Patriotic Bandana Tablecloth

This was supposed to be a post showing you a fabulously finished patriotic tablecloth.  Instead, I am posting about exactly 1 half of a fabulous patriotic tablecloth.  My sewing machine and I have some issues--mainly I'm mechanically challenged and little things like changing thread and bobbins slow me down.  I'm sure (once my husband gets home and shows me what I am doing wrong) it will be finished in no time, but I didn't want to wait any longer to blog this, in case you are inspired to make one of your own in time for the 4th.  It's looking cute, isn't it?

This actually wasn't really my idea.  I had seen fun things done with bandanas around blogland, but it was my friend Shellie that was inspired by this fun post to organize a tablecloth making party.  She ordered enough bandanas for four tablecloths, and was generous enough to wash them (separated by color, incase of bleeding) and bring them to our little craft night at my friend, Jackie's house.

Jackie did the most difficult part, which is ironing them, after they have been washed.  Be warned, we discovered that they don't always hold their shape really well after washing.  Not every bandana is exactly the same size.  So if you are that kind of a perfectionist, this project might drive you batty.  You can see in this close-up, that I was able to line-up some of the corners just right, while others overlap.

If it turns out very uneven around the edges, you might want to consider hemming the entire thing, although, I think the uneven look is kind of adding to the rustic charm of the whole thing.

All in all, not too difficult of a project, if you know how to turn on and thread a sewing machine (unlike some of us)--lots of straight lines!  If you are still recovering from pregnancy brain, be prepared for it to take you a long time to figure out your layout and make sure you are sewing the right things together--especially if you are busy chatting with the girls about unrelated subjects, like this cute guy who has turned quite smiley--all of a sudden.

Don't you love it!

Anyway, hopefully I'll get another post up when it is completed and ironed.  Do let me know if you make one!

FYI:

We made ours 3 squares by 6 squares.  You might adjust that for the table you will be using.

I don't know where Shellie bought the bandanas (Shellie, are you reading this?  Can you tell me?), but she didn't buy the very cheapest ones.  They seemed too flimsy.  These were a step up.  Buying in bulk, like we did, would probably save you money, at least on shipping.

UPDATE: The bandana tablecloth was completed shortly after this post. 

To see the finished result go here!