Crochet Patio Table Cover

· by · in Crochet Table Cover. ·

We’ve all heard the saying “When life gives you lemons – make lemonade!” It’s a great saying and I love lemonade. So I like to take that bit of wisdom and apply it at every opportunity I can. When life gave me a second hand patio table in pretty good but not perfect condition – I made a table cover!

 

I will never be described as a fancy person. I have absolutely no interest in “keeping up with the Joneses”. I am more than satisfied with waiting patiently until the Jones’es put perfectly good patio furniture out on their front yard for free when they upgrade their outdoor living space.

This was the case about two weeks ago when my mother-in-law saw a patio table near her house and gave me a call to see if I wanted her to check it out. Of course I did!! So her and my father-in-law picked it up and brought it over.

I cleaned it up a bit. It was in great shape but there were a few spots that made it less than perfect. It was totally good enough for me but then I started thinking….. hmmm what can I do to spruce this table up. At first I was thinking of a nice little touch up with some spray paint. That would require buying spray paint, plus tape and I’m not even going to mention my inability to spray paint anything without also coating myself and everything in the vicinity.

Then I instantly thought of my hook – I’ll crochet a table cover of course!! If you follow me on Instagram you’ve already seen sneak peeks of it.

 

And as luck would have it, I had some nylon crochet thread in my stash that I was going to use to make a little rug/cover for the base of my umbrella stand. As you can see from the picture below we put some weights on it to keep it from blowing over and they were looking pretty gross, rusty and shabby.

crochet nylon

So I put that idea on hold and started work right away on the table cover. Just like with my Crochet Boho Maxi Skirt, I didn’t have any specific pattern in mind. I knew I wanted a hole in the middle and that was about it. I’ve made plenty of granny’s that weren’t square. I’ve made a few doilies. I made my skirt! So I applied all of those crochet skills that I know and went to work.

I used the standard granny method to make the six corners then I just went with my favorite stitches for each section. I used V stitches, shells/fans, double stitches, mesh, treble stitches, chain spaces, and picots. That’s it. The corners were taking care of the math for the increases so I didn’t even worry about counting anything. The only thing I needed to do was not add any additional stitches between those corners. In fact, this was easier to make than my skirt because of the corners.

crochet patio table cover 3

What I really want to talk about is the nylon crochet thread!!!

crochet nylon thread

I bought the nylon thread originally to use for Kumihimo braiding. As it turns out I love crocheting with this thread! It was so smooth and slipped on and off my hook so nicely. It’s the perfect thread to use for an outdoor table. I can wipe it clean with a damp cloth and I don’t have to worry about if it gets wet in the rain!! I do have to be careful that I never put anything hot on it but with an outdoor table that’s very unlikely anyhow. For an indoor tablecloth I would use cotton thread only because I know it would end up getting melted if I used nylon. Plus with my dining table I really would want to throw it in the wash on a regular basis.

I could have used a basic continuous granny stitch for this table cover and it would have looked great. I wanted more than great. I want the Joneses to be searching all over the internet trying to find a hand crafted crochet table cover. I want the Joneses to try to keep up with me and my not fancy porch!!

I still need to make something for that ugly looking umbrella base. I already have something in mind. 😀

Thanks for reading!!

~ Tami

 

74 responses to “Crochet Patio Table Cover”

    • Thanks Tina! My MIL is great for spotting the best stuff! I have her on the lookout for buttons and yarn too! The Jones’es should learn how to crochet and then they wouldn’t be tossing out perfectly good patio tables. Their materialism works for me though and my hook is always ready to fix up their hand me downs!! 😀

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  4. Oh Tami! I am also very happy with some of the things the Joneses have discarded and placed on the curb! It’s wonderful when you score a real piece of furniture. And that was the perfect way to spruce up this patio table!
    One thing I would do if it was on my patio is to put a clear vinyl cover on top of your tablecloth. First, to keep crumbs out of it if you’re going to eat on it; And then, since it’s outside, to keep most bugs from using it for hidey holes. I have a scrolly top cafe table on my patio and it usually has at least one spider web in it, as well as stuff the wind blows in. I’m always sweeping it off or spraying it with the hose. Let me know if you have questions about the vinyl. It’s not expensive, and easy to do.
    You are always turning up with such functional and practical pieces.
    That’s so pretty! Great job.
    Jan

