Rethink Crochet Patterns: Is That a Tablecloth or Shawl?

Summer is here! And the warm temperatures are perfect for outdoor gatherings, weddings, garden parties, and family reunions. After a year of lockdowns and online video calls with friends, family, and coworkers, we are all excited to get out in the sunshine and visit in person. It’s also the perfect chance to show off your new improved crochet skills with some fresh crochet patterns.

Choose Your Own Adventure

What do you think about the crochet in the photo below for your next project? It would be a great one to show off! But are they crochet shawls or crochet tablecloths? Hmm . . .

Look closely . . . can you tell if these patterns are crochet tablecloths orc crochet shawls? Learn how to modify crochet shawl patterns to make crochet table clothes and vice versa.

That’s the question I asked myself a week ago. I came across a picture of beautiful crochet lace. At first I thought it was a crochet shawl; then I thought it was a crochet tablecloth. But maybe it was a shawl again? Then I realized, why couldn’t it be both?

Crochet shawls could make amazing tablecloths and vice versa. So how would you go about turning a shawl into a tablecloth?

Rethink Your Crochet Patterns

First you need to look at the shawl’s original shape. If it is a long rectangular stole like the Solar Wrap, Herbaceous Shawl or the Breakwater Wrap you have two options. You can either shorten or narrow the pattern to create an eye-catching table runner. Or you can do the opposite and widen and lengthen the stole to create a tablecloth that will cover the entire table.

Most shawls are triangle shaped like the Buttercream Shawl, Dahlia Shawl, Lucille Shawl or Promenade Shawl. If you put two triangles together, you have a perfect square tablecloth. Depending on how the crochet shawl is worked, you can work the first triangel from long end to short point and then work in the other side of the long side to a second point. Or you can work two triangles and join them together with a seam or with a strip of crochet lace.

If your shawl is circular like the Ventura Shawl, you are in even more luck. This shawl only requires you remove the little triangular bits on each side from your work and you have a gorgeous crochet lace tablecloth.

But what about in reverse? How do you turn the Garden Party Table Topper or the Swift Eddy Tablecloth into a unique shawl? You can fold a square crochet tablecloth in half or use the tricks you learned with turning crochet shawls into crochet tablecloths in reverse.

Your garden party will be more beautiful this year whether you are showing off your new crochet shawl, crochet tablecloth, or another beautiful crochet pattern.

Happy crocheting,
Toni