first quilting line!

Continue with the next letters’ outlines to make them pop!

BSR1 will keep the needle moving while the pedal is being pressed and there is movement in the sensors, this will help when making the B sharp corners.

Make small marking guides with a heat erasable pen 1” inch away from the letters to start the echo quilting effect. 

Change the thread to Aurifil #2515

Start quilting by bringing up the bobbing thread up like before with the back kick pedal and finishing the lines by pressing and holding the back kick to lock the stitch.

Draw guide marks ¾” of an inch away each finished quilting line to create the echo effect.

Quilting is done!

With the tip of an iron, erase the guide markings we made for each line. Time to bind!

Step 3: Binding

Cut on the pre-marked lines of the 2.5 Edition Binding fabric. This can be done with scissors or rotary cutter for faster cutting. We need 3 strips for this project.

To make a continuous bind strip, make a 45 degree fold on one end and apply a line of glue to the folded edge. Place glue side down on a strip, matching the designs and press with an iron.

Fold the top strip over and sew directly on the creased diagonal line. Cut ¼” away from the sewn line and press open.

Our binding strip is joined seamlessly!

Fold strip in half and press.

We can choose either design of the strip, that is the beauty of 2.5 Edition Binding Fabric!

We are going with the orange and black stripes to frame the door runner. With the backing of the project facing up, place the binding strip with the bats/hats design facing upwards and bind the project like a regular quilt with a ¼” seam allowance, miter the corners and connect the ends with your favorite method.

Turn the binding to the front of the project and finish binding.

Step 4: Adding the Hanging Straps

Taking remnants from the 2.5 binding strips, cut two 5” inch rectangles.  Fold in half  lengthwise with right sides touching and sew ¼” away from each edge on both pieces.

Turn right side out and press. Fold each end twice, ¼” each turn and hold with clips

From back to front, place each strap 2.5” inches away from the top edge of the door runner. Backstitching at beginning and end to secure.

And we are finished! This boo-tiful door runner is a quick and easy project that helps you conquer any free-motion quilting fears and discover all the quilting possibilities the Q 16 has to offer!

Oh, and remember those flower corners from the panel? We turned them into adorable coasters using the leftover 2.5″ binding—so nothing goes to waste and every bit becomes part of a beautiful project!

You can make coasters like these, or save the pieces for more patchwork, appliqué, or fussy-cut designs. What would you create with them? Let us know!

Happy sewing!

AGF