Which interfacing for the garden tablecloth?

Hello everyone,

I have a wooden garden table (140 x 100). It’s almost 30 years old, and since my husband is always tinkering on it, it looks pretty worn accordingly. This summer we’d like to sand it down and oil it again.

I’d now like to sew a stretch-fit tablecloth for this table. The wind always blows normal tablecloths off here. The table doesn’t have one continuous tabletop. The surface is made of thick wooden boards, with 1 cm of space between each of them. When there’s a tablecloth on it, you can’t see the gaps and sometimes miss the board. Then the glass wobbles.



To prevent that, I’d like to reinforce the planned fitted tablecloth on the underside with interfacing. My research at Buttinette showed that there are dozens of types of interfacing. So my question to you is:
What is the most stable interfacing? It needs to be iron-on so that it is firmly attached to the tablecloth.

The fabric I chose for the tablecloth is an outdoor fabric made of 100% polyester. It is explicitly recommended for garden tablecloths too. But can you iron fusible interfacing onto a polyester fabric at all, or will the polyester melt???

Or do I then need to use a different kind of interfacing that I just place on the table? I could stick it to the table with double-sided tape. So many questions ... Can anyone help me? Or is there another solution for the “groove problem”?

Thank you very much for your help.

Best wishes, Ina

Back when I still used tablecloths, I always had one of those non-slip tablecloth pads on the tables. You just cut it to fit the shape of the tabletop—it’s a kind of lightly padded rubber material that doesn’t slide around on the tabletop, and the tablecloth doesn’t slide right off either.

If those grooves bother you, just put a solid panel on top—that’ll solve the problem with the grooves. You can still place a blanket like the one Veronika describes underneath and put your nice tablecloth on top. Most importantly, nothing will tip over anymore because it’ll be a smooth surface.

Best regards, Inge

Thank you both for your suggestions. I’ve ordered the fabric for now and will see how sturdy it is. Maybe cardboard will work as a backing…

I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

Best regards, Ina

Hey, if the outdoor fabric isn’t sturdy enough on its own, I’d put some molton underneath. That should cover the ridges; you can find it at butti, and it’s not too expensive. I’m guessing the tablecloth is meant to be laid out during meals rather than constantly covering the nice table. I’d probably make the tablecloth like a fitted sheet with a tunnel for elastic or cord, so nothing blows away. Best regards

I don’t think interfacing is a good idea if the underside is supposed to remain exposed—it’ll definitely get rough. For me, it always has to be sandwiched between two layers of fabric so it’s protected. I’d also prefer to use a layer of molton or another thicker material. Maybe an oilcloth tablecloth underneath would work too—those are nice and stiff, after all.

Thank you both very much. I’ll let you know how I solved the problem. The molton option sounds good to me. I’m also really looking forward to seeing the fabric. You always have to see and feel something like that in person.

  Until the wood is sanded down, the table needs a tablecloth. In any case, it’ll be a tablecloth with an elastic band. It’s often windy where I live, so otherwise the tablecloth would quickly blow off the table.

Best regards, Ina

A molton sheet as a base, stretched out like on a mattress, would definitely work. Then the sewn, stretched tablecloth over it… and perfect!

That’s exactly my plan now, dear Petra.
Thank you all for thinking about my garden table :-)

Best regards, Ina