Table Squares and Centerpieces: Part One

I'm finally ready to share with you all what I'm doing for my centerpieces.  Reason being, I'm finally done making the table squares!

So let's start from the beginning.  Our venue provides us with circular tables that seat 10.  This includes chiavari chairs, white linens, and white napkins.

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My initial, very first thought was renting green tablecloths to match our colors.  Something like this:

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Two problems:  why spend the extra money, when the white are free? And good luck matching my green!  So that was out.

Then I thought about renting green table runners to add some color to the table, like this:

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But again, there was the problem of finding the exact chartreuse green, and there's just something about renting that I don't like.  It feels like a waste of money to me.

So then I decided it would make more sense to make something that I could later sell.  And there entered the idea of making table squares.  I found green material at JoAnn's that was on sale, so I bought the bolt, not knowing how much I would need, and figuring I could use the extra material for other projects.  So for $50 I was able to make 30 table squares and I still have probably 4+ yards left over.

Here we are just about finished.  I turned the edges in 1/2" and then in again 1/2" so there were no raw edges showing in the back.  It took forever ironing them all in.  But I discovered you don't have to put ironing boards all the way up, who would have thought?!  I would set ours up at the perfect height so I could sit on the couch and iron at the same time.  That way I would do 3 or 4 a night while watching TV.
Right now they're all ironed under and held together with an iron on hem thing.  They'll stay the way they are, but I'm thinking I'll probably actually stitch all of the hems as well just to be sure.

 

In part two tomorrow, I'll show you what's going along with these table squares, so stay tuned!

And just so you all know....the 30 of these will be for sale after my wedding!