Make a no-sew tablecloth

Discovering that my tablecloth had been decimated by fishmoths, I needed an urgent replacement for Christmas lunch. Not wanting to face the mad shoppers doing their last minute rush for gifts, I remembered a piece of fabric left over from one of our projects and, since there wasn't enough time to dig out the sewing machine - I frayed the edges to make a fringe.

 

 

I have made plenty of placemats over the years where the edges are frayed rather than sewn, and it's a quick and easy way to give fabric a dressy edge without using a sewing machine. Cut the fabric to size, with straight edges. Starting at one end of the fabric, pull out individual threads.

If the individual threads come away easily, you can remove multiple threads at the same time. Too many threads at one time and the threads will 'lock' and be difficult to remove.

As you reach the end you will find that the individual threads easily pull away from the main fabric. You can repeat the process of pulling away threads to fray the edges until you have a nice tassled edge. Bear in mind that you can only do this with woven fabrics.