When it comes to interior decoration, tablecloths offer an elegant way to liven up a kitchen or living room while protecting table finishes from stains and scratches. You can buy tablecloths anywhere, but you will have greater personal satisfaction if you make a tablecloth that perfectly matches your style and color and furniture preferences. You will find a large amount of tablecloth fabrics in most home textile stores.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Measure the Table Area and the Footage
Step 1. Use a metal or tailor's tape measure to measure your table surface
Step 2. Determine the length of the fabric you want to hang from the edges of the table
It is called drapery.
Leave a drape of at least 30 cm for an informal dining tablecloth. A formal decor board usually touches the floor
Step 3. Measure the area of your square or rectangular table
Multiply the length of the drapery twice. Add this measurement to the width of the table. Then, add it to the length of the table. Multiply these two sums together.
Use this formula: (length + drape x 2) x (width + drape x 2) = rectangular tablecloth area. Here is an example for a 90cm x 120cm table with a 30cm drape: (90 + (30 x 2)) x (120 + (30 x 2)) = 150cm x 180cm = 27,000 sq cm = 2, 7 square meters
Step 4. Calculate the area of the round tables by determining the radius of the circle
The radius is half the diameter. Add the result to the drapery length you want, square the total (multiply by itself), and then multiply this total by Pi (3, 145).
For example, use this formula: (radius + drapery) squared x 3, 145 = area of the round tablecloth. For a table with a diameter of 120 cm with a drapery of 30 cm: ((60 + 30) x (60 + 30)) x 3,145 = 25,474,5 square cm (2,54 square meters)
Step 5. Determine the amount of fabric required
When measuring in centimeters, divide by 100 to get the required square foot footage.
Method 2 of 2: Create Your Tablecloth
Step 1. Spread the fabric with the wrong side up (the drawn side of the fabric should be facing down) on your table
Cut the fabric to the desired length. It pays to work on a flat work surface.
Step 2. Cut two more panels of the same length
These additional panels ensure that the tablecloth is the same width as the table. Lay out the panels next to the first one. If the fabric is patterned, make sure the design lines up when you pull the pieces of fabric together. Join them together using pins. Make sure the panels are all wrong side up. It should now be the right width for your table.
Step 3. Sew a straight stitch along the pinned edges of the fabric
A straight stitch is the most basic type of seam, made up of stitches of even length in a straight line. Remove the pins as you sew.
Step 4. Flatten the seams by squeezing them under the iron
Step 5. Measure the fabric panels to match the shape of your table
Spread the fabric on the table. Cut it in an even line around the table, at the hem of the desired drape
Step 6. Hem the edges of your homemade tablecloth
- Lay the fabric inside out on a flat surface. Fold the fabric to make a 2.5 cm hem.
- Fold the hem in half so that it is approximately 1.25 cm high.
- Pin all around the hem edge.
