by Susan Kliebenstein

Created on: July 30, 2008   Last Updated: September 19, 2011

Crochet tablecloths are elegant heirlooms that generally take months or years to create. If you plan to crochet one, you'll want to choose your pattern carefully, since you'll be working on it for a long time. The likelihood that you'll make another one very soon is slim. On the other hand, if you are a real whiz with a crochet hook, and endless spare time, you may want to make table clothes as wedding presents for each of your 14 nieces. The point is, you'll probably want to review a bunch of patterns before you begin.

You probably need look no further than the yarn counter at your local store to find a free table cloth pattern. But don't jump into the first one you find. There are plenty of free table cloth patterns available on the internet, and in libraries.

Even the smallest libraries have a good selection of craft books. These may address one or two crafts, or they may deal with a wide variety of projects. Either way, if they have a chapter on crochet, they'll probably include at least one table cloth pattern. Take an afternoon to browse at your local library in order to take advantage of this great source of project information.

Crochet groups can be found in many cities and towns. Just submit your zip code to the search engine at http://crochet.meetup.com/ to find the groups nearest you. Even if the nearest group is 50 miles away, it may be well worth your while to plan to attend the group at least once. This can put you in touch with others who love to crochet as much as you do. Sharing patterns via email or even snail mail can build a friendship in spite of the distance. To start a project as big as a table cloth you may be glad you tapped into a support system of experienced crochet enthusiasts.

The internet equivalent to a working group is a forum. There are lots of crochet forums on the net. People often share their own patterns or variations and you can often find links to other free pattern sites on the internet. I have included the URL's of several forums here for your convenience:

• http://www.simplycrochet.org/forum/
• http://www.crochetville.org/forum/
• http://www.topix.com/forum/hobbies/crochet

Probably the biggest gold mine of free patterns can be found by simply using your favorite internet search engine. Type in "crochet tablecloth pattern," or "free crochet pattern." This will lead you many great patterns. A few good archives are listed below:

• http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/table cloths.php
• http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/antiquecroch et.html
• http://home.inreach.com/marthac/table.html
• http://crochetcollection.blogspot.com/2008/05/croche t-round-tablecloth-patterns.html

Another source of free patterns will be the wrappers on crochet thread which you have purchased for other projects. Often if you look on the inside of the thread wrapper you'll find a complete pattern for another project. Get out your magnifying glass. You'll probably need it to read the small print, but from time to time you'll find a real gem on these wrappers.

By now I'm sure you are impressed by the availability of free classic tablecloth patterns. It's time to pick one out and get busy. Good luck with your tablecloth project and enjoy your crocheting!

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