How to Make an Outdoor No Sew Round Tablecloth
How to make an outdoor tablecloth without sewing.
As a blogger I get to take part in many cool opportunities. One that I received recently was becoming a part of the Waverly Inspirations Network
I know you have heard of Waverly fabrics. Well, now they even have ribbon, paint and more that is all affordably sold a Walmart.
Every month I will receive a surprise box filled with Waverly Inspirations products. I will be challenged to create something pretty and useful out of the fabric and items in the box within a given theme each month.
Here is what was in my box this month, the theme is “The Beach”.
I tweaked the theme a tad…and made something with “The Lake” in mind.
A vinyl covered tablecloth complete with weights to hold it in place when the wind starts to blow off the lake along with a pair of tie-on chair cushions, and some napkins. All made using no sew decorating techniques.
When I opened the Waverly Inspirations box that contained red, black and yellow fabrics, I wasn’t sure what to do since they are not colors that would coordinate with my decor, but then I looked out the window and knew exactly where they would coordinate…
…on my neighbors boat. It is the cutest boat on the lake. He took an old pontoon boat and transformed it with his DIY skills into an enclosed cabin boat that resembles a tug boat.
It has a long bench in the stern and a metal cafe table and chairs on the bow. Inside is the helm and more seating.
I knew the anchor and wheel fabric would coordinate perfectly with his boat. He goes out to lunch every day on the boat and frequently takes others with him. A wipeable tablecloth for the cafe table came into my mind. I wanted to keep things simple and decided to make a tablecloth, napkins and..
…tie-on chair cushions without sewing a stitch.
All are so easy to make.
How to Make a No Sew Round Table Tablecloth
To make the easy to make no sew decor projects I gathered a few of my no sew tools.
- Pinking Shears – the easiest way to create a no sew hem on fabric.
- Fabric Glue – Using an iron and fabric glue creates a hem that looks just like a sewn one.
- Safety Pins – My go-to for covering cushions.
- Large Grommets + Hammer – create a finished metal edged hole that makes it easy to attach straps, curtain rings, and more.
How to Make an Outdoor No Sew Waterproof Round Tablecloth with Weights
All the items I used to make the no sew projects were bought at Walmart.
1. I wrote about how to make a round tablecloth in a previous post. You can find the tutorial here: How to Make a Round Tablecloth
Wash and dry fabric to allow for shrinkage before cutting. Cut the fabric to size. Use regular scissors if covering the cloth with vinyl.
You will use the pinking shears after you add the vinyl. Use pinking shears if you are not covering it with vinyl since this will be your final cut hem for the cloth.
2. After I had the fabric for the tablecloth cut to the right size, I fused iron-on gloss vinyl to it.
3. To attach it to the fabric, you simply cut the vinyl to the length you need. Remove the paper backing and place the sticky side of the vinyl face down on the right side of the fabric.
Press with your hands to get it into place. Place paper backing over it with the shiny side of the paper face down.
Use a medium dry iron over the paper until the vinyl fuses. It takes a couple of seconds, then move all around until all the vinyl is fused.
If you need more than one length of vinyl to cover the size of your cloth, you can overlap the vinyl slightly.
For my round tablecloth, I ran one width of the vinyl over the middle section of the tablecloth and then added two more pieces to each side. I overlapped them slightly.
Once you press them, they fuse into the fabric and the seams flatten. Two side seams creates a seam free center and will make your cloth look better.
Cut along the edge of the fused fabric with pinking shears to create a finished edge and remove any excess vinyl.
How to Make Tablecloth Weights
supplies needed:
- Large grommets
- Grommet tool and hammer
- Scissors
- 3/4 ounce Steel Bass Casting Sinkers – found in the fishing rod aisle. I needed 8.
- 3 rolls of Ribbon
- 3/16 cotton cable cord
- Cut a small hole in fabric where you want the center of the grommet to be. Insert the deep half of the grommet into the fabric from the right side.
- On the wrong side of the fabric, place the short grommet with the small spikes over the long ended grommet that has been pushed through the hole.
- Place and center the bottom grommet over the base part of the grommet tool.
- On a very solid surface. (I used my concrete garage floor.) Use a hammer and the stud end of the grommet tool to attach the grommet. It will need a few very strong strikes with the hammer so that the stem of the deeper half of the grommet rolls over the edge of the short grommet until closed and the two are melded together.
How to Make Weighted Ribbon Tassels
- Cut three different colors of ribbon 12-inches long. Thread all three through a grommet that is attached to the fabric. String a sinker weight onto a 12-inch long piece of cable cord. Center it and then wrap the ends of the cord around the ribbon to create a tassel.
2. Double knot the cord in the back. This will keep the ribbons in place.
3. I don’t have a photo of this, but to help keep the cotton cord from unraveling, Dip the ends of the cord into fabric glue. This will keep them from unraveling. Once the glue is dry you can cut the ends where the glue is. If using nylon cord, you can melt the ends with the tip of a just-burnt-out match.
Variation: The fishing line sinkers can also be:
- sewn on
- attached with an earring wire
- attached with a paper clip
How to Make No Sew Fabric Napkins
supplies needed:
- Fat quarter of fabric
- Pinking Shears
Fat quarters are pre-cut fabric that is used by quilters and crafters for small projects. They measure 18 x 24 inches and are the perfect size to use to make napkins.
All you have to do is press to remove the folded creases and then trim the edges with a pair of pinking shears.
To learn more no-sew decorating techniques, check out my No-Sew Decorating Project Gallery.
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