An eclectic garden table cloth

14th March



We climbed the 334 steps of the belfy

and heard the bell chime.
We had to wear ear plugs though!

Having had a glorious day out in London yesterday, after leaving our county in thickish fog and arriving at the capital in blazing sunshine,  the family and I had the greatest of treats.   We were in London to climb Big Ben, standing behind the iconic clock faces, it was one of the most surreal and amazing experiences.  Unfortunately we were not allowed any cameras or phones with us, so we
will have to cherish the views and sights in our minds.  It was therefore a shock to drive back home late last night, leaving London in warmth and clear skies to turn off the motorway near home and be submerged it what is probably one of the worst fog driving conditions I have been in for many a year.  My son, sitting in the front with me said it felt very eerie and quite scary, we could not even see the white lines ahead  of us in the middle of the road.  However we arrived home safely and collapsed happily into a deep slumber.

This morning the fog had still not lifted but a huge headache had descended upon me, dehydration from yesterday or the effort at having to really concentrate on driving and bringing the children home safely, who knows.  I had no choice but to work my morning hours by which time I had already cancelled the afternoon events, but of course my headache had shifted to only a dull ache.  So with this unexpected time, what did I do?  The neglected housework, paper work, Spring cleaning (my windows are filthy) or the much needed de cluttering?  No of course not!  I set about making...

Inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee last Tuesday, I was reminded of a seam that I have not used for years and wanted to have a play.  I decided when looking at my material stash and limited time to 'make' today, that perhaps a garden table cloth, to complement my Attic 24 cushion.  Of course, that meant it needed to be colourful, rather eclectic and a tad out of the ordinary.  I think I may be able to tick all those boxes looking at the finished result.  The seam in question... the flat fell seam. 


An eclectic table cloth!

Having chosen three different patterned materials, I decided the table cloth should be in three panels made up of two of the materials and the third should be used for the bias binding edging.  To make the flat fell seam, I put the WRONG sides of the material together, this is counter intuitive as usually when sewing one has the right sides together! I like to work as quickly as possible and as this was a table cloth and not an item for wearing, I did not pin or tack in place!

Once I had a straight seam, I cut back one edge of the material close to the seam line, being careful  not to cut the other edge piece.  This is to remove the bulk of the material and allows the seam to sit flat.  Important for the table cloth as I would not want any precious wine to be spilt from a glass due to the seam being bulky and wobbling said glass!!

Once one edge was cut away, it is very important not to skip the ironing stage, as this helps the seam to sit flat.  Here I needed to iron the larger seam edge over the cut edge, to conceal it.  At the same time, tucking in the the larger edge to hide its raw edge!  Can you follow that?

Here you can see the larger seam edge has been ironed and turned under to cover any raw edges.

I was trying to show the before and after sewing the second seam for the flat fell seam.  Where the larger edge seam was tucked under, it is here that the second straight seam needs to be sewn.

Using the third piece of material, I made my own bias binding.  Again this was a completely contrasting material, but in an 'eclectic' wacky way, I think it matches?!?

For once, I was good and ironed and pinned the bias binding in place, to ensure that everything that needed to be sewn together was not omitted!  I always find sewing bias quite a chore and it is one of my least favourite things to do, but the end result is worth it.

Corners are always tricky with bias, so extra pins and holding in place is a requirement.

As it is Friday and the sun eventually burnt through the thick fog that we had all day, it meant I could lay the garden table for a decadent 'snack' time for when the children came home from school.    They appreciated it and we have begun our weekend full of smiles and full tummies!

I think the table cloth and cushion complement each other, don't you?

 

♥Have a wonderful weekend where ever you are♥