Pompom Edge Cotton Tablecloth

A plain white cloth is the safest thing you can put on a table and also, usually, the dullest. The pompom trim is what rescues this one: a row of small soft balls running the whole way round the hem, which catches the light along the edge and moves slightly when someone brushes past. It takes the cloth from formal to relaxed without adding a pattern that has to be lived with.

It is cut square at 120 x 120cm, which suits a small kitchen table, a card table or a garden table with a decent drop on every side, and it works equally well laid diagonally across a larger rectangular table as a runner-and-cloth in one. The cotton is a mid weight - substantial enough to hang properly rather than clinging to the tabletop, light enough to wash and dry quickly.

Being white cotton, it takes a hot wash and will bear stain treatment, which is the main argument for white over colour on a table that gets used. Wash the trim gently and reshape the pompoms while damp; tumble drying on high will felt them. Iron the body of the cloth while slightly damp and press around the trim rather than over it.

• 100% cotton square tablecloth, 120 x 120cm
• Hand-finished pompom trim on all four edges
• Mid-weight cotton with a proper drape and drop
• Machine washable; suits hot washing and stain treatment
• Reshape the pompoms while damp; avoid high-heat tumble drying
• Iron the body slightly damp; press around the trim, not over it