Colorful, casual, and altogether charming, this vintage-style tablecloth is ideal for outdoor entertaining. As Martha demonstrates, it's also easy and inexpensive to make, requiring only bandanas and a few basic sewing supplies. Although she alternates two patterns to create a checkerboard look, you can use this technique to create virtually any design you like. In addition, you can construct a runner, sewing the bandanas together, end to end, until they cover the length of your table.
Making a Bandana TableclothTape measurePrewashed bandanasPinsThreadSewing pencilScissors
1. Measure your table to determine how many bandanas you'll need (Martha uses fifteen 22-inch squares for a 35-by-71-inch picnic table, with a row of three for the width and a row of five for the length). Pin bandanas, right sides together, to create the width. (Martha doesn't want the existing border around the bandana to show, so she uses the edge of the pattern as a guide for the pins). Once pinned, the pattern of each bandana should be flush with another.
2. Machine-sew the bandanas together, then iron the seams flat. Attach the strip of bandanas, pinning them, right sides together, side by side. (Again, Martha uses the edge of the bandana pattern as a guide.) Machine-sew them together, and iron the seams flat. Repeat process for remaining panels.
3. Create the hem, using a mitered-corner technique: Fold a double hem, iron, and unfold, making sure the bandana is topside down and each corner is a 90-degree angle. Fold in half diagonally to make a 45-degree angle, and using a sewing pencil, draw a line perpendicular to the fold. Start from the edge of the pattern closet to the corner, and continue to the first crease of the ironed hemline. Sew along line, then cut off excess fabric beyond the stitch line. Turn inside out, repeat with remaining corners, and sew the hem