=Did you ever see a material called Russian crash?= It is made in Russia, of coarse linen, and is often woven in the fields. It is not very wide, 16 or 18 inches only. It is light brown in color. If you cannot get the crash, perhaps you have some grain or feed bags which will do. You can dip them in coffee to stain them light brown, as Marjorie Allen did when she made a cover for the porch table. A piece 1½-yards long and from 16 to 20 inches wide will make a good-sized table runner to throw over the old table on the porch. If you use the old bags and the edges are not selvedges, turn them with one turning ½-inch wide all around the edges, and baste. =How can you finish the edge of a table runner?= You can make the blanket stitch close together around the edge. A heavy mercerized cotton thread can be used for the stitch, and will look well if it is brown in color to harmonize with the linen or bag. The blanket stitch is used generally for blanket edges which are not hemmed. It is a stitch to prevent material from fraying, and is taken on the edge of material. When the cloth is not very heavy, one turning can be made to give firmness to the edge. This is not necessary on blankets or on heavy materials. The stitch is worked from left to right. The edge of the cloth is held towards the worker. Start with a few running stitches and bring the needle up near the edge. Have the thread under the thumb. Insert the needle any depth desired and point needle at right angles to the edge of the cloth, towards the worker. The needle should come up under the edge and through the loop made by the thread. The thread will be carried along the edge as the stitches are made. In finishing a thread, take small tiny stitches on the wrong side. In starting a new thread, bring it up through the last loop at the edge. On some materials the stitches can be ¼ or ½ of an inch apart, or taken very close together as we do when we work on white linen and scallop the edges. The stitches can be ¼ or ½ or even an inch deep, and they can be arranged to form a pattern. In the picture you will see that the stitches are arranged in blocks--twelve low ones ¼ of an inch, and 12 of ¾ of an inch. They can also be arranged to form stairs ascending and descending with a difference of ⅛ of an inch in the depth of each stitch. Suppose you plan to make the block pattern of the blanket stitch all around the edge of the table runner.