Table cloth tops

I found an incredible hand-embroidered, vintage table cloth in an op shop for just $8. It got me thinking – there’s a lot of beautiful old linen out there, with amazing craftsmanship, going unused and unappreciated. Ironically, I would never put this tablecloth on my table in case someone spilled something on it 🙂

I ended up making two tops from it that I hoped would show off the beautiful needlework that someone put in to it. My teenager has claimed the first one in pics (because the second one doesn’t fit her!)

This naturally set off a mini-obsession with making table cloth tops. If you have – or find – a table cloth you would rather show off than keep hidden in the drawer, here’s a really simple way to turn it into a top:

measure your table cloth for top-suitability

The smallest table cloth that I’ve made this work with is 75cm x 75cm square. This makes a top that can fit a AU size 6 – 12. The tablecloth in this tutorial is 80cm square and cost me $4 from Vinnies.

Create a neck hole

Iron the table cloth and fold into quarters. In the corner that is the centre of the fabric, mark a quarter circle. I made this with a 7.5cm radius, which makes a 15cm neck hole.

Hem the neck

I overlocked around the neck opening first, doing my best not to cut more than the tiniest sliver of fabric with the overlocker blade. You don’t need to do this, it just find it helps with getting a smoother hem by reinforcing the fabric. I then folded the overlocked edge over twice and sewed it in place.

create the sleeve

Now you’ve got a hemmed neck hole, put your head through the hole so the table cloth corner forms a ‘V’ on your front and back. Using a mirror, find the best place to join the front and back together so it fits you comfortably, and use a safety pin to make the spot. After that, it’s just a matter of making sure you have the same spot on the left and right sides and doing a few stitches on the sewing machine to secure your new sleeve holes.

wear it with pride!

This one is small and I am old so I would wear a cami or singlet top under it, or wear it over a sleeveless dress or bathers for a bit of shoulder protection. I love how the embroidery and cut outs seem to be perfectly designed to be shown off as a neck line.