If you will be hosting any kind of football-themed party, you need football-themed table decorations. What better tabletop decor than a diy football field table runner?
I will be throwing a Super Bowl party this year and have been wanting a football field table runner for the event. So I decided to make one.
And you know what?
It’s easier and cheaper than you think to make a football field table runner.
Supplies to DIY a Football Field Table Runner
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- Fake turf
- Scissors or craft knife
- White paint and paintbrush
- Tape measure and paper
How to Make a Football Field Table Runner
Step 1: Prepping the fake turf to become a table runner
Go to your local hardware store. They should have artificial grass that is 12’ wide and sold off a roll. Have them cut 12” of it for you.
I went to Home Depot where it was $.53 per square foot, for a total of $6.36.
Measure 5 feet (or 60 inches) and cut the back of the artificial grass with a craft knife or sturdy scissors.
Trim any stray strands or grass pieces.
Step 2: Painting the outside lines on your football field table runner
Tip: lay down newspaper under your artificial turf, in case any paint seeps through. (My turf had a rubber backing that prevented any paint going through, but I don’t know what yours will be like.)
I figured out an easy way to paint straight lines on the artificial turf – a piece of cardstock! Yep, that’s all I used.
Since your diy football field table runner is 12” wide, using an 8.5” x 11” piece of cardstock paper works perfectly.
Place the paper (as shown in the image) about an inch from the edge and vertically in the middle of the runner.
Using a paintbrush that’s about ½” wide, paint along the edge of the paper. The edge of the paper will act as your guide, and the width of the paintbrush will be equal to the width of lines on your football field runner.
Once the initial lines are painted, move the paper down and continue painting the top and bottom border lines.
*Note that you will probably need to go over the lines a few times for the paint to be visible.
Step 3: Painting the yard lines
Once you have completed painting the border for your diy football field table runner, it’s time to add the yard lines.
Measure the distance between the far edges of the runner. Divide that distance in half. That is where the 50-yard line will be painted.
Using the edge of your paper, line the top and bottom of the paper up with the border you painted and paint the 50-yard line.
Now we need to do a little math (argh!! I know!!!). Don’t fret, I’ve gotcha and it’s pretty simple.
Measure the distance between the 50-yard line you just painted and the painted edge on the end. Divide that number by 6. There are 5 lines between the 50-yard line and the end, but we need to divide by 6, as the border edge is considered the 6th line. Trust me.
Take the number you just figured out and measure that distance from the 50-yard line. Mark it on your table runner. I laid a pen on the spots at first and then went back and made a mark with paint – just to be sure. Now measure that same distance from the mark you just made, and continue until you have 5 marks (or pens laid down) on your football field runner. You should have 5 equally spaced sections. If not, go back and remeasure.
Do the same on the other side of the 50-yard line.
Take your paper and paint straight lines where you have made the marks. You should have a total of 11 evenly spaced lines between the edges of your football field table runner.
Step 4: Painting the yard line numbers
Now to paint on the yard-line numbers.
When you look at a football field there is a number on either side of the yard line = “5 | 0”. Find the middle line (the 50-yard line) and paint a five on the left side of the line and a zero on the right side of the line.
Then move to the line to the left of the 50-yard line and put a four on the left side of it and a zero on the right side (that’s the 40-yard line). Continue marking the 30, 20, and 10-yard lines.
You will do the same to the right of the 50-yard line: counting down 40, 30, 20, 10.
Flip the table runner over and do the same on the other side. The numbers will be on opposite sides of what you just painted.
*Tip: if you need a visual – search up images of “football field yard lines” to see how they need to look.
YAY!! You have just completed the yard line markers on your diy football field table runner.
Step 5: Completing your football field tabletop runner
I chose to leave my end zones blank, but you can do something to yours if you prefer. You could paint on the names of the two teams playing, or you could write “touchdown”, or you could write “go team”, or just paint the end zones a different color.
It’s up to you!
The final step is to use this no-sew football field table runner as part of your football party decor and place it on a buffet table or kitchen island.
Doesn’t it look awesome!
Your guests will LOVE IT!
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