How to make your own ruffly table skirt for under $10! I've had several inquiries from this post asking how I made this table skirt, so here's a quick tutorial!
And as a bonus, because this is made completely of plastic, it's weather-ready for outdoor events and easily wiped down (or hosed down in the back yard!). You could even hang it up in the shower for it's original purpose after the party was over...hmmm...why not?
On to the tutorial.
Your supply list:
- 54"x102" plastic table covers in your color scheme ($.97 at Walmart) for the ruffles
- One white vinyl shower curtain (mine was 70"x72" - bought at Walmart for $2.38) or you can use a flat bed sheet, an existing table cloth, or a curtain panel. My first thought was to use a white plastic table cover, but I'm afraid it's too thin and will tear and bunch up when sewing on the ruffles.
- Sewing machine + thread
- Scissors + ruler
First, make a plan.
Width of ruffled section
My supply list calls for a shower curtain that is only 70" wide. If your table is wider, you'll need to adjust by sewing two curtains together to achieve your desired length.
Height of ruffled section
If you're covering a standard height table, plan to make the ruffly part about 28" to 30" to just hit the floor. If you're covering a counter height table, plan for about 36". Best bet? Measure your table.
Take your table measurement and divide that by the number of ruffly layers you desire. So for me, I took 30" (table height) divided by 6 (colored ruffle sections) to get 5".
Now, add a couple inches for overlap and error (5" + 2" = 7") and you have your measurement to cut your strips.
Measure and mark your shower curtain where you intend to sew (every 5" in my example) from the bottom, up. I didn't do this step and you can see my ruffles start heading uphill on the right. Don't do as I did... :)
Cutting the strips
I cut my strips on the long edge of the plastic table covers, so they were 7" x 102". Cut three strips for each ruffle. So, for my 6 ruffles, I cut 18 strips. Each ruffle will require about 2.5 strips to cover the 70" width of the shower curtain.
Making the strips ruffly
Enter sewing machine. Set your stitch length to the longest possible. Adjust tension to achieve the ruffle you like. Run each strip through your machine with about a half inch seam allowance. I noticed each strip ruffled up a bit differently, but don't be alarmed, you won't notice once it's all assembled.
Assembling the skirt
Start from the bottom and work your way up. So for me, that was the purple ruffle. It is not difficult to sew it up, rather it is a bit unwieldy. Make sure you have plenty of room around and behind your machine. You'll need it. As you add more ruffles, you'll have to roll up the excess to help guide it through your machine. Take your time and adjust as you go along.
Then hang it up and admire your work. You can really see my uphill to the right in this pic. Take the extra 5 minutes and mark some lines on your shower curtain to avoid this rookie mistake. ;)
A cheap, but very high-impact, party decoration for less than $10. And I had plenty of strips left over to make a coordinating poof to decorate the front door!
Let me know if you have any questions!
linking here.
