Table Cloths - old fashioned?

aggie

Old thread , but still interesting , I craft on my oak table and use a wipeable tablecloth .
I have a Christmas one , a spring one , the summer one is still on and I think I like it best as it is light coloured and brightens the room

Ours gets used more for puzzles, sewing and craft than dining!

I found that tablecloths and toddlers were incompatible and dangerous for the kitchen table ( hot tea pots /drinks etc being dragged off. - then just got used to mats.
Heavy oil cloth types are good though, with loads of designs AC went for multiplication table design and world map design - so educational as well for the grandchildren.

I do like a seer sucker table cloth in summer though because it brings back memories of childhood home breakfasts in a sunny kitchen.
I plan to start using a tea pot again, definitely better for the china mugs.

I have a nice collection of tablecloths and napkins -mainly embroidered by nuns for fund raising .
The ones that were used by my grandmother have long since completely worn out .

Old fashioned -maybe , but they look nice for special occasions .

Slightly off topic maybe but a couple who come to the same coffee shop as us bring a little tablecloth to spread on the table.

Not only table cloths but dining tables are also very old fashioned. Most families seem to eat off their laps now.
When I ask old (70+) friends to tea I get out my tea set because they like cups and saucers and I make that most boring of cakes, a Victoria sponge.
In between whiles it’s a mug of coffee for me.

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have a dining table watermeadow, even if they eat some meals on their laps. A table is a lot easier if you have young children, it keeps the mess contained.
I’ve just had an old oak table restored, and I’ve been looking at tablecloths for it this afternoon, it’s oval and I wanted a pale beige or grey cotton gingham cloth - as usual I’m on a looking for a hens tooth quest I think.

Casdon

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have a dining table watermeadow, even if they eat some meals on their laps. A table is a lot easier if you have young children, it keeps the mess contained.
I’ve just had an old oak table restored, and I’ve been looking at tablecloths for it this afternoon, it’s oval and I wanted a pale beige or grey cotton gingham cloth - as usual I’m on a looking for a hens tooth quest I think.

Have you got a sewing machine? Could you make or adapt one or, if not, is there a local sewing shop which could make you one?

Callistemon21

Casdon

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have a dining table watermeadow, even if they eat some meals on their laps. A table is a lot easier if you have young children, it keeps the mess contained.
I’ve just had an old oak table restored, and I’ve been looking at tablecloths for it this afternoon, it’s oval and I wanted a pale beige or grey cotton gingham cloth - as usual I’m on a looking for a hens tooth quest I think.

Have you got a sewing machine? Could you make or adapt one or, if not, is there a local sewing shop which could make you one?

You’re right, that’s the only way I think. I do have a sewing machine, but I’m not confident. I think I’ll ask my friend to make one for me though, she’ll know how to make a template etc. I’m sure, she’s really good at that sort of thing.

Heavy oil cloth types are good though, with loads of designs AC went for multiplication table design and world map design - so educational as well for the grandchildren

I've got a length of the world map one, Granmarderby, which I used to put under the high chair for the DGC, must see if it fits the table. When I bought it I was given a lecture by the sales person who was a flat earther - I thought she was joking but no, she was absolutely serious. 🌏

Know a lot of people do not like using Amazon but.....*Casdon*, just type gkingham tablecloths on there and they come up in every colour and size and materials imaginable.

Casdon

Callistemon21

Casdon

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have a dining table watermeadow, even if they eat some meals on their laps. A table is a lot easier if you have young children, it keeps the mess contained.
I’ve just had an old oak table restored, and I’ve been looking at tablecloths for it this afternoon, it’s oval and I wanted a pale beige or grey cotton gingham cloth - as usual I’m on a looking for a hens tooth quest I think.

Have you got a sewing machine? Could you make or adapt one or, if not, is there a local sewing shop which could make you one?

You’re right, that’s the only way I think. I do have a sewing machine, but I’m not confident. I think I’ll ask my friend to make one for me though, she’ll know how to make a template etc. I’m sure, she’s really good at that sort of thing.

I won't offer, it could end up skew whiff!

I have a wonderful ercol flip top dining table, the only time I really use it when large is for cutting out fabric, either with scissors on a cardboard base or with a rotary cutter on self healing mats

The table in its smaller state is useful for pattern altering and for form filling or card writing. I never use it for dining alone

Back to the op, yes I do keep it protected with a hand made table cloth and that keeps it nice and also protects against sun-damage

I have a plastic tablecloth on my kitchen table as it is a bit battered. It 's isn't battered in a good way. The plastic cloth kept slithering about plus we had a DGC so pulled it tight and I staple gunned it underneath. I change it for a new one when I fancy something different.

