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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Clearance tablecloth shopping -- for the fabric



I bought this tablecloth on clearance at Marshall's, after Christmas. They had 2 and I'm kicking myself for not buying the other one, as well.

This is a Le Telerie Toscane tablecloth. They retail for about $90 for this large size (66 X 108). Marshall's had them on clearance for $15. Its exactly the fabric that I've been hoping to find, for our kitchen table to use in spring and summer. But it's way too large. I have noticed that the large sizes hang around, in clearance, whereas the smaller sizes (66 X 90) just don't.


However, "too large" is really not an issue for me. In fact, it's a bonus. This cloth is almost twice as large as I need for our table. I currently have it folded over on the table. When I cut it down to size, it will give me enough fabric to make an apron or some cloth napkins, to match.

Why I'm kicking myself for only buying one is that I could have made aprons or tea towels, as gifts with the second cloth. At 108 inches, there are 3 yards of 66 inch-wide fabric. It's thick, high quality fabric, too. It would definitely make a nice apron. At $15 for the whole cloth, that is $5 per yard.  A "home decor" fabric to be used to make a tablecloth or apron, of a nice toile print, would run at least $20/yd at the fabric store. Even with a coupon or great sale, we're still talking at least twice the price per yard, to buy a similar fabric at the fabric store.

So, I missed my chance to buy that second cloth. But it got me to thinking, clearance or thrifted high-quality tablecloths are a great source of fabric for making aprons or tea towels, fabric hot pads, or teapot cozies, to give as gifts. And if you happen to come across these large sizes, when what you need is something smaller for your table, if you don't mind doing a little sewing to cut it down in size, you would have leftover fabric for making something else to coordinate with the cloth.

(just for kicks, I googled Le Telerie Toscane toile burgundy tablecloth, and found this exact cloth on ebay for $89.90, and on Amazon for $89.99)

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful toile print, Lili! Love it!

    Great work on the sale purchase and practical use of the "extra". My grandmother was a big "white sale" shopper (do they even have those anymore?), so had lots of extra sheets, blankets and towels. You can actually do some great things with those as "fabric", too, if you get them cheap. Lord knows, yardage can't be had for the sort of bargain prices (even adjusted for inflation) that we got it in the 70s and 80s.

    Enjoy your lovely new table cloth and extra cloth! Sara

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    1. Hi Sara,
      I know. Fabric is so expensive, now. If I don't use coupons/sales/bargains when buying it, sewing clothing really does fall into "hobby" territory more than practicality.
      Thanks, I love this print, too!

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  2. That was a great find, Lili. I enjoy small sewing projects, and with the price of fabric these days, recycling old fabric items into new ones is what I enjoy most. I am going to keep that tablecloth idea in mind for another source of less expensive fabric.
    Mary

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      That is something of a thrill, isn't it? To take something previously used, and use parts to make something new! I've been saving our family's very worn jeans for several years, with the idea to make a picnic blanket that would be durable, washable, and that I could take to the beach or a park and not worry about it getting dirty or stained.

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    2. That jean blanket sounds like a fun idea!
      Mary

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    3. I hope to get to it, at least begin it, this spring or early summer. It would be great to have a picnic blanket for the months when I might actually go on a picnic!

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  3. I bought a couple of clearance tablecloths from Target a few years ago. So far, I have made 2 window treatments and a contrasting cloth to go over a table skirt for an end table--and I don't sew! The sky is the limit with using this as a source of fabric--pillows, table runners ...

    Your toile is pretty and I'm glad you are enjoying it.

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    Replies
    1. Good work, Kris! I would love to see those window treatments!

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  4. Wow that was a great find on the table cloth. Hopefully you will show us what you make with the leftover fabric. I really like the print.
    Rhonda

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  5. I really like toile prints. I have green toile throw pillows on my bed. I've been wanting a black toile shower curtain for some time. Like you I think outside the box, while thrifting I look not only at shower curtains, but sheets too. From now on I'll be checking tablecloths too.

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    1. Hi frugal spinster,
      I think I recall you mentioning your love for toile. Best of luck in your search for the black toile!

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  6. That's a fantastic bargain, Lili. I recognize the print, but never knew the name of it. Isn't your dinnerware a similar print also? Is the tablecloth made in Italy (had to google about it)? What a find!!

