Let’s Bring Back the Tablecloth

Article Very Nice. Paper napkins are a more affordable and convenient option than cloth napkins. They are often used in casual dining settings, such as table napkins wholesale fast food restaurants and informal gatherings. Disposable napkins are even more affordable and are often used at outdoor events, such as picnics and barbecues.

From your selection, I would choose Gingham, but in blue.

For the last couple of years I have had a white tablecloth on the kitchen table – where we always eat – every day. The children are 16, 15 and 12 now, the youngest with ADHD. At first, the average lifespan of the white tablecloth was 24 hours. Now one can last up to 5 days. I have several, big and small.
Why white, when it looks so unpractical? Because pure white is easiest to clean. I don’t have to worry about different colours losing their beauty because of bleach (sorry, English is not my first language, I am at loss of proper word at the moment) or sunshine – we don’t own a dryer, I use drying rack or clothesline, depending on the weather. I would love white with some discreet colourful embroidery, but there is the stain removing thing again. I rather buy some more whites from a second-hand-shop and be happy with them… as long someone eating with us likes ketchup.

I just recently purchased some napkins and a runner from this cute start up called Arilloom. Really great quality and their story is so inspiring about the founder and the women weavers and how the company gives back with every purchase. I’ll be going back!

We have a piece of glass on the top of our table, and I always have a tablecloth under the glass! I switch them out for the season, etc. Yes, I know, I don’t like the feel or sound of the glass but it solves so many other issues. And my 20+ year old wooden table still looks- and even smells- like new!

What is the trick to stop a tablecloth from sliding around? We use one to protect our table from two young kids, but it slides all over and has gotten terrible stains. My dream is one that can grip the table and be wiped clean without having to go through the wash.

I have a tablecloth that I have had for over a decade l that I love. It’s just green and white ticking fabric that I got from Joann’s long enough to fit my table. It wasn’t crazy expensive and because it’s a subtle green, it works year-round!

Growing up, my mom had this floral table cloth from her travels that we used all summer, every summer on our patio table. It was also deployed in fort building, as a beach blanket and used as an actual blanket after high school parties more than once. At some point, in my 30s, living far from home, I found a blouse in the same print and color! It was so nostalgic, I bought it on the spot. I showed my whole family, like, guys it’s THE table cloth! No one else remembered it, so then I just had an expensive blouse that looked like a table cloth HA!

A couple of months ago my husband and I bought a very “grown up” table from West Elm and I love it so much. So much that I never let our kids eat on it without a table cloth, lol. I got some beautiful round ones on Etsy and am always looking to thrift more! I agree that it adds so much to the space!

Table clothes are very easy to thrift! I was able to find a white and red gingham one last year right before Christmas but if feels right no matter what the season is.

If you’re ready to bring the tablecloth back, you have to see Sarah Espeute’s work. She makes tablecloths with embroidered place settings, dishes, flowers, etc.. I gasped when I stumbled on one in a store last week — the most beautiful! https://oeuvres-sensibles.fr/product/tablecloth/table-du-potager/

OK, I am nuts about the Zara plaid tablecloth but they’re sold out in the size I’d need. :'( If anyone has a lead on one that looks similar please let me know!

For those of you with little ones (or with people who spill everything like I do), find some waxed cotton tablecloths. Game changer – they wipe clean like vinyl but feel and drape like fabric. All my non-waxed tablecloths have weird stains, but my waxed ones look as good as new after years and years of use.

Tablecloths are my favourite thing to pick up on $1 Day at Goodwill! Instantly changes up the look of the kitchen…and a buck is about all I’m willing to spend these days with a toddler who’s – excuse my bragging – *exceptionally* gifted in spilling spaghetti sauce everywhere but the placemat. :) But if money were no object, DEF the essential cotton tablecloth in sky blue. So beautiful.

Not sure if I’ve seen any other comments about it yet, but I’m loving the little tweaks to the site design! A combo of the old and new — I’m a fan. :)

Bring them back? They never went away. When the cloth goes on the table, that’s when you know it’s a party — even if it’s just Monday night dinner! One of my favorite ways to acquire large cloths for my extended table is to buy wide decorator fabric on sale or close-out prices, then simply hem all edges. The right heavyweight fabric will launder beautifully and get better and better with use.

My mother in law uses tablecloths at their house! We eat on one every Sunday for brunch after church. She switches them out with the seasons, and her fabric napkins often match! It’s very festive. I’d like to invest in one for taking camping. Picnic tables are sometimes gross and unsanitary in public spaces (camping or not), and I would like to find one that doesn’t so much drape, but wrap and hold on to the table to keep it from flying away in the wind. I’m apartment living right now, so no table for a cloth for me and my husband! I’d like to get some placemats for the kitchen bar, though!

A tablecloth hot tip: check your local thrift store! SO many linens end up there after estate sales and such. I found a gorgeous embroidered one to fit my massive dining table for $12.

Use a flannel-backed vinyl/oilcloth under a tablecloth When the inevitable spill happens (wine, gravy, soup…) you can be nonchalant about it, because the tabletop is protected.