This Re-imagine & Renovate project not only showcases a new fabric spin on an existing project, it also features step-by-step notes to create a variation on the corner accent treatment, and it emphasizes a great idea from the original tutorial: two layers. There’s a plain fringed underlay with a bright, patterned overlay. By making the underlay from a neutral fabric (we used an off-white linen) in a simple fringed design, you can reuse it over and over with new overlays. It’s a fast way to change out the look of your tabletop to match the season or a holiday celebration. Plus, the narrower overlay can be made from standard width fabrics. We added a set of matching napkins in the same fabric as the corner accents. 

Our tablecloth overlay was made to fit the same 97″ x 40″ table we used for the original project. The instructions (see the link below) show you how to figure your own custom sizing for both the fringed underlay as well as the overlay. As you can see from the photo above, the overlay is designed to fit flat on the tabletop, with just a bit of reveal all around. The triangle accents drop over each corner.

All the dimensions are under your control, so you could certainly go wider and deeper. Just realize that if you go too much wider, you will need to seam together panels in order to go beyond a standard 44-45” fabric width quilting cotton. If you make this choice, check out our tutorial about how to seam together large panels so they look great and seam visibility is minimized: Joining Fabric Widths to Make an Extra Wide Panel.

For our base panel, we originally used 2¾ yards of Flea Market Fancy Legacy in Bouquet Gray.

For the four accent corners and four matching napkins, we originally used 1½ yards of Flea Market Fancy Legacy in Medallion Orange.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. The corner drops were done using a standard quilting technique.
2. Cut the base tablecloth panels as a full piece; in other words, do not notch out the corners.
3. From the accent fabric cut FOUR 10” x 10” squares.
4. Place one square in one corner of the tablecloth, right sides together. The raw outside edges of both layers should be flush.
5. Using a clear ruler and marking pen or pencil, draw a diagonal line across the accent square, from corner to corner.
   
6. Stitch along the marked line.
   
7. Using a clear ruler and rotary cutter, trim away the lower corner of the square (through both layers), ⅜” from the seam.
   
8. Fold the triangle down into place and press the seam allowance toward the accent triangle.
   
9. Flip over the fabric and topstitch ¼” from the seam line within the accent triangle. We used a contrasting gray thread against our mostly orange fabric to match with the gray of the main panel.
   
10. Repeat to create the accent drop triangle in the remaining three corners.
11. Hem the entire panel with a ¾” double turn hem with neat corners.
    
12. Edgestitch the hem in place all around.
    
13. If you are new to hemming or these clever corners, check out these two tutorials:
    How to Make a Narrow Hem with a Neat Corner
    How to Make a Simple Hem
14. The set of matching napkins are made using the same hemming technique but with a simple ¼” double turn hem.
    

To create your own tablecloth overlay and matching napkins go to the original tutorials for more details:

Fringed Tablecloth and Overlay

Easy, Single Layer Napkins

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Debbie Guild