Make the seasons brighter with this DIY tablecloth

During the holidays, gathering around a season-themed table is a wonderful way to create lifelong memories. For a finishing touch to any festive tablescape, create a captivating tablecloth to highlight the season, a holiday or any motif you choose — with the bonus of protecting your table.

In our easy-to-follow tutorial, we use a cloth napkin with autumn leaves. No matter what design you choose for your tablecloth, it will look lovely if you pair it with the right base. Try pulling a color from the napkin design when selecting the base fabric's color. Make one for every season, or go for a more universal design to use at your next dinner party.

Materials
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter
- Ruler
- Several cloth napkins
- Disappearing ink pen or fabric marking pen
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Fabric scissors
- Thread snips (optional)
- Fabric or plain tablecloth

Instructions
1. Fold a napkin into quarters, and cut strips from it. The motif or design on the napkin will determine the width of the strip. The tutorial uses 6-inch-wide strips.

2. Outline a pattern across the length of the strip. Put a ruler at the desired width. The tutorial uses the 3-inch mark.

3. Use a fabric marker or disappearing ink to trace around any motif that you wish to use on the tablecloth that appears above this line.

4. Before cutting anything, pin the strip along the edge of the tablecloth, matching up the corners.

5. Use a straight stitch to sew the bottom edge of the napkin to the tablecloth. Put the seam 1/8 inch from the edge of the tablecloth.

6. Using a zigzag stitch, sew along the outline around the napkin motif.

7. Remove any excess napkin fabric along the sewn outline using scissors first, followed by a thread snip for detailed work.

8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 until both side edges of the tablecloth are lined with the napkin motif.