I feel the need to preface this post right away by saying that I am a terrible seamstress! I am a novice; I went through a sewing phase in high school, it all got put on hold in college, I forgot everything I knew and I have only just picked it back up within the past few months. I know enough to sew a straight line and hem some pants and that’s about it. So, the fact that I undertook the project of sewing a tablecloth is a lot more of a challenge than it may seem. This is also important, because this is not a tutorial post. This is simply me sharing my experience. I made a lot of mistakes on this tablecloth. It has at least 3 more seams than it needed, I’m not even joking! However, I feel like it is important to share my imperfect experiences just as much as my successful ones so that we can go through this journey towards simplification together.
I love fall. I love everything about it. I shamelessly enjoy all things pumpkin flavored, I cook with apples and squash and cranberries like its the only food in the world, and I love enjoying fall decorations. I could go on Pinterest for hours looking at pumpkin decor, fall table settings, and arrangements of beautifully preserved leaves. That being said, because I am usually very strict about not spending money on superficial or purely decorative things I don’t often post about home décor related items, because I don’t often make new decorations. I decided I would really like to spruce up our patio and decorate it for fall so we could enjoy the mild fall weather. We have a hand-me-down table and chairs and two seat cushions that were given to us when we got married and they are great, but the table has a hole in it that is meant for an umbrella so I prefer to keep in covered.
In a flash of creativity a few weeks ago I decided that a burlap tablecloth would be perfect. It would be cute yet rustic looking and perfect for fall, while also being heavy and sturdy enough to take being outside through the changing seasons. Perfect! The only problem was that the cheapest one I could find online was almost $30! No thank you! So, I decided I could make one myself. When you add up the diameter of the table and the height of both sides I needed a total of about 94 inches of fabric, and because I knew I would make mistakes and need extra, I got about 4.5 yards of burlap from Joann’s for $10 and I was off. Here’s what I did:
Step one:
Fold fabric in half so that it is half of the intended length (47 inches), then cut it into two pieces.
Step two:
Cut one of those pieces in half again, ending up with one wide piece and two narrow pieces. (The only problem was that I folded it the wrong way without realizing it so I ended up with 5 pieces instead of 3… attention to detail is not my specialty)
Step Three:
After sewing the pieces together that I mistakenly cut apart I sewed the two narrower strips onto the sides of the wider strip, creating a square (with an extra seam down the middle, exactly what one wants to avoid)
Step Four:
Fold your tablecloth twice to create a small square, then take a cloth tape measure and measure half of your intended length (for me it was 47 inches) and anchoring it at the top use it to draw an arc at the bottom of your square and cut.
I did not hem the tablecloth because it was going outside and I didn’t care about it that much, but you certainly can. Here it a picture of the finished product:
As you can see it has a hem straight across the top… If you fold your fabric the right direction in the beginning you can avoid this. Aside from that mistake I really like the way this turned out! It only took me about an hour and it saved me at least $20. All in all a very simple and enjoyable DIY project! Maybe next time I make a table cloth I will make fewer mistakes… maybe!
