Pretty Patchwork tablecloth

This weekend we celebrated Aria's birthday with her actual party (delayed so her friends could attend). At the skating ring, Aria won the skate race! Then we returned home to enjoy cake and ice cream over some pretty new patchwork...



Practical patchwork tablecloths - ah, another handy excuse to add fabric to your life!  I'm not one to use table linens day-to-day, but it adds a nicely festive air to a party or holiday meal, don't you think? And, if you use an overcast stitch, all that patchwork has nicely bound raw edges that machine wash nicely without lining or backing the work.



I sourced these saturated red and royal blue fabrics from Ruth's shop, Sew Love Fabrics. This color combo is Aria's favorite, and, though not one I'm normally drawn to, it does have a very cheerful, birthday-ish vibe. I mixed gorgeous blue quilting cottons from Amy Butler's Cameo with a home dec Innocent Crush, a velveteen Innocent Crush and two red prints from recently-released Gypsy Girl.

And, by the way, everything in Sew Love Fabrics' sale section is 30% off.  Might be a good time for some pre-holiday shopping...



My tablecloth pattern was designed to accentuate the color contrast.  I love how it turned out!



The velveteen has such a luxurious hand.  You really have to feel it to understand!  Aria, who has always been fond of silk, appreciates the tactile addition.

After washing it though, I must report that some of the velveteen strips unraveled in spots at the seams.  Don't worry.  I repaired them this morning!  Still, the velveteen was challenging to piece and seems to be the cause of some puffy seams.  I'd steer away from piecing with velveteen, personally, and use it for more whole-cloth or apparel purposes instead.  But then, I've had other bad experiences when combining different substrates for patchwork, so I might be jumping to conclusions.  The home dec and quilting cottons do seem to work well together!

  

My tablecloth is designed for a rectangular table with 8-seats.  This is our everyday table, which we leave "extended" all the time.  Never hurts to have that table space!



For the skirt, I used Kona Pacific and Kona Marine.  I love how the color deepens towards the hem.  It looks even nicer in person!  I'm telling you, it's pretty hard to photograph a tablecloth.  Even harder than a quilt - serious!

Question:  Would anyone be interested in the pattern?  I'd like to add more patterns to my little shop and a tablecloth might be a useful addition.   I could have it ready next week, so you could sew it up for December holiday parties.  And, I'd include a shorter design for 6-seat rectangular tables.  Well, let me know if you're interested.  Thanks!