How to Make a Holiday Tablecloth

Tablecloths are a fairly easy sewing project, but they can really add a festive look to your kitchen or dining room. Many fabric stores carry holiday fabric throughout the year, with a larger selection in the fall and winter. You can often find elegant solid colors in the home decor section, and holiday novelty prints in the calicos and cottons section. For an extra festive look, you may want to add holiday trim around the lower edge of the tablecloth, or make matching napkins.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• Holiday fabric
• Matching thread
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Sewing machine

Measure for a Holiday Tablecloth

1. Measure the width and length of your table. If your table is oval shaped, measure the widest and longest parts of the table.

2. Decide how much you want your holiday tablecloth to hang over the edge of the table. You may want a long drop for a formal tablecloth (or to cover more of the table), or a shorter drop for a more casual table.

3. Double the amount of drop you want on each side. Add this amount to your table measurements. For example, if you want the tablecloth to hang over 6 inches on each side, you’ll need to add 12 inches to the length and width of the table.

4. Add an extra 2 inches to each measurement for hems.

5. Calculate how much fabric you’ll need. You may be able to find holiday fabrics that are wide enough in the home decor section, but for most holiday prints you’ll need to sew several pieces together. For example, to make a tablecloth 60 inches wide by 80 inches long from 45-inch-wide fabric, you’ll need two pieces of fabric, each 2 1/4 yards long, or 4 1/2 yards.

6. Pick out holiday fabric in the color and style you want. You may want to buy fabric that’s machine washable to make it easier to clean up after holiday spills. Unless the fabric is dry-clean only, wash, dry and iron the fabric before making the tablecloth.

Make a Holiday Tablecloth

7. Cut the fabric the length and width you want the tablecloth (using the results of Section 1, Step 4). If you need to sew two pieces of holiday fabric together to make the tablecloth wide enough, divide the width you want the tablecloth to be in half, then add 1/2 inch. Cut two pieces this size, then cut one of the pieces in half lengthwise.

8. Place the pieces of the tablecloth, right sides together, with the widest piece in the middle. Pin the pieces together, then sew them together using 1/4 inch seam allowance. Press the seam allowance open.

9. Round off the corners of the fabric for an oval or circular table. Use the method described in the Resource section, or put the tablecloth on the table and mark how much you need to trim from each corner with pins.

10. Hem the tablecloth by folding the edges over 1/2 inch toward the wrong side of the fabric. Press the fold, then fold it over another 1/2 inch, and press it again. Stitch the along folded edges using matching thread.

11. Add holiday trim, if desired, to the lower edge of the tablecloth.

Tips & Warnings

• For a rounded tablecloth, you may want to use 1/4-inch hems to make the folding easier.
• If you want to make a no-sew holiday tablecloth, you can use a strip of fusible web to hold the hems in place.
• Use caution when working with scissors, pins, irons and sewing machines.

Resources

• Tips for making rounded tablecloths