How to Make a Fitted Card Table Cover

Make a fitted card table cover for every holiday.

In addition to the intended purpose of providing a surface for various card or board games, card tables are often used for extra seating during holiday meals or at parties. To keep your card table looking good, make a fitted card table cover that stays snugly in place for each season or any occasion. You can change the look of your card table as often as you'd like. Use seasonal or holiday fabrics for family get-togethers or character prints for a child's party. Camouflage a worn or damaged tabletop with a custom-fit machine-washable card table cover.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric, washed and ironed
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Single-fold bias tape
• Pins
• Iron
• 1/4-inch elastic
• Safety pin

Instructions

1. Lay the fabric with the backside up on a clean floor or other large, flat surface and place the card table upside-down on the fabric.

2. Draw a line around the card table on the back of the fabric 3 inches from the edges of the table, using a pencil, and cut on the line with scissors.

3. Fold one end of the bias tape over 1/2 inch, wrong sides together. Start with the folded end in the middle of a side and pin one edge of the bias tape to the raw edge of the table cover fabric, right sides together. Pin the bias tape around the perimeter of the table cover.

4. Cut the bias tape 1/2 inch beyond where it meets the beginning and fold that end over, as well. Sew the bias tape to the table cover with a 1/4-inch seam, using the sewing machine and thread.

5. Fold the bias tape to the backside of the table cover neatly at the seam, wrong sides together, and press. Distribute the fullness at each corner evenly.

6. Sew the loose edge of the bias tape to the table cover to form a casing. Create small tucks, if necessary, to work in the fullness at the corners.

7. Insert the safety pin into one end of the elastic. Thread the elastic through the opening where the bias tape ends meet and work it through the casing until it re-emerges.

8. Stand the card table up. Put the cover on the card table and pull both ends of the elastic to get a snug fit. Tie the elastic ends together in a secure knot and trim.

Tips & Warnings

• Use vinyl-coated fabric to make a fitted card table cover that wipes clean with a damp cloth.