    I love buying fabrics again....since we don't have many fabric shops where we live, Savers is my go to for fabrics these days. I've been trying to buy wool and wool blends and batik for about $1.50 a yard (for my future rugmaking projects).

    There are lots of accessories for the kitchen that could be made from the tablecloth remnant...how wonderful to have that as a bonus. Sometimes, when I don't know if I should buy or not, I go ahead and just buy it, bring it home and think about it. Most stores have good return policies, where even clearance merchandise can be returned.

    YHF



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    1. Hi YHF,
      the dishes have a similar look. They're called transfer ware, and have that ink line drawing look. Toile (also referred to as Toile de Jouy) also has that pen and ink look. And yes, this one was made in Italy. I'll be checking Marshall's clearance tablecloths more closely in the future, that's for sure!

      Sometimes I'm in the mindset to just buy it, like you, and think about it. But other times, I'm feeling too pinched with my pennies to even do that, and I wind up passing some really good bargains, s a result. Now, I'm trying to keep a mental list of the things I'm watching for. that helps me to be a bit freer when I spot a great deal, if it falls on my list to look out for.And you're right, some stores don't let you return clearance stuff, so that's always good to know.

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    2. Have you thought of selling on eBay? I have never tried, am a bit apprehensive of something going wrong, and the whole timing of who sends what first. If I make an error, I don't want to be blacklisted lol. But it seems like good money for those who know how....in Vegas Savers I saw a women scanning every book's ISBN code, not even looking at the book's title or its condition first. I do the same thing you do though, whenever I buy something that I think is pennies on the dollar, I Google to see what the going price is. Makes my day!!

      YHF

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    3. If only I had thought to buy the other cloth. I could have sold it, made a profit, and covered the cost of this one! Lesson learned!

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  7. The instant I saw the fabric, it said Lili to me. Looks just your style and should work well on your table.

    My husband made a bigger table top to go over our regular table to seat more people when we have guests and I do need a table cloth that big. I have one, but another would be nice. I have't shopped for one in while, but I'll check the clearance next time I'm out. Actually, I got my first one in Home Goods and I don't remember seeing clearance in there but prices are pretty good to start with.

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    1. Hi live and learn,
      There should be a small clearance section in Home Goods. At our store, it's on one of the "regular" aisles, just towards the end of the aisle. But it's very small, and not much there. You'd only know it's a clearance section by the red price tags (I think Home Goods's clearance tags are red?). So, my guess is with linens, the clearance is just a few cloths at one end of the aisle. You'r right, though, prices are pretty good to begin. I bought a small thermos for myself a couple of years ago, for about 1/3 what I'd seen similar ones at Bed Bath and Beyond.

      I have been wanting a bigger tabletop for our dining room table! Can Ward come make me one,too? Seriously, is it just plywood? Did you cover the backside with anything to protect your existing table? And how do you store this? Does it tip at all?

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    2. It's made of plywood and has wood forms underneath to hold it in place. However, we put a couple of towels under it just to be safe. Also, he put a couple of legs under one end to help with the stability. The other end doesn't have much hangover, so it's stable.

      He finished the top, but it's not that fine, so sometimes a tablecloth is wanted. Other times, when I have friends over for crafting the bare top works well. Even though it's not fancy, he did put a very durable finish on it. Also, he rounded the edges so it has an oval shape.

      We store it in the garage up against a cabinet with some other wood. The legs screw off, so it doesn't take up much floor space.

      I'm really happy with it. Our table before sat 6 comfortably, 8 crowded, and with the additional table top we can get 10 comfortably, more in a pinch.

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    3. That's what I'm looking to do, make our table seat 10. Thanks for the information. I'm going to see what I can do for our table.

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  8. That is a beautiful tablecloth!! I love the idea of using tablecloths or sheets as found fabric. It wouldn't work for every purpose, but it's great for household projects and quilts, I've found.

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    1. Hi Laura,
      I agree. A lot of tablecloths are made of a substantial enough fabric for items like tea towels or aprons. And like Kris said, she used some for curtains, too. I would expect you could recover chair pads for kitchen chairs, or cushions for a bench seat, with tablecloth fabric, as well. It's fun to think about!

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  9. That is a beautiful fabric, Lili. I would be making some napkins to go along with it. :)

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    1. Thank you, Belinda! Napkins would be really nice. For an apron, I can always find other fabric, but napkins to match seems to be an ideal use of the fabric.

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