Heirloom Embroidered Tablecloth
After months and months spent on the quilt, anything I considered taking on as an evening project felt smaller in comparison. From the same Etsy shop where I purchased the quilt template, I had also picked up a set of vintage-inspired Christmas embroidery transfers. It felt like the perfect next step.
Embroidery is something I know will take time to truly master, and incorporating it into a functional piece felt like a natural way to learn. We are very much a Christmas household. To my surprise, my husband may love decorating even more than I do, so this felt like an easy and meaningful addition to how we celebrate. Something we would bring out year after year.
I’ve always loved the idea of embroidered tablecloths that evolve over time — where guests add their signatures and dates, turning the piece into a kind of living scrapbook. That idea became part of this project. A foundation of small, nostalgic holiday motifs, with space left intentionally open for the memories still to come.
For the base, I used a simple linen tablecloth from Target. In hindsight, I do wish I had chosen something a bit heavier, as the fabric pulled slightly with the stitching. But given how seasonally it will be used, it still feels right for what it is — a starting point.
I began laying out the designs the week of Christmas, ironing on a few of the transfers, and then picked it back up in earnest in the new year. Most nights, after my husband and the dogs had gone to bed, I would sit in my office with a podcast playing and work through one or two motifs at a time. It’s the kind of work where time disappears — choosing colors, deciding on stitch styles, adjusting as you go. Slow in a way that feels grounding.
The holly border was, without question, the most daunting part. The transfers weren’t quite designed to stretch across the full length I had in mind, so much of it ended up being drawn by hand. One side is noticeably less uniform than the other, but I’ve come to love that about it. It carries a bit more personality. A little less polished, a little more human.
Some of my favorite elements ended up being the smallest. The Christmas trees were especially fun to reinterpret, each one slightly different in ornament and color. And of course, stitching Esther and Gus felt important — working within the limitations of the template to capture their differences was a small challenge I loved.
Most of the motifs appear twice throughout the tablecloth, which became an unexpected opportunity to experiment with variation. I considered adding entirely new designs of my own, but ultimately decided to stay true to the original vintage feel — something that leans more 1940s or 1950s in spirit — while leaving room for the signatures that will one day surround them.
I finished the tablecloth at the end of February and have since taken a small pause from projects. Between this and the quilt, it felt like a natural moment to step back. That said, I already have a few smaller projects lined up — including two dollhouse furniture kits — and am slowly working my way through my 2026 list.
Though, if I’m being honest, I’ve also been quietly considering a full dollhouse build. There’s one I’ve had my eye on that has come back in stock, and every day I talk myself out of it.
In the meantime, I’m simply grateful to keep making things with my hands. To create pieces that hold memory, that tell a story of our home, and that I hope will one day be passed down.
