Patchwork tablecloth how to

June 15, 2025

 




This last month I have been busy having fun in my sewing room making patchwork tablecloths to use for outdoor summer parties. This burst of enthusiasm came about because I'm excited for summer entertaining to begin AND I had a big stash of lovely fabric I had been holding onto for decades. For me, excess fabric and outdoor parties equals patchwork tablecloths!

I used to make quilts and thus had a large stash and over the years I've tried to use it up by making napkins and doll clothes and other small items. Still, there was a lot of stash and since I've made up my mind that everything in my home is going to serve a purpose and not just sit there and waste space, I either had to use it or donate it. I had already cut up quite a bit of it into 6" squares and so decided to cut up a heap more and make a tablecloth. I loved making it and loved the way it looked, and I still had a lot of fabric, so I made a second tablecloth. Two was so pretty but I really needed three! So with some small purchases to augment my dwindling stash, I made a third. Then I thought, why stop there? I should make a rectangle for the outdoor drinks table and with another trip to the fabric store I did just that and finally stopped at four. Phew.  Here's the how to:

But first--a few more beauty shots! Most of my stash is pink and I tried to use the pinks for the three square cloths made for the round tables. I did use all colors but grounded the cloths with making bright pink the main color. I think the random haphazard style mixed with all the colors is visually exciting. I'm so happy with them!




I had greens leftover and thought a rectangular green cloth would be nice for the outdoor drinks table. I did have to augment my stash with 2 bundles from Amazon and I used every last bit.

The green rectangle is 15 x 11 squares and here it is set in the dining room for Father's Day dinner.




Now for the how to:


With a self-healing cutting mat, a rotary cutter and a quilting ruler, I cut 6" squares. You can purchase precut 5" squares but I find these to be expensive. And fyi, a fat quarter is generally 20"x20" and you will easily get nine 6" squares. My fabric sources, besides my stash, was my local fabric store, Needles, which has very high quality cotton with beautiful patterns. My favorite fabric over the years has come from Needles. A much less expensive source is Walmart. They sell fat quarters for about $1 making them very affordable but of course the fabric is generally lower quality and the patterns are hohum. Another inexpensive option is Amazon. I purchased a 7 piece bundle of fat quarters and thought the fabric quality was very good. They have dozens of color options and I would not hesitate to use this Amazon store again. Highly recommended, especially if you don't have a local fabric store and you are looking for specific color families. 

I knew I wanted my tablecloths to be 70" square, the perfect size to cover my outdoor tables white still leaving a nice hang. Since I would have a quarter inch seam, my squares would be 5.5" after sewing, meaning I would need to make my tablecloths 13 squares by 13 squares--169 per tablecloth. I cut a mass, probably 250-300 squares, and this is from my own massive stash. I can't even imagine how this would happen without a rotary cutter. This and a self healing mat is a must have for the sewing room. I loved this well priced set from Amazon. It has everything you need!

After cutting, I stacked them in random order and threaded my machine with a beige thread. I then sewed several dozen squares together, one by one, without lifting my pressure foot, but just feeding the squares without cutting thread. This method is a time saver and a thread saver. I did reverse and backstitch the beginning and end of each square so the stitches would hold. The following pictures show this. After I had a huge string of two squares sewn together, I cut the connecting threads and then sewed two squares to two squares in the same way as above. Then I sewed three of these together and had a 12 square strip so only needed to add one square to make 13. After I had made a few of the 13 piece strips I sewed them together until I had a 13 piece by 13 piece square tablecloth. My fabrics were completely random and I did not worry if two of the same colors were together, but did my very best to make sure the same pattern was not next to each other. Patchwork is random and I confess I love it when it's like that. I did not iron until the very end.


You can see here how the sewn squares were attached and just had to snip the attaching threads with no thread waste.

Lastly, finish the edges with bias tape. I used a combo of Wrights Wide Single Fold Bias Tape and/or Wrights Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape. Both worked equally well and I used them interchangeably. I had a huge amount of both in several shades of white and tans and used them together to go along with the patchwork theme, but the different shades are completely undetectable when the tablecloths are in place. If you don't have a large stash of this particular item (and why would you? why do I?) and you don't have a convenient fabric store, then Amazon is your best bet. Joannes used to by my go-to for this sort of thing but now they have closed. I understand Michaels has purchased Joannes exclusive fabric line and also their yarn, so I imagine they will also be carrying the sewing notions! Thank you Michaels!


Open one side of the bias tape and sew it to the FRONT side, that photo is two above. Next, fold the tape under to the back side. Finally, sew on the front side next to the seam, checking the underside to make sure you are catching the bias tape underneath.

You can see in this picture that I have the same fabrics near each other, but none next to each other.  

In the end, I used up most of my stash, then spent about $40 for specific colors, and ended up with 4 gorgeous cloths I love and cannot wait to use this summer!



And continuing my mission to make sure everything in my house is earning its keep, I found more to declutter. These pieces, as pretty as they are, are not getting used so they must be rehoused. I took this picture to send to family but there were no takers, so I may try to sell these on Facebook Marketplace or just donate. The cake plate in the back right is nice but I have another cake plate and who needs two? I gave it one last use Friday night as I had to make dessert for our second Friday dinner group. I had a bag of coconut I wanted to use up. I bought the bag for Christmas and didn't use it, then thought I would use it at Easter and didn't, so I was determined! I hadn't made a layer cake in decades but knew I still had cake pans. I was so proud of it I had a friend take a picture or me proudly grinning behind it. It was so good but so very dense and rich. My husband loved it and would love me to make it again, but honestly, this puppy easily makes 18 servings, it's that dense and rich. We rarely need that much cake! Here's the recipe for Ina Garten's Coconut Cake. It  says it serves 10-12, don't believe it! 16-18 more likely.



We ate poolside at our friends lovely home. Such a treat to begin summer's outdoor dining!






I don't want to go without shouting a Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers and grandfathers and wonderful supportive father figures. You are appreciated and loved! I'm so blessed to have had and have now, wonderful fathers in my life. Hugs and kisses to you all.

I hope you enjoyed my post and found it helpful and will want to come back! I post about once a week and would be honored if you became a subscriber to the Knitionary blog. If yes, please click here. I won't sell your email so no need to worry about that sort of thing. I honestly wouldn't know how to do that anyway. My posts are usually about knitting but also about my other loves--gardening, crafts and entertaining. Sometimes I use affiliate links in my posts to help offset the costs of running a blog. If you click on an affiliate link and purchase an item, I may earn a little money. If you purchase the item using my affiliate link or not, the price will be the same. Purchasing from my affiliate links adds no cost to you but could put a little money in my pocket. Thank you for supporting the blog. If you'd like to make a comment, please scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply, you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end of my website. 










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Kristen Rettig

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4 Comments

  1. CaroleJune 15, 2025 at 3:02 PM

    You are so clever and so talented. The tablecloths are fun. The cake was beautiful and it was delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristenJune 15, 2025 at 3:17 PM

      Thank you friend. I'm sure you'll see these tablecloths a time or two this summer!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM

    Thank you for these gorgeous photos. Pink and red are my favorite colors so I was in heaven. Glad to know about Michael’s and Jo-Ann. Love your sweater!!! Pattern?? Chloe

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    Replies
    1. KristenJune 15, 2025 at 3:33 PM

      Thank you! Yes, isn't Michaels a life saver? I have one about 10 minutes away so it means a lot to me. As for the pattern, an oldie but goodie. Cool by Kim Hargreaves. I made it 7 years ago and still wear it a dozen times each summer and it's still in good shape. Good old Rowan Cotton Cashmere. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Kristenlynnea/cool

      Delete

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