No-Fly-Away Shower CurtainTablecloth from This Present Life

Every Spring I have high expectations of turning my backyard into the kind of outdoor living space you would see in Better Homes and Gardens. And every Spring I fall short of that goal (way short...like I don't even get started). However, this year I vowed it would be different. 

So I picked up this little table at Target for $34.

Then I went in search of a cute tablecloth to add some fun color. I caught a glimpse of the shower curtain aisle and I thought to myself, "what if I used a plastic shower curtain instead? It's plastic, it can handle being outside, and surely there will be more designs to choose from." I was SO excited when I found this shower curtain!



This was exactly the fun punch of color I was hoping for! I was thinking about what I would place on top of the table to weigh down the tablecloth so it wouldn't fly away. Then I thought, "what if I sew elastic around the bottom so it would keep itself in place without the need for something to weigh it down." It's sort of like a shower curtain cap for your table. See, genius, right? So I got to work.

My table has a diameter of 28". I decided to add 12" to the diameter, making my tablecloth diameter 40".

Here's where you need to recall your high school geometry. Remember, the diameter is the measurement across the whole circle. The radius is the measurement from the center of the circle to the outside of the circle. This is the measurement you will need. For a 40" diameter, the radius is 20" (this seemed a lot harder in high school).

• Now that you have that measurement, you need to tie a string to a pen or marker leaving 20" (or whatever your radius is) of slack. 

• Lay out your shower curtain on a large table or the floor. It would be easier if you have someone to help you with this next step or you can just sort of wing it (like I did). 

• Now, hold the end of your string with one hand and keeping the string tight, draw your circle. 

Make sure you like the image that will be the center because that's what will show up on your table top.

Next I pinned about 1 1/2" casing around the entire tablecloth (no longer a shower curtain!). I'm sure if you're an expert sewer and you see my pinning job you'll be horrified, but I had never tried to sew around a circle before. And truly, this project is very forgiving so it doesn't really matter how sloppy the sewing job is.

• Make sure when you're sewing that you leave an opening to feed your elastic through. I cut a "V" to make it easier to access the casing. Now just feed it through your sewing machine like any other project.

• Finally, it's time to feed your elastic through the casing. I started with a 3/8" elastic (because that's what I had) that was 72" in length. It's better to start with way more elastic than you will use so you can feed it all the way through and then pull it to the desired length. Pin one end of your elastic with a safety pin and begin feeding it through the "V" you've cut in your casing. 

• Once you've fed it all the way through to the other side, begin pulling your elastic and scrunching up your tablecloth to get the desired form. It really will look like a giant shower cap. Once you have the desired form, pin the 2 ends of the elastic together and do a dry run fitting on your table to make sure it fits properly. Once you have the right fit, cut off your extra elastic (I cut off 35") and sew the 2 ends together. Here's what mine looked like after I was finished with my elastic.

And here's what it looks like on my table...


So cute, right!?! It's sooooo much cuter than the plastic tablecloth I ALMOST settled for. And the best part is I don't have to keep anything on the table to weigh it down because it's not going anywhere!

I absolutely LOVE how this project turned out! Now I'm more motivated than ever to make my backyard oasis a reality! Stay tuned for more progress...Better Homes and Gardens, here I come!

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To see more of Rebecca's fun projects, visit This Present Life.

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