How to Make a Circular Tablecloth

Cover a round table with a circular tablecloth to protect the table and add color and décor to a room. Whether the table is a small occasional table or a large dining table, making a tablecloth is not a difficult project. By measuring first, calculating your fabric and then piecing the fabric together to make the tablecloth, you will have an attractive tablecloth for your round table.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Iron
• Fabric pen

1. Measure the diameter of the table and determine how far down you want the tablecloth to extend from the sides of the table. Some circular tablecloths extend all the way down to the floor and others extend approximately 10 inches from the top of the table. Double this extending amount, add it to the table diameter and add an additional inch for seam allowance. For example, if the table is 50 inches in diameter and you want the tablecloth to extend 10 inches on each side, you would double 10 to get 20. You would then add 50, 20 and 1 to get a total size of 71 inches. To make the tablecloth, you will need two 71-inch lengths of fabric (because you will need to piece it due to the fabric being narrower than 71 inches). For this example, you would purchase four yards of fabric.

2. Lay the fabric out on a work surface and cut two pieces of fabric the length you determined in Step 1 (71 inches in this example). Cut one fabric piece in half along the length so that you now have three pieces of fabric all the same length.

3. Place the large fabric piece on the work surface with the correct side facing up. Lay one smaller fabric piece on top of the large piece with the wrong side facing up. Match up the long edges and pin to secure. Sew this seam using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Repeat with the other smaller fabric piece on the other long edge of the large fabric piece so that all three fabric pieces are attached with the large piece in the center. Iron the seams open and flat.

4. Fold the sewn fabric in half lengthwise. Place a pin at the center point on the fold to mark this point.

5. Divide your measurement from Step 1 in half (for our example, 71 divided by 2 is 35.5). Mark this point on the tape measure and place the zero end of the tape measure at the center-point pin.

6. Extend the tape measure out from the center point, and use the fabric pen to mark the measurement from Step 5 around in a half-circle on the fabric. Pin the fabric layers to make sure they do not move and carefully cut along the line drawn with the fabric pen.

7. Iron under 1/4-inch around the entire outer edge. Then iron under another 1/4 inch and sew around the entire edge along the fold to hem the tablecloth.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase an extra 1/4 yard of fabric if you will be laundering the tablecloth. Prewash the fabric before making the tablecloth to avoid any shrinkage after sewing. Purchase an additional yard of fabric if you need to match a pattern when sewing the seams.

References

• Round Tablecloth