Sewing SOS - lycra tableclothes
 

My g/f volunteered me to make some round 60 inch lycra tableclothes for her niece. I didn't know the material was lycra when I said after the fact I could do this. I have done some research online and figure that I can do this but my problem is - that one is supposed to sew the elastic directly to the lycra and skip making a casing and threading the elastic through - but I don't know how long to cut the elastic to fit around the edge of the fabric? The niece bought the lycra dn elastic at Joanns - should I just divide the elastic into six equal pieces and then sew it? Any help would be appreciated.

I hope you know that Lycra stretches both ways, length and width, I would use a ball point needle when sewing the Lycra and make a casing, then run the elastic through. Put it on the table and then pull the elastic until it "fits". Join and sew.

Doesn't sound like fun to me. :thumbdown: Just give me a quilt to mend.

You can sew through clear elastic using a zigzag stitch. Are the tables 60" in diameter? If so, then you need to figure out how much of the fabric will be underneath the table -- say 10"? (This would take the fabric about 5" underneath all the way around.) Then you need to figure out what the circumference is of a circle that is 50" in diameter. I would cut the clear elastic that circumference or a little less. Cut the lycra circle 70" in diameter. Fold the circle into eighths and press or mark so you have divided the edge into 8 equal parts. Fold and mark the elastic in the same way. Pin the elastic to the lycra circle at these 8 places. Stretch the clear elastic as you sew to the edge of the fabric using a zigzag stitch.

That's what I would do. This won't work with anything but clear elastic, though.

Once you have sewn the clear elastic on, if you want to finish the edge a little nicer, you can fold the edge over the elastic and zigzag again so the elastic is covered. This is the way children's swimsuits are often finished.

Why are you putting elastic on the tablecloths? Are they table covers? How many are you doing?
You do not need to make a casing for lycra. You do need clear elastic and zigzag over it if you go this route. I would help to know the design of how these tablecloths and how the elastic is needed.

Using Prism99's method, you can also "encase" the elastic with a wide zigzag; the stitches do not go through the elastic. You would want to use a heavier thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saS2kykLec0 didn't watch all of this. hope it helps.

I assume you are making these to fit around the tables so that they won't slip or blow off in wind outdoors? Sort of like a fitted sheet?

You can sew through any narrow elastic with a wide zigzag, and I'm pretty sure that would be easier than making a casing and - heaven help you! - pulling it through several of them. I used to sew a lot of little swim suits for my daughter that had elastic around all the openings. The instructions were in patterns of that era (25- 30 years ago). If you know how long the finished circle of elastic needs to be, you can cut it to that length plus a little more. Overlap and sew it securely in a circle using a zigzag stitch. Then pin it along the edge you need to attach to. Do this by first folding the tablecloth in half, marking the fold points with pins. Then fold it again in half the other way, matching the first two pins to find the centers. Then again, find the centers between the pins you already have in place.

Now you're going to mark the elastic the same way. Safety pins might make this whole process simpler if the pins tend to slip out, or you can skip the pins and just make marks with a wash-out pen. Then it's a matter of matching your marks. Pin the elastic with one mark matching one on the tablecloth. Then gently stretch the elastic the full distance between the pins while you zigzag in place. It will be tricky at first to do this without breaking a needle, but the technique is to have one hand holding the material behind the needle and the other at the next pin or mark and letting the fabric feed with the elastic on it at the machine's pace, not fighting it. You will be stretching the elastic, but not the fabric, if that makes any sense. It might be good to practice on something small.

Also, just yesterday I learned about this foot http://www.stitchntimeinc.com/shop/B...RD-x663805.htm which I have not tried, but maybe it's the solution you need.

Too late to edit, so I have to do a new post to try to actually answer your question, which I somehow neglected to do in my long winded explanation.

To figure the length, I wouldn't even do much measuring. If you can get to a table that is the size you need to fit, and you know how much fabric will be folded under it (allowing extra for the thickness of the table), place a piece of the elastic around the circle about that far in from the edge, holding it in place here and there with rocks or pattern weights. You'll only need to cut it a little bit shorter to give it enough tug to hold the fabric in place. If it's too short or the table cover has too much going underneath, it may be difficult to put them on the table. Definitely try one before you do the rest. Write down how much elastic you cut for the first one, and if all goes well, the others will be easy to measure. Don't be afraid to experiment because elastic isn't terribly expensive and wide, long zigzag stitches aren't too hard to remove. Unless you happened to find a pattern for something like this, I'm afraid a bit of trial and error is part of the plan.

Good luck! PS I think you're a saint. Is this for a wedding? Will they be used only once?!