You're not going to wear those pants!

That was my daughter's reaction when she caught sight of a pair of batik pants that were in my sewing room.  "You're not going to WEAR those pants!  You bought them for the fabric...right???"

Yes, she knows me pretty well, and I guess there are some things that a woman of a certain age should not be seen wearing.  (Though I will admit that I tried them on when I got them home. lol)  A recent thrift store visit led to the purchase of a $4 pair of pink batik pants, probably made in India. They had a wide border around each leg, but I really bought them for the pink fabric.

Of course, the first thing I did was wash them in cold water....multiple times!  The dye ran, and ran, and ran.  Vinegar rinses helped, and finally the excess dye seemed to be gone.  After drying them I was was in such a hurry to play with the fabric that I went charging on ahead and de-constructed them without taking a photo.  You'll have to use your imagination. (The burgundy stripe was the bottom, then the turquoise stripe, then the florals with a yellow stripe between the two styles. From the knees up the pants were dark pink batik which will go into my stash.)

Front and back leg pieces gave me a total of four 13.5-inch squares from the lower pant leg border.  I cut each of these in an X, and started to play with the resulting triangle pieces.  Here's what I came up with...

A very nice table runner!

It took a while to audition fabrics for the border.  I think I learned a lot about color and value.  Here were my best choices:

Bottom:  The main fabric of the pants, which is the fabric I really wanted for my stash.
Next:  Mottled dark pink that matches the pinks pretty well.
Then:  Turquoise that matched the lightest turquoise in the border.
Top:  a deep gold which was even darker than the dark gold in the border print.
Not making the cut:  a lighter yellow that matched the yellow in the border and the backing.

I learned that matching is a good idea, but isn't always the best idea.  The dark pink just disappeared as a border.  It would have worked, but it didn't really add anything to the piece.

The turquoise was my first choice.  I thought it would be perfect.  Nope!  It matched the bright turquoise, but it made all the darker colors look muddy.  The same with the light yellow - only more so.  In fact, it was amazing how they actually made the piece look ugly!

Finally, I tried the dark gold on a whim.  It was amazing.  It made the light colors in the border pop!  It gave something for the eye to contrast the lights against, and that made all the difference.  The bright yellow and light turquoise in the border fabric sparkled.  It 's something that I'm going to have to remember when selecting colors in the future.

So, here it is.... all finished!  Not bad for the cut off bottoms of a pair of pants.  It was a such a fun little project. It still needs a name.  Any ideas?

17.5 x 35 inches 

Update:  This table runner was donated to a silent auction fundraiser for our children's former Kindergarten teacher who is facing serious medical complications.  It was wonderful to see all the former students and school parents at the event, all out to give our support and prayers to a wonderful and well-loved teacher.