I have many tablecloths. I like gingham and Provence style prints and have a few classic white linen. My daughters and daughter in law don't own any. They don't need to because when needed they borrow mine - and return them to be laundered...

I have a big drawer full of table cloths and linen napkins. We use the kitchen table mostly to eat and have table cloths for that. The dining room table has a long runner, but we use it mostly for our computers or crafts. At Christmas ,I have to enormous cloths for it. One with mistletoe and one with Holly. I just love to use them. We used to have a large drawn thread cloth made by DH’s grandma. Sadly that has disintegrated but I have bits of it.

I had a friend for lunch today who was very surprised when I led her to the dining room. She said she could not remember the last time she had eaten in one within a home. We eat at a table every evening, finding it very uncomfortable to eat food on ones lap and it does promote conversation.

I have many table cloths, some beautifully embroidered but alas never used these days, we just have mats.

I still have white table cloth

Yes we also eat at our dining table every evening and I love tablecloths. I have everyday ones and some beautifully made which I use when friends come for a meal. Most of our friends when we visit use their dining rooms, guess it is an age thing!

We have two dining tables. The one in the kitchen/family room is Ercol so the table top is protected with a layer of foam table protector and a sturdy plastic cloth on top. It is on their permanently and can be wiped clean after every meal. It means I never have to worry about DH casually dumping piles of tools on it.

We have a dinng hall with an antique table and chairs. This is laid out at Christmas and for big family occasions. Again it has a foam protector on it and then what tablecloth it has depends on the occasion. I have a beautiful Christmas cloth, which I made from Christmas fabric bought in John Lewis in the 1980s, but also a couple of other ones, nothing special for other occasions.

Occasionally when DD is with us we have a 'dainty afternoon tea' in the living room with a beautiful lace tea cloth on the coffee table, a lovely delicate antique porcelain tea service, and silver tea cutlery.

I use tablecloths everyday. I also like poly-cotton but looking in John Lewis last year there were mostly wipeable cloths on offer.

I can only remember ever using one - when we had more guests for Christmas than would fit round the dining table, so the garden table was dusted off and brought in, and covered with a Christmas tablecloth that had been a present ages before and never used - too small for our table anyway.

Though last year I did buy a very Christmassy ‘wipeable’ one for dd and family - to fit her long extended kitchen table that seats 12, many of whom are often messy young children.

watermeadow

Not only table cloths but dining tables are also very old fashioned. Most families seem to eat off their laps now.
When I ask old (70+) friends to tea I get out my tea set because they like cups and saucers and I make that most boring of cakes, a Victoria sponge.
In between whiles it’s a mug of coffee for me.

Unconscious ageism and rather rude.
My husband is 74, most of the members of my book group are over 70, not a cup and saucer in sight. I’m the one most likely to use them and I’m 61. As to Victoria Sponge it’s the biggest seller at our fete and most cakes are purchased by the under 50s.

nandad

watermeadow

Not only table cloths but dining tables are also very old fashioned. Most families seem to eat off their laps now.
When I ask old (70+) friends to tea I get out my tea set because they like cups and saucers and I make that most boring of cakes, a Victoria sponge.
In between whiles it’s a mug of coffee for me.

Unconscious ageism and rather rude.
My husband is 74, most of the members of my book group are over 70, not a cup and saucer in sight. I’m the one most likely to use them and I’m 61. As to Victoria Sponge it’s the biggest seller at our fete and most cakes are purchased by the under 50s.

It is very rude!!

A china cup and saucer and china dinner services - most popular at weddings now, I believe and in the increasingly popular vintage afternoon tea rooms, enjoyed by young and old!

I do prefer tea in a china mug, though, perhaps because I'm ancient.
And I do like Victoria sponge but never make one now

watermeadow

Not only table cloths but dining tables are also very old fashioned. Most families seem to eat off their laps now.
When I ask old (70+) friends to tea I get out my tea set because they like cups and saucers and I make that most boring of cakes, a Victoria sponge.
In between whiles it’s a mug of coffee for me.

Since when are dining tables old fashioned? And how very dare you say that a Victoria sponge is ‘boring’? 😱 My usual one (with blackcurrant jam, no cream) always vanishes PDQ.

As for dining tables, dh and I do often have trays on laps, but when anyone else is here (inc. most recently 3 young Gdcs) the dining table is used for every meal.

The only food we might eat on our lap is if we have a pudding or fruit because we don't eat it straight after dinner.

Or a piece of Victoria sponge 😁
I'm really going to have to go and make one

My dining table is covered in crochet squares which I keep re-arranging, Witzend