Making of table Linen and Napkins
Simple linen or cotton tablecloths can be made up with any number of different finishes: bold, bound edges; fine, hand-rolled hems; a simple, top stitched double hem. Trim them with applique ribbons or lace, cording, drawn thread work or embroidery. Napkins should have a simple finish that will withstand repeated laundering. Cotton blended with polyester makes a good easy-care cloth. Fabrics that are woven with no distortion of the lengthwise and crosswise grain (so they run at right angles to each other) are easier to cut out and to handle. Follow a thread when cutting out and marking hem lines.
For a richly padded, floor-length circular cloth, careful measurement and cutting is essential. The cloth may be lined and interlined, with a thickly padded or faced hem.
TABLECLOTH & NAPKINS
Decide on the finished size for the tablecloth and add a suitable allowance for the seam. For a bound hem, no allowance is needed; for a rolled hem, 6 mm (t in); for a double hem, anything from 2 cm to 20 cm. Cut out a panel of fabric for the cloth, ensuring the corners are exact right angles. (Use the side and end of a table as a guide when cutting out.)
Flat fell seams are used to join any widths of fabric. 1 For a bound edge, cut bias strips of fabric twice the depth of the finished binding with 6 mm (t in) turnings down each long edge. Press under the turnings and fold the binding in half, right side out. Attach the binding by hand or machine, easing around corners. For a rolled hem, make a stitching 6 mm from of the fabric. Roll the edge between the thumb and fore fin as you stitch the hem with you.
For a double hem, turn un the hem, trimming away corners for a smooth finish. To be mitred, or finished with wove Stitch the hem by machine, inner edge of the hem. You zigzag stitch over the folded hem, or stitch from the right zigzag stitch, applying Cut out a panel of fabric for the cloth, ensuring the corners are exact right angles. (Use the side and end of a table as a guide when cutting out.) Flat fell seams are used to join any widths of fabric. For a bound edge, cut bias strips of fabric twice the depth of the finished binding with 6 mm turnings down each long edge. Press under the turnings and fold the binding in half, right side out. Attach the binding by hand or machine, easing around corners. For a rolled hem, make a line of machine stitching 6 mm from the raw edge of the fabric.
Roll the edge of the fabric between the thumb and forefinger of one hand as you stitch the hem with your other hand. For a double hem, turn it under the depth of the hem, trimming away fabric at the corners for a smooth finish. (The corners may be mitred, or finished with overlapping hems.) Stitch the hem by machine, close to the folded inner edge of the hem. You can also use a zigzag stitch over the folded inner edge of the hem, or stitch from the right side with a zigzag stitch, applying cording along the line of stitching.
Decide on suitable dimensions for the napkins. For maximum use of fabric, cut an exact number of napkins (say three or four) across the width of the fabric. Use one of the methods described for finishing table cloths to neaten the edges of the napkins. Cut enough widths of fabric to make a square with each side the same measurement at the diameter of the fabric required for the cloth. In most cases you will have to join widths of fabric. Position a full width of fabric down the center of the cloth and join strip to each selvedge to make up the width, stitching the pattern carefully by slip-tacking, if necessary.
Fold the fabric to quarters, wrong side out, and lay it on a carpeted floor. To make a paper pattern, take a square of paper the size of the folded fabric. Use a drawing pin (thumb tack) to hold a string at the center of the paper in the corner of the fold, and tie a pencil to the other end of the string so that you can mark the radius of the paper pattern (including earn allowance). Pin the pattern to the layers of fabric, draw a pencil line along the curve and tack just inside the line. Cut out through all layers at once. With thick pile or flippery fabrics, cut through, only two layer at a time.