"Everyday" table cloth?

[mamaofprincesses]

Does anyone use a table cloth daily/almost daily? I'm thinking of trying it, and would love recs on the kind of fabric I should look for. I'm thinking I would cover it with clear plastic (the heavy kind you can buy at fabric stores) but I'm sure some part of it would still be vulnerable to stains, and with four little kids - it's bound to happen.

The table's got to be covered, because we have two extra leaves in it and EVERYTHING gets into those cracks and gets stuck. But the plastic alone could solve that, the tablecloth would just be to look pretty.

And if I could make matching curtains from the fabric, I would really feel cool :)

[Callimom]

I've used good quality heavier cotton sheets (which I got at the thrift store and hemmed to the right size).  Linnen would be great, lighter weight decorator's fabric in cotton so it has a bit of drape and softness. Really you could use anything as long as it has a bit of weight. 

There was this idea using a painter's canvas  weight drop cloth which would be a good weight once it had been washed and dried. You could do all kinds of different decorations on it with the kids - maybe one per season or a season on each corner.

hth

Karen

[pammysue]

A friend of mine uses vinyl "fabric" to cover her table. She buys it in a deep red, it looks great and is super easy to clean. When it starts to look ratty, she just buys a new one.