Table Cloths - old fashioned?

JaneJudge

matalan do seersucker duvet sets and unfortunately I have bought many

I have had seersucker duvet sets from M&S and John Lewis over the years, DH claims the pillowcases are rough so he gets a plain one. I'll look in Matalan. Thank you.

I love them and use them daily have done since we were married in 1977. My mil did use them and I think a meal well cooked deserves a table well set.

We usually eat in the kitchen and don't use a cloth in there.

We have a lovely Danish, teak table that seats 8 in the dining room which I cover with a protector and a cream cloth when we eat in there. At Christmas I cover it with a red sheet.

I have lots of beautifully embroidered ones from my nan and mil but daren't use them and can't bear to through them away.

I have a PVC one for everyday - from Dunelm and a pattern that goes well with the the kitchen. I like it because otherwise dishes and plates make a lot of noise on the stone table.

Pretty ones for Christmas. birthdays and Easter to go with the theme. If GCn are here with friends then a paper one is handy!

I don't feel they are old-fashioned. They add an extra layer of interest and care to the meal.

Napkins however are always paper!

We've got an oak dining table which we bought a few years ago, having given our old Habitat pine table and chairs (bought in 1974) to our daughter. I found a 2mm thick transparent table cover on Ebay that I cut to size to fit the top. It's bombproof! Even the GC's acrylic paints wipe off and the nice thing is you can still see the beautiful wood underneath. Still use table mats for anything hot though.

Each to their iwn but I really dislike oilcloth type table cloths and just use one when the dgc are doing craft.

DH and I always use cotton serviettes when we are on our own or for guests but appropriate paper ones when the family is here.

We always make tea with leaves and I drink mine from a white China mug.

I am turning into my mother, obviously.

My daughter uses tablecloths, she has got my Mothers beautiful linen ones with deep crocheted edging plus some embroidered ones that are all at least 50 years old, probably older.
She also has my Mum's old china cups and saucers that are probably 80 years old. It's lovely to see them being used and her Granny would be so pleased to see her enjoying them. I'm afraid I was a distinct disappointment in that area!

I have always used a tablecloth to protect the table. I bought some lovely floral material and had tablecloth curtains and napkins made. They look so pretty to match the old fashioned dinner service I got from charity shops. The pink champagne glasses candle holders add to the look.
My family say I’m like Mrs Bouquet but I like it especially for a special meal. The dining room is my favourite a lovely meal candlelight sparkling wine lots of chatter makes for a lovely evening.

Table cloths 99% of the time. I love the look of them. We have a few modern ones but most often use the ones embroidered by my ma in law, some are over 60 years old and all seem to be bomb proof. The linen is remarkably easy to iron, easier than many of the modern cloths. The table currently has a cloth embroidered in pinks and mauves with a vase of pink roses on it. Old fashioned? Maybe, but we enjoy seeing the cloths in use.

I like a tablecloth in a restaurant but don't use one at home. I recently cut up a white tablecloth (it had a big yellow stain on it) to make a doctor's outfit for my DGD - it turned out really well.

We have a Scandinavian dining table (beech) which I polish every day after clearing the breakfast. It would be a shame to cover it with a cloth. And no one in the family would understand what it was for.

My mother used to say that you ironed a tablecloth to an "M" and napkins to an "N" shape. Has anyone else heard that?

And I have some plain sheets which I once bought to cover a wallpapering table for when I had a large sit-down dinner party with about 12-14 guests. Much cheaper and no pattern, so you are free to decorate the table in any style or colour. On that occasion, it was a "Thanksgiving" style dinner and I had red sheets and decorated the table in red white and blue.

I remember dying a sheet in light blue for my DS1's Christening,40 years ago, and decorating the table with blue hyacinths.

I have used a PVC/oilcloth since my kids started painting and crafting and still use one now (a new one) for the grandchildren, maybe when they are grown I can ditch it and admire the lovely wood of the table that has been protected for all these years.

We only have one table cloth - I acquired it as part of the package when I married my husband a few years ago now. I hate it and never put it on the table, but he still has an affection for it.

