Q and A: Lamianted Cotton Tablecloths

A table should be pretty even when you live in a construction zone!

Q:  Does the laminated cotton work as well for a table cloth as the oil cloth? Where is the laminated cotton made? Which would you recommend for a dining room table?

A:  I am sitting at my dining room table right now and it's covered with the apple chevron laminated cotton. I've totally switched to laminated cotton for my personal use. Most of the fabric is wider -- 56" wide-- so I don't have to piece it together. That's a time saver!!

Everyone of my laminated tablecloths has lasted just as long as my oilcloths. The wipe up well and are just as water resistant as oilcloth. The nice thing is that they don't have that PVC smell. Laminate is covered with a PUL coating not PVC.

The fabric companies are importing it in from Korea.

Hope this helps,
 Kelly

Q & A: How thick is oilcloth?

Have you ever wondered how thick oilcloth is? Well, recently a customer asked me to show her just that. Here's a little show and tell, it's thinner than a dime!

Q & A: Threads

Photo Credit: Martha Bernabe

From time to time I get some really great questions! Here is another good one from Rosies!

Question: What type of thread do you suggest for laminated cotton? Oilcloth? (and chalk cloth)

Answer: Any old all-purpose thread that you have laying around will work. If you're going out to buy new thread for your project, I recommend that you go with Gutterman. Coats and Clark is fine, but if you sew for a living (like all day, everyday), I have found that Coats and Clark can make your machine a little linty. Sometimes the color and the price of Coats and Clark is just too good to pass up though, so I'll get that in a pinch.

Happy Sewing!!!

Q & A: Covering chair cushions with laminated cotton

Question: I am considering re-doing some old chairs that currently have oilcloth on their seats. They would be used in a very active kitchen (which includes three kids). How would cotton laminate hold up as opposed to oilcloth?

Kelly: While laminated cotton is not as thick as oilcloth, I do think that it will work. It's thin and supple, but it's still strong. I think it would last longer than if you were to use a medium weight cotton fabric.

If I were to try this, I would add a layer of fusible interfacing. I've had some luck using fusible Heat Bond on the back of laminated cotton. You need to use a dry iron, set on medium heat, and be sure to use a press cloth or the laminate will melt!! The interfacing would increase the longevity of the cotton laminate for use as seat cushions.

Oilcloth is a great fabric for covering seats, but laminated cottons have a different design aesthetic and compliment certain decors better than the kitschy oilcloth prints.

photo credit Prudent Baby

I am a big fan of going with the unexpected when it comes to easy projects like seat covers, and I like to change things every couple of years. I don't think you'd be unhappy if you used the laminated cotton.

Check out this fun bath bench from the brilliantly talented Prudent Baby gals! I'll email them and see how this cute bench has held up and report back to you all ASAP!

Q & A; chalk vs. chalk marker

Recently, I received a great question concerning what works best on chalk cloth, chalk sticks or chalk makers? I just had to share my answer with you all. (BTW, we now have chalk markers in the shop)

The question was...Can you use only traditional sticks of chalk or are those chalk markers used on menu boards safe as well?

The answer is... both are great on chalk cloth! First you need to cure your chalk cloth and then you are good to go.

I prefer the chalk sticks for everyday use. We homeschool our kids so I use our chalk cloth board daily, I use regular chalk for lessons. But I like using the markers/pens for more long lasting applications, such as my chalk cloth labels and Mason Jars.

Note: The chalk cloth markers can require a bit of elbow grease to get off the chalk cloth if the writing has been on there for a while. I think it is worth the extra effort!

Got a question? Bring it on!

Q and A

Question Number One: Tablecloths

Hello there,

I live in NYC & have my first ever outdoor space (yea!). I'm trying to make the space hip & beautiful while budget conscious so am thinking of a folding table (the space is quite small) with an oil cloth table cloth. The table I think I'll get is 37" by 37", and I can't figure out what size of oilcloth I would need to order. I love many of them, but if I have to pick only one it may be Modern Silver Lace Oilcloth. I look forward to hearing back. Have a great day and thanks for your fun store!

Miss A,

Answer:

Congrats! An outside space is a good thing no matter where you live.

Oilcloth makes a terrific and budget friendly solution. Oilcloth has been adorning tables for over a century. You can hem it or leave the edge raw since it will not fray. Our grandmothers used to head down to the 5 and 10 or local hardware store and have a piece cut so they could come home and slap it on the table and call it pretty. It has always been a low cost option for protecting a nice table or covering up a bad one.

The lace oilcloth has a repeat pattern, so buying it a little longer than you need it will be very helpful. The lace print has a lovely medallion shape that runs down the center of the print. This medallion is spaced out every 17 1/2 inches in the center.

The fabric is 47 inches wide so if you go for a 47 inch square you would need to get 2 yards. Since your table will likely be a 37 inch square your tablecloth will end up having a 5 inch drop on all four sides. By buying the two yards you ensure you can get the most out of your oilcloth and ou will be happy to have the extra. You can use the extra for tons of things, something like lining some old metal trays and use them for serving your first al fresco meal.

I hope this helps!

Kelly