4th of July Disaster Tablecovering

4th of July tablecovering complete with permanent wrinkles

Disaster might be too strong a word.  But I am definitely not happy with my 4th of July tablecovering project!  I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea for the 4th of July BBQ that we are planning. It seemed easy enough to do.  Sew up red, white, and blue bandanas to make a table covering.  

I found bandanas at Walmart for $1 a piece.  The tag said they were 22 X 22 inches in size so I calculated that eight would be enough.  The bandanas are 100% cotton so they into the washing machine and dryer they went  prior to stitching them up.

Red, white, and blue bandanas from the same manufacturer.

Now is where the problem begins.  The bandanas are not square or even the same size even though they are made by the same manufacturer.

Not square or even the same size

My sister, Pat, says I should show my failures.  Not that this is a failure or that I have that many failures.  The truth is that I am not happy with the end result of this project.  It is cute.  It is serviceable.  But  I am going tear it apart and remake it.

I did get perfect points

I attempted to ease the seams and that has caused it to pull and wrinkle. It has a problem laying flat. 

It's a BBQ not a formal sit down dinner but I can't live with it.  I'm pulling out my seam ripper right after I post!

The more I think about it, the more I know I have to take my seam ripper to it, square up the bandanas, and restitch it.  I will not be happy until I do that.

(Updated:  I used my seam ripper to take the table covering apart.  You can read about my love affair with my seam ripper here. The Seam Ripper is My Friend - My Tips to Maintaining a Good Relationship.)

(More Updates:  After tearing the project apart and putting it back together I ended up with two 4th of July Table Runners.  You can read about the conclusion of this project here.  4th of July Table Runner - Finally!)