A Little Tutorial

Finally!  After mishaps, bad math, speeding tickets, broken down cars, and blogger not working for the last two days, I have finished this project and am ready to unveil it.

It all started about a week ago.  I was looking at pretty pictures on blogs, as I am wont to do.  I saw this pretty apron,   click here and I thought to myself, "I want to make a tablecloth!!!"  I know, scary isn't it?  That's what it's like inside of my mind.

So I set about the adventure to make a pretty tablecloth.

It looks like this.

And this is how I did it:

Measure your table to determine how much fabric you need. My table is 68” long and 40” wide. I decided I wanted a fair amount of drape on the sides, so 3 yards of the main color fabric. The fabric I chose was 45” wide, so I purchased 6 yards of the main color. I will cut this into 3 pieces and sew them together to make a piece that is about 89” wide.

For the ruffles strips you will need roughly twice as many inches as the circumference of the main fabric. My fabric is 394 inches around (108 + 108 +89 + 89=394). I chose 3 different fabrics for the ruffles. Again, the fabric is 45” wide, so you need enough strips to get 788”. From 2 ½ yards you can cut about 18 – 5” strips. But because at the fabric store they usually cut the fabric crooked, plan on getting a little less. I purchased 2 ½ yards of two different fabrics. The third fabric I purchased 1 ½ yards and cut 3” strips.

First, wash, dry, and iron your fabrics. Take your main color and fold in half cross-wise and then cut into two 45 inch by 3 yard pieces. Take one piece, fold in half lengthwise and cut it in half. I forgot to take a picture of this. Pin the narrow pieces, right sides together, on either side of the main piece, and sew along long edges. Set aside.

Next, mark and cut your ruffle fabrics into strips. Sew the strips of each separate color together to make three very long stips. Using pinking shears really does help to prevent the fabric from fraying.

Now, sew a narrow hem into one long edge of each 5” strip.

Run a basting stitch at 5/8” along the top long edge of the 5” strips.

Sew a narrow hem in both long edges of the 3” strip. Then run a basting stitch in it as well.

Now comes the fun part. Draw up the thread in each strip to gather the ruffle. You want the final product to be the same circumference as the main color fabric piece.

Pin the bottom ruffle right sides together, raw edges even, to the main color. Sew in place.

Now pin the second ruffle, right sides together with the main fabric, about 2” above the first ruffle. Sew in place.

Iron the ruffle down.

Next, take the third ruffle and pin it in place over the top edge of the second ruffle.

Now go have a pretty dinner outside!

I have to run to pick up a rental car with DH.  My family is coming in tomorrow - this part is good!!  But we need a car to pick them up from the airport.  I am going to take a week off of the internet while my brothers and I see what kind of trouble we can get into.  I'll re-read this later to make sure it makes sense.  If you try this and you have questions for me, shoot them my way:)

Have a wonderful week!