Sewing a Tablecloth

Super Simple Sewing DIY

Sewing your own tablecloth is a very simple do-it-yourself home decor project.

Generic off the Shelf Purchase

Limited Choice

There are tablecloths available to purchase in almost every store. Therefore why would I sew one? Firstly, the ready made tablecloths sold at most stores are a tad boring. The selection of solid whites, off-whites or fruit designs on my tablecloth don’t interest me. Secondly, there’s the question of texture, shape and size considerations – oval, rectangular, round each of which might or might not come in what I’m looking for.

My Shopping woes

Thirdly, it’s not to say there aren’t nice tablecloths available to buy, however (a) you have to love perusing in stores or online to search for nice ones that work in your space and (b) that you don’t mind paying a premium. Problem: I am not a shopper.

Never have been, never will be. If I ever have a shopping need, I go in a store and get out as fast as humanly possible with the exact item I need. I’ve been told by shopper-friends it’s best to peruse, and usually you end up finding not what you intended to buy but something else you needed. I could never do that. Walking around looking aimlessly at stuff would make me very antsy and fidgety. Anyways, that’s just me. Online doesn’t entice me either. I would want to see the exact colour and feel the texture of the cloth. Again, that’s just me.

The Simplicity of Custom Made

Tons of Fabric Selection

It’s a One Stop Shop

I believe that measuring my table, going to a fabric store with hundreds of possibilities all in one place, and leaving the store with the exact fabric I want is hundreds of times more pleasing!

How to Make your own Tablecloth

Step One: Measure your Table

Measure your table. My dining room table is rectangular with an option of pulling it into three different sizes. I opted to get fabric for when the table is mid-sized. I measured the length and width of the dining room table which in my case is 87″ x 42″. Having an overhang of the tablecloth on all sides is pretty, so adding inches to your length measurement is important. I went with 94″ for total length. Don’t worry about adding inches to your table’s width measurement since fabrics come in a standard width and will most likely cover your table’s width as is.

Step Two: Select a Fabric

I headed to the fabric store with three pieces of information: length of table, width of table, and a photo of the room. I tackle a fabric store the way I would tackle a grocery store – stay around the perimeters. The stores I’ve been in, have fabric for dressmaking (way beyond my ability level – and honestly I mostly wear sportswear) in the middle of the store on all those round tables. I stay away from that stuff. I go straight to the back of the store where the home decor fabric is located. If you look at the regular home decor fabrics, prices can be astronomical. Forget it.

Basic Rule: there’s always a sale!

Understanding Fabric Store Pricing

Fabric prices are marked on the little labels hanging off the end of the bolts. The prices are marked per meter… $8/m $26/m $4/m and so on. It’s good to have a general idea how many meters your sewing project is going to need in order to know whether you are looking at the right price range. Back to the grocery store analogy… it’s like the produce section… know what $1.99/lb will get you.

Convert measurements to meters

So in my case, my tablecloth’s width will be the fabric’s width, therefore I’m just looking at the length of the material to estimate my cost. The 94″+ measurement of my table equals roughly to 2 1/2 meters. Please consider hemming to eat up another inch or two. I always take a more generous amount of fabric knowing to cut it down to size is easy but enlarging the fabric would be impossible. Now you know your fabric needs in meters.

Sales/Specials/Promotions

The sale fabrics are bolts are laid one on top of the other, usually on large tables at the back of the store. The selection is always awe inspiring! Time to take out my device with my dining room’s photo and start looking at best colour match options.

Choose, Cut and Go!

It’s my first Christmas at home (I think ever. Or maybe it’s just been so long I can’t remember anymore). To celebrate this momentous occasion, I thought I’d make a tablecloth for Christmas. Red should work. I’m not a firetruck red kind of person, but something more on the burgundy/maroon side of red should work. I found a fabric that would look nice in my space, and was astonished to see it was marked down to $4/m. Taking the fabric bolt to the ladies’ cutting table, they cut a 2 1/2 m piece of fabric for me. By the way, the ladies at the cutting table are invaluable! Give them a tiny bit of information regarding your project and they can figure anything out for you! This time around, there was nothing tricky to figure out, so they cut, folded, and handed me a piece of paper to bring to the cash (this reminds me of buying bread in communist USSR – but I digress). The cashier rang up $11 plus change and got in, got out & my mission accomplished!

Step Three: Verify the Sizing with your Table

I threw the fabric loosely over my dining table just to ensure I got it right. In case I flubbed up somewhere along the line, the material might have to be used for something smaller. But I got it right. All was well, the fabric was perfect and now it was time to sew.

Step Four: Obtain Straight Edges

Rarely are the fabric store’s cuts perfectly straight, they just cut a piece of fabric to sell to you. Re-cut the two ends of the fabric, which were cut at the store, to be perfectly straight.

It is our responsibility to ensure the right angles of the piece. In this case, the fabric’s checkerboard pattern makes cutting a straight line easy. Just follow the lines on the fabric on both ends.

Step Five: Hem the Four Edges

Now it’s time to hem the fabric. This fabric is quite thick, so I decided to hem using pins and an iron. I placed pins while pressing with the iron to keep it nicely in place. Pressing with the iron makes the fabric flat and really facilitates sewing.

I sewed the two short sides (width sides) first, while removing the pins as I sewed along the edge. After the short sides were sewn, I went on to finish the two lengths of the fabric. Alternatively, one could sew all four edges going around all sides continuously.

Step Six: Optional Iron

It’s nice to iron the tablecloth as well as all the hems at the end of the project for a nice finish.

While ironing, check for any threads that might need trimming.

Also, check and remove any miscellaneous pins you might have forgotten in the fabric.

“Sewing mends the soul.”

-unknown