I love linen and cotton tablecloths and napkins and have quite a selection. My daughters and daughter in law borrow them for special occasions. Only I, apparently, can launder them....

I have a table cloth on permanently in the dining room, the table is highly polished and would mark badly if I did not, I also have a plastic, heat resistant cover under the table cloth, I would hate to get the table stained.
Mind you no one ever sees the lovely table, due to the cloth. LOL

Here you can get any amount of tablecloths you want in charity shops, which is a fairly sure indication that they are NOT in fashion.

I no longer use mine, as our current table is used for all sorts of different purposes, being as it is in our kitchen-cum-living-room.

My son and DIL don't use table cloths, but our generation seems still to do so on more formal occasions, like when they invite guests on their birthday. At other times we all tend just to eat in the kitchen with as little fuss and bother as possible.

We don't use serving dishes when we are on our own, but lift our food directly from the pot or frying pan onto our plates.

We have two dining tables which we can put together when we have visitors. They both open out in various ways. I got a very nice king size cotton duvet cover and pillowcases in shades of green. It was nearly new and I got two tablecloths and 8 napkins out of it, for £3.

I love tablecloths! They are an easy way to add seasonal warmth and charm while also bring supremely practical. Newness, that allow for quick machine washing and no ironing, are my favorites.

My dining table has an ancient mark in it from when my father- much to my mom’s chagrin- was gluing a model airplane on top without adequate protection from spills. So tablecloths are necessary as well as decorative.

I have a number of table cloths for special occasions, but the one most used was bought in France and is plastic coated, so is great for messy grandchildren.
I am going to start another thread about napkins.

I somehow managed to inherit an immense white tablecloth that used to grace my paternal granny's huge dining table.
I am sure it could be cut in half and still be usable on two normal dining tables! Or someone could make dozens of white napkins! The problem with such a big item is laundering and Granny must have sent it to a laundry.
The only tablecloth I will keep when I further downsize is a cheerful Austrian one which I bought in Vienna in 1964. Almost an antique!

We have an oak dining table which DH obsesses about getting sun damaged. So we have a table protector AND a pvc cloth for every day.( to be fair table protector saved a whole glass of red wine that was tipped over ?) Only use proper fabric cloths when entertaining! But do like to see them on. Most bought in Italy or Portugal with 12 napkins included! My favourite is a beautiful embroidered one that was less than £10 on eBay that I bought for tea party following DGD’s baptism
DC only use table cloths at Christmas!

As we are meant to be cutting down on water and chemical (detergent) usage and with the spiralling cost of electricity they ought not to be used in restaurants. I am not a fan of extra washing/ironing in the home either so I don’t use one.

I love tablecloths and always have! I have several different ones which I use in accordance with the time of year and the colour of the soft furnishings I swap around (yes I’m that sad!). I think it’s a shame they are no longer so popular-my children have never used them and groan at yet more evidence of mum’s serial decline into old age! I also think it rather nice when tablecloths are used with matching napkins, but disposable ones will suffice (as long as they tone/match, of course!).

I use a tablecloth all the time. Partly to elkeep the table clean but also because the table is past its best and doesn’t look great. It hadn’t occurred to me that they’re old fashioned, but I have 3 DDs and I don’t think any of them use cloths, so maybe they are out of style.

Over the years I have inherited lots of tablecloths, damask, linen, cotton, embroidered, some easy to iron, others a nightmare. I love them all but only use them for high days and holidays, ie Christmas! Some I know were embroidered by my Mum (probably during WW2) but others, I can’t identify. I am a keen patchwork and quilter and have cut and patched some to make blocks which will make a very pretty quilt in due course and will be a lovely momento and maybe more usable than a pile of tablecloths. My family never use cloth tablecloths and I fear they will probably skip everything like this when they (eventually) clear the house, hopefully not for many years though!

I have quite a few white linen table covers with matching napkins. Also a couple of white linen with a very discrete shiny pattern through them. Never used them for about 15 years. They have to go to a laundry after use as too big for me to iron. I do use plastic ones for say GC birthday teas, halloween, when I know there will be a mess. Table mats are so much easier.