The Tablecloth Dress

This dress was the last one I made in the “Mia needs work clothes fast” collection. I had bought this pattern right before the pandemic hit. It is a new pattern, with a 2020 copyright. I mention that because, like 2020, this pattern was complicated and stressful! It looks simple enough, and it was for me, BUT if you don’t already have a lot of sewing experience, the directions will confuse you! Through most of this project I kept saying I was going to send Simplicity a strongly worded email, but I didn’t.

You’ve all been warned about this pattern if you attempt it for yourself, so let’s get to the sew!

Since Mia would be wearing this to work I decided not to use the pockets. Without them, the basic form of the dress was simple and cute. As to what fabric I would use, I decided that I wanted a homespun feel to this dress. Then I remembered an old table cloth that I had. I retired it because it was a new tablecloth, and I now have a large collection of vintage tablecloths. I didn’t want to just throw it away, so I saved it in my sewing room to see if I could someday reuse it.

If Mammy could make Scarlett O’Hara a dress out of curtains, I could make one out of a table cloth! After all, Mia is living in Georgia, time to get inspired by Gone With The Wind!

Just for fun, here’s a selfie I took in an antique store while I was in Georgia. It’s me and a portrait of Ashley Wilkes….If it was Rhett, I would have bought it! And that is exactly what my disappointed face is saying!

The day had come for this tablecloth to be reborn! Here it is living it’s simple life as a table cloth. Time to rip it off the table with the same enthusiasm as Scarlett ripping curtains out of a window!

First I seam ripped out the hem around the tablecloth. I needed every inch of this fabric for this pattern. This must be what Mammy did too. 😉

There wasn’t enough fabric in the table cloth for the length that I needed for this dress. I didn’t mind because the dress shown on the front is shown with two fabrics. Now I needed to find a second fabric that would mesh well with the table cloth.

Good thing I have this bin that is full of old wool skirts! I had bought the skirts at a second hand store a few years back for $1 each. I knew someday I would put them to use! Now, for one of them, their time had come!

I picked this one out. The colors in it complimented the colors in the tablecloth. I carefully took it apart at the seams. I wanted to make sure I was getting ever bit of needed fabric out of this too! Of course I saved the button.

I love up-cycling!

Sewing the tucks and the tie back onto the upper front.

Attaching the bias tape edging.

Top stitching the top and the bottom of the dress together.

AND it worked!

I love the way it looks with tights and boots! Mia is ready for Fall!

Keeping an eye out for Rhett….never Ashley.

Mia said she got more compliments on this dress than any I had made before. Everyone was surprised to find it had started out as a tablecloth.

It was challenging and fun to figure out how to make it work, using up-cycled fabric. Now Mia really has a one of a kind original. Not only that, but she has what I consider to be her own, ‘Gone With The Wind’, up-cycled dress.

Just what every girl in Georgia needs.

As for me, onto the next!