Custom Tablecloth for the Pool

Hey there! I don’t know about you, but we have been enjoying our neighborhood pool as much as possible this summer. Our kids love to go swimming! We stay for several hours at a time and often have lunch or dinner right there, then go back to swim. One thing, I don’t appreciate though is how dirty those outdoor tables get. And with little ones, they tend to spill food on the table and pick it right back up to eat it. I used to carry cleaning solution in a spray bottle and paper towels and would wipe down the tables, but then I got tired of having to bring cleaning supplies. And even then, I still didn’t want them to eat anything that might get on the table. So I came up with the idea that has made my life a little easier….

I came across these plastic tablecloths at Wal Mart for like $3! Sorry, I really thought the picture was better quality.

Our pool tables already have umbrellas so I had to modify it a bit (this way we were not pulling the umbrella off and putting it back in, so here is what I did…

First, I folded the tablecloth in half while inside out.

Then I folded it again.

I used a sharpie to place a dot in order to mark the center.

Then I took a large spool of yarn, centered it over the dot and traced around it.

Hey! No one said it had to be perfect! As you can tell, the sharpie didn’t work here so I opted for a blue pen.

Then, I used one of the creases as a guide and cut a line all the way to the center circle.

After that I used my surger in order to seal the edges so they wouldn’t fray.

Here is a close-up.

I already had orange ribbon left over from another project so I cut and sewed 6 pieces of ribbon to the tablecloth in order to tie the edges together so they wouldn’t come apart in the wind or by a kiddo tugging at it. You can also see my little helper’s feet below.

Here is a close-up of the ribbon (sewn from underneath the tablecloth).

They tied up nicely. Please note, you have to make sure they are sewn evenly apart so they match up. I also used clear tacky glue I had on hand in order to seal the edges of the ribbons so they wouldn’t fray.

Here is another close-up of the ribbons tied together. It’s a pretty close seam.

Here is one of the tables at our pool.

This is what it looks like with the tablecloth on it. Perfect fit!

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I keep the seam to the back so it is not so noticeable.

And I tuck in the bows so the kiddos are tempted to tug on them.

If anything falls on the table I won’t feel so paranoid and all I need to do it wipe it down when I get home, fold it back up and it’s ready for the next time we go to the pool. This took me only 20 minutes to make and I am not even an experienced seamstress (but thanks to my mother-in-law I can do little things like this!). This is simple and easy and really anyone can do this. One thing to remember is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. You just gotta keep practicing.

Let me know what you think!

Your Latina,

Yami