4th of July Bandanna Tablecloth

This 4th of July Bandanna Tablecloth took me a year to finish. Not because it was hard to do. No, it is easy to make, which is part of its charm. It took a year to make because not all bandannas are made the same. They may be created by the same company, all marked as the same size, bought at the same store, at the same time and still be different sizes.

Completely different sizes.

But it is sort of my fault. I suspected I should order nicer quality bandannas online. But two things got in my way. One, I am cheap. I had a coupon for our local craft store. Two, I wanted to make this in time to post if for 4th of July last year, and didn’t have enough time to wait for shipping. After I washed and dried them, ironed them and laid them on top of each other, I learned the awful truth. They were not just a little different in size, they were a lot different in size.

But this year, I had time to cut things down to size.

Literally.

I folded the bandannas in fourths, measured from the center and cut them to a uniform size.

It really didn’t take so long. I might have been able to finish it last year, if I had thought it through. At the moment all I thought was agghhhh!

If you buy quality bandannas, you have the benefit of sewing them together and not having to worry about any unfinished edges because the edges are already finished. If you go cheapo and fasto like me, just zigzag or serge the pieces together.

To make the tablecloth I made 4 rows of three bandannas in this pattern:

R W B

B R W

W B R

R W B

Once the rows were finished, I sewed the rows together, matching seams. Actually, my seams don’t match so well. Even after tidying up for size on these bad boys, they were still a little off. One of my art teachers taught me that artists and creators never make a mistake. They just make design changes. So I made a design change that gives this a more homespun look. That homespun look is intentional. That is my design story and I am sticking to it.

This would make a great quilt with a denim backing for a real American cowboy look. I would love to make one in muted reds and blues for an Americana look too. I found this idea at Me and My Insanity. Really you could use any color to fit your decor and it would make a great looking table cover for picnics.

I had fun making this and hope you will have fun making your own ~~mistakes~~ homespun tablecloth. Since making this I have found these bandannas at Tan’s Club that are much more uniform in size, although not exact and they are at nice price.

This Pin Rocks!