Laminated cotton tablecloth tutorial

Yes, my first ever tutorial.

I had the brainwave to do this last evening after I had made my own tablecloth from various tips and tricks floating around on other DIY sites, blogs, etc., but really in the end used my own method for making it.

I came home last evening from my final of three shifts quite tired. On work days my alarm goes off at 5:20am, and though I return home at a very reasonable 4:00pm, the shifts are often very, very busy - especially when you're short staffed, the only nurse for over 30 residents, and dodging swinging fists all day. BUT, it's all par for the course in this field, and I am just thankful I actually have work (LPNs are facing zero jobs in the Fraser Valley right now).
That all being said, I got home, relished the hugs and kisses I received from little newly-shorn Hudson, ordered a giant salad from Boston Pizza, and made a nice butt groove in the couch for an hour or so. And then I got a little restless. I had done workouts five days already that week, and was already feeling like my body needed a rest, so that was out. I considered folding laundry, but instantly kiboshed that idea after realizing I had finally put the last sock in it's place from the previous pile up a couple of days ago. And then I remembered that I received some awesome cotton laminate fabric in the mail last week to make some placemats, and right away hopped online to find a tutorial.
After searching around for the perfect tutorial, I came across a few tablecloth inspirations that made me change my mind. I loved the idea of having a bright, fun table cloth covering the whole table instead of just a few easily-hidden placemats. I discovered that I had purchased just the right amount of fabric to cover our table, and went in search of a DIY for the project. But like I previously mentioned, all the tutorials either were not clear, or involved things like bias tape or other materials that I didn't have on hand. I found one very helpful resource for sewing with cotton laminate fabric, so I used some of the tips from there, and decided I would just go with a method I have done a thousand times before - cutting fabric to desired size, and hemming the sides. THAT'S IT!

First let's discuss cotton laminate. It is probably exactly what you think it is. It is a quilting weight cotton, covered on one side with a type of plastic. It is not the same as oilcloth, which is thicker and less pliable, and saturated in all kinds of chemicals (or so I've heard...I've never actually used the stuff before). My resource for the fabric I got was an etsy store called Laminates. Here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Laminates. It can be kind of expensive, but I only needed 1 1/4 yards, so I got a super cute tablecloth that took me less than an hour to make for under $25! It has lots of potential for sewing projects...rain coats, diaper covers, and change pads to name a few. And now that I know it's decently easy to sew with, I can imagine I'll be tackling something else with it in the future.

So (sew)...let's get going.

Supplies:
-Cotton laminate fabric (the amount will depend on the size of table you're covering. My 44x44" square table required 1 1/4 yard of fabric (though as I was cutting it, I realized she had sent me a little extra). The width of this fabric is 56", so for a standard oval or rectangular table that would seat 4-6 people, 2 1/4 yards would likely be enough)
-Thread (regular polyester thread...but still make sure it's good quality)
-Paper clips
-Walking foot for sewing machine (note: if you sew with knits, plan to sew with knits, or do any quilting, go out and get one of these feet! Seriously, just go find one and slap it on your machine! You will use it over and over and over...). If you don't have one or can't find one (though it should be pretty easy), there is apparently a a few tricks you can use with household items, found here:
http://www.sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/successful-sewing-laminated-cottons-and-other-sticky-stuff
-Sewing needle, size 12 or 14. I accidentally had a ballpoint needle in my machine when I sewed this, but it seemed to work out ok. You should probably use a universal one though!

1) Cut your fabric to desired size. You want an overhang of at least 5 inches on the sides, so keep that into account when you're cutting. My piece of fabric was 54x56" when I received it, so all I had to do was cut off the 1" selvages to make it a perfect square. You should also cut off the selvages, which are borders on two edges of your fabric that are a different material than the fabric, and often have the name of the designer and collection written on them, or have small holes along the edge.

In most of these pics I am not using laminate. I didn't get the idea until after I had finished, so obviously no pics were taking during the making of it. You'll get the gist, though!

2) Turn fabric so the wrong side is facing up. Turn up one edge of your fabric by 1/2" and pin in place. Oh, did I say pin? I actually meant PAPERCLIP. Yep, get out those paperclips, any size or variety, and secure your entire edge in place with those. You don't want to use pins like on a hem using quilting cotton because they will make holes all along your fabric that will be very visible. Also, you'll note that I'm not double turning my hem like I normally would - but that's because you won't be putting this in the washer or dryer (just wipe clean!!), and even if you did, the inner edge would not fray. You could actually just cut it and forget this whole hemming nonsense if you wanted to...but if you're anything like me, I can't stand unfinished edges. I hem every last one of my knit garments, even though I don't have to. It's a thing.

 

Even my shorn sheep brought his snack over to come help me with the paperclipping!

 

3) Sewing time! I only did one edge at a time, but I'm sure if you had enough paperclips (I didn't), you could fold over all the edges first. Many hemming tutorials will say to sew very closely along the inner edge of the hem - but I do mine a little differently, with the same results. Since you can clearly see a hem from the outside, I always follow the OUTside edge of the fabric, keeping it in line with the markings on my sewing machine. Since I made a 1/2" fold on this hem, I sewed at 3/8". Also - I did not have any lime green thread on hand, so I used turquoise to coordinate with some of the flower details, but it's always a good idea to have thread that matches your fabric really well. Remembering to backstitch at the start and end of every seam, sew down each side of your table cloth. You may have to adjust tensions to find exactly what will work for your specific machine. I found that the stitches seemed a little loose at first, so I had to adjust the tension, but also lower the stitch length to about 2 instead of 2.5.
Also - since you won't be able to iron your hem down before paperclipping (ironing plastic is almost never a good idea), you may feel like it will be a bulky, bunchy hem - but as soon as it gets under that sewing machine foot, it will sew down nice and flat.

 

Here is the hem from the inside. It may be a little uneven, but it will look perfect from the outside if you follow your machine markings!

 

This is what the corner looks like from the outside.

And that's it! Super easy, right? Right? It brightens up the room AND is so perfectly functional when those jam-covered hands decide to attack the kitchen table. Now to just dress up that white jug with the awesome red billy balls that I ordered today!

 

The aforementioned billy balls.