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks Jan! And thanks for the tips. I’m hoping the nylon thread will discourage the creepy crawly things from getting too comfy. I’m sure I’ll be needing to take the hose to it every so often. Well let me rephrase that – hubby will need to take the hose to it because there is a snake living near the hose spigot and I refuse to go near the faucet to turn it on so since he won’t do anything about the snake he is the hose master in this house. 😀
      Because the nylon is so slippery clean up is easy peasy. My son and I had Wednesday night dinner out there last night and a quick wipe with a damp cloth was all I needed. I will be closely monitoring my theory that the plastic qualities of the thread will work out okay but if I see it becoming a problem I will definitely be looking for a clear vinyl cover. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Tony! It was really nice working with it – so smooth and slippery. Red Heart has a very limited color selection. I’ve seen a lot more colors on Amazon and Fire Mountain Gem Co. I can’t wait to use it again. I’m thinking it would be great for market bags and beach bags!! Or if I ever get really brave – a hammock!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks!! Oh you should make her one – she’ll love it! Red Heart doesn’t have a lot of different colors but you can find size 18 nylon thread from other brands that have a ton of colors. Another thing I forgot to mention is that the ends were tricky to weave in because the nylon is so slippery. So I ended up just putting a dab of super glue on all of the joins and then just snipping off the ends. It worked great and you can’t see them at all. I hope you post a picture if you make one!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Tami, your creativity and ingenuity keep impressing me! It turned out great. I hadn’t heard of Red Heart Nylon either, thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much!! 😀 I had bought the nylon thread to use for a non crochet project but I’m so happy that I thought to use it for this table cover! It’s perfect for outdoor things and I’m definitely going to be finding more ways to use it! 😀

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  11. I just love this! You are so great without a pattern. And thanks for introducing me to the nylon stuff. I had no idea they made that. I agree that it would be awesome to use for a market bag!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Robin!! I wish Red Heart offered more colors but there are plenty of other brands online that have a lot of colors to choose from. I really should be taking notes on these projects to try my hand at pattern writing but once I get in the zone I would completely forget. I’ve seen all of your fantastic hookwork Robin – you have all the same skills I do so you would do great pattern free too. Plus you seem way more organized than I am so you would have better luck with writing up some designs to sell in your etsy shop. Maybe start with a nylon market bag design!! 😀

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    • Thank you Kate!! I’m glad I thought to make this table cover. It’s the perfect solution – if I get bored with this table cover I can always make another one in different color and pattern. With my painting skills it really is easier to crochet covers!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  21. What a fab job! Its so exciting solving issues with crochet. My fiance wants to install door stops all over our rented place to stop the door handles damaging the wall. I just suggested i make little covers for the handles. I need to get started on that…

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Emma!!! I bet all of my neighbors are going to try to climb over my fence to look at my table. I’m glad I have Boris on the job – he’s a good watch dog. Kind of a wimp but he barks really really loud at everything!!! 😀 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Isn’t it amazing the things we think of to cover with crochet? If there’s a problem, yo I’ll solve it. Check out my hook, while my fingers revolve it. 😀 Sorry, couldn’t help it!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks Kelley! I’m really enjoying just making it up as I go. And I’m a little surprised that things have been coming out as nicely as they have been. I’m probably overdue for a crochet disaster!! LOL 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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  28. Absolutely stunning. I had no idea there was nylon yarn, what else will they come up with., the possibilities are endless. I think my table needs a tablecloth after seeing how gorgeous yours is. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Lyn! Part of the reason that I’ve been spending so much time outside is because I love sitting on my porch – I can’t stop looking at the table cover!! I keep thinking “wow did I really make that”. The nylon thread was really nice to work with. It slid on and off my hook so nicely. Red Heart doesn’t have a huge selection of colors but on Amazon there are other brands that have a ton of colors to choose from. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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