This is highly classified, so you have to promise to keep this between us. Promise? Years ago I bought a few meters of this hilarious cowboy fabric because I liked the colours, it was on major clearance (a fabric store was having a going-out-of-business sale) and, well, the cowboy
really looks like my father-in-law. I'm not sure if he'd be amused (I'm thinking no), but I just thought it was so hilarious. Still do, actually. I'd show you a photo of him, but there's no need. He looks
just like this (the biggest cowboy, hat in the air):
For years I haven't known what to do with the fabric, but I'm really getting into tablecloths because teak is a softer, slightly fussier wood and if
one more person sets their drink down
beside their place mat, on to the teak (
argh!) I will scream or cry. So tablecloths are my new best friends.
This fabric was too narrow to just hem the edges and call it a day (darn), so here's the clever way my Mom & I pieced it together:
Cutting out & Piecing Together the Fabric:
We cut the fabric into four quarters, but had to have the fabric pattern direction change to make it work. So, if you're sitting at the table, the tablecloth in front of you is from two pieces and to your right the pattern is right side up. To your left, it is vertical so, to the person beside you, it's the right way up on their right. Make sense?
Here's a sneak peak at the finished product for a sense of orientation, although you can arrange the pattern any way you desire (you could even piece together scraps of different prints):
Making a Fell Seam:
Then we sewed together two quarters and repeated, so we had two halves. Then we sewed the two halves together.
My Mom did a really fancy (to me, anyway) seam so that underneath the tablecloth you don't have a bunch of threads and mess. It is called a "fell seam" and the result looks like the seam along the outside of your jeans.
Here's how:
1. Sew two pieces of fabric together, leaving a generous seam allowance.
2. Once sewn, trim
one layer of fabric after the seam.
3. It should look like this.
4. Fold the longer side in half and use it to cover the cut side.
5. Iron the folded edge over the trimmed edge.
6. Then iron it flat against the fabric.
7. Lastly, sew the folded edge flat onto the fabric.
When it's done, it looks like this:
Hemming with Single Fold Bias Tape:
To make it easier to hem a curve (my tablecloth is round, but you can make a square or rectangular one and use
the mitered corner tutorial), we used single fold bias tape. Iron it, because it will have kinks from the packaging.
1. Pin down one edge, to the right side of the fabric, following the curve.
2. Sew in place.
3. Check to make sure it is sewn down everywhere and it nice and neat (no puckering, etc).
4. Sew all the way around and then overlap the ends.
5. Flip the bias tape to the wrong side (the same action you do to make a regular hem) and iron in place.
6. Sew the bias to the fabric, sewing close to the edge.
And then it looks like this:
Now I have a super funky tablecloth to protect the teak!
Here it is all set and ready for a meal. It looks cute with my turquoise and green pieces:
My dear, sweet mother is going to sew some napkins, too (
using this tutorial) but for now I think these vintage yellow ones look so sweet. The little embroidered flower tones down the cowboy-ness, although I'm not trying to make it more feminine. The feminist in me loves that I'm rocking a fabric likely made for a little boy's room.
And here's my old-lady secret: I use a vinyl table covering underneath the fabric for added protection. Really messy folks (you know who you are) just get the vinyl. . .
