Skirted Table.

As I mentioned here, I have been getting some DIY projects done lately. Again, thanks to Pinterest, I have so many projects that the list feels thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssssssssssss long. But that's ok. I love a good project. And with the arrival of football season (and therefore a husband who is WAY preoccupied), I have much more time to devote to them! Anyway, here is what I wanted:

Here.

Here.

Here.

Yep! A lovely skirted table. Per usual, instead of buying one, I decided to try to make one myself. Let's take a trip down memory lane and remember this piece of furniture.

I actually got it last February and DIYed a greek key pattern onto it. I really like how the pattern turned out... but the open shelving wasn't working for me anymore. We really need something that we can throw our crap in but still looks clean. Enter the table skirt!

I used the remnants of the drop cloth from my message board project. I was really planning on busting out the sewing machine, but I realized the edges of the drop cloth were already hemmed, so I kinda got out of using it!

Soooo, I started measuring. Now- to be clear- I had NO idea what I was doing. I just knew I wanted something clean looking (two pleats, not ruffled)... so I really just played with it. I measured a piece that would wrap the entire way around the table and left (what I thought) was enough room for pleats in the front so I could lift up the skirt (sounds funny) and access the shelves.

So I measured.

And measured.

Then, I took the piece of fabric and placed it around the table and created the first pleat. Really, all I did was try a series of folds until I got it to lay right. Then, I pinned it in place.

Then, I went to create the second pleat. It was about that time I realized the fabric was not going to be long enough to wrap the entire way around. I decided not to freak out because the table sits up against a wall... whateva.

This is how the top looked after I had all the pleats created and pinned in place. Yes, I know. Scary.



So, I realized it would be easier for me to just hand stitch the pleats in place as they were on the table. Here you can see my (not neat and professional) stitches. 





This picture makes me laugh. You can see where I ran out of fabric. And since it couldn't be attached to each other, I just kinda reinforced it by stitching one side to the other. R.I.G.G.E.D.

So now, all I needed was the top piece that would hide my awful looking stitches, rig job, etc. Enter the hemming tape!

I measured the top, cut a piece of dropcloth with about an inch to spare on each side and used the hemming tape to create nice-looking hems.

Then, I used the hemming tape again to attach the top piece to the bottom!



So, here it is... "done".................. It was definitely missing something.

Soooo, I used the same idea from my message board project and added nailheads!

Here it is in process with the inspiration in the background. An added bonus- I am no longer worried about having to adjust the table skirt if it shifts... that sucker is on there for life! (Side note- the Hubs was able to 'oversee' the nailhead process while on the couch watching football. Don't worry- he did point out that my nailheads were not 100% straight) Oh wells.



And here is the finished product!!

You might fear that there is too much nailhead/dropcloth happening. But, this table sits in the landing right as you walk in the Chouse. The place where the message board is far enough away that it's not NH/DC deja vu. I might add some sort of trim  later, but overall I'm really, really happy with it! What do ya'll think??

xoxo, Emily