How to Make a Fitted Table Cloth

Picnic and patio tables are often used daily in summer, and they can get stained and scuffed from tough family use. A tablecloth will cover these flaws and is an easy solution to decorating for parties and dinners. Regular tablecloths have a tendency blow away in a stray breeze, but a fitted cloth will stay put. A round, fitted tablecloth is made to your table's exact size with an elastic edge that stretches to fit over the table rim, then snaps back to snugly hold the cloth onto the table.

Instructions

1

Measure across your round table, adding five inches to the measurement. This will be the width of your tablecloth fabric. Divide this total in half.

2

Fold your fabric in half horizontally. Fold in half again vertically. You will have a four-layer square of fabric. Lay the folded fabric on your work surface, with the corner of all of the folds at the bottom left.

3

Cut a piece of string the length of your divided total from Step 1. Tie your marking pencil to one end of the string. Push the point of a pushpin through the other end of the string and then through the exact corner of your fabric at the bottom left. Stretch out the string out to its full length and draw a quarter circle, beginning at the upper left of the fabric and swinging around and down to the lower right. Keep the pencil at the exact end of the string at all times.

4

Keep the fabric folded and cut along the pencil line you just marked. This will give you a perfect circle for your tablecloth.

5

Fold a quarter-inch edge of the fabric toward the wrong side of the fabric. Pin this fold in place all around the tablecloth circle. Stitch this fold securely, sewing right along the fold line.

6

Fold the fabric back again, making a half-inch fold. Pin this fold in place and sew directly on top of the first stitching line. Stop sewing when you are two inches from where you began the stitch. This will create a casing around the outside of your tablecloth.

7

Measure around the edge, or circumference, of your table. Subtract two inches from this measurement. Cut a piece of quarter-inch elastic to this measurement. Stick a large safety pin through one end of the elastic and close the pin. Use the pin to thread the elastic through the casing you created on the outside edge of the cloth. Start by pulling the pin through the two-inch space you made in Step 6. Push the pin through the entire casing, pulling the elastic behind it, until you reach the opening again. Pull the pin out of the opening.

8

Overlap the two ends of the elastic by one inch and sew over these ends three or four times to secure them together. Pull on the tablecloth edges to even out the fabric over the elastic. Pull the cloth over your table and allow the elastic to gather the fabric edges underneath.