I’ve a confession to make: I’m a Marimekko addict! A trip to Finland is incomplete unless I have at least one Marimekko item packed in my suitcase home. Sometimes I behave and only leave the shop with a packet of Unikko napkins, but, more often than not, it takes a bit more to satiate my hunger for their delicious prints. The last time it was this beautiful Kranssi print that just couldn’t be left in the store. But, hey, I really needed a tablecloth with a bit of punch. The table and chairs came with the apartment, but I wasn’t very keen on them. I made the slips for the chairs last summer with cheap fabric I bought in Ikea that I dyed in the washing machine. They just needed a bold print to accompany them. A double fold hem (speeded up with a nifty bit of card as a guide) and a lot of pressing later and I was delighted with my updated dining area. Simples.
Materials
- Fabric – 2.5m for 2m table
- Rotary cutter and mat
- Matching thread
- Pins
- Card
- Scissors
- Iron and ironing board
Tablecloth Hem: How To
- Trim fabric to correct size using a rotary cutter, ensuring all edges are straight. Allow hang of approximately 25cm from edge of table. I didn’t trim the selvedge (although recommended), as this would be hidden in the allowance.
- Cut a piece of card 1.25cm wide.
- Using the piece of card as a guide, fold over the allowance and press. Continue all the way around the fabric.
- Fold over the fabric a second time and continue all the way around again. Now you have a double fold.
- Then it’s time to create a mitred corner. Unfold the fabric at the corner and fold straight across, matching up the creases.
- Trim the excess along the points where the first two squares meet (red line in photo).
- Refold along the creases to form the point and pin in place.
- Top-stitch close to the edge of the fabric to keep the hem in place, pivoting between where the two sides meet to form a sharp point on the corners.
ticktacktwine 