OPP: Pirate Ship Table Tutorial

For this project I used the following supplies for each table:

• 1 dining table
• 1 brown table cloth
• 1 patio umbrella stand
• 1 6' x 1 1/2" wooden rod (found at Lowe's) (MAKE SURE YOUR CEILINGS ARE TALL ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR TABLE AND A 6' POLE, mine are 14' but if yours are lower you may need to adjust the height of your sails)
• A small table leg (mine was about 3 1/2") (found at Lowe's)
• 2 3' x 1/2" dowel rods (found at JoAnn's) 
• Pack of 4 wooden balls with 1/2" hole (see below for picture of package) (found at JoAnn's)
• An old sheet (a 3' x 4' section)
• Scissors (preferably fabric scissors)
• A skull and crossbones iron on applique
• An iron
• White thread and sewing machine (could also be done with a hot glue gun or fabric glue)
• Wood screws (see below for picture of packaging with exact details)
• A drill and drill bits

While the list may seem lengthy, these were actually quite easy to make.  I started by laying out my old white sheet.

I cut it to 3' wide x 4' long.  I made sure to utilize the hem at top of the sheet.  I made this the top of my sail, meaning 1 casing was already made for me.

Next, I asked my helper if he was excited about his party.  He was.  So we continued.

I then ironed my sail in its entirety.  I also ironed the hems for the sides of the sail.  There is no exact measurement for this, just do what looks right.

Ironing it in place makes sewing much easier.  If you don't have a sewing machine, you could either leave it pressed as is or lay it down with some fabric glue.

This is me sewing on my machine.  I show this picture just for those who don't believe that I can use a sewing machine.

When sewing up the side hems you will end up sewing the top casing closed.  I stopped my machine, pulled the fabric through a bit and then continued sewing the last few stitches to the top.  This way I just had to cut a small hole in the fabric on the ends and didn't have to worry about ripping stitches.

After I had ironed and sewed both side hems, I did the same for the bottom, creating a casing for the bottom dowel rod.  While I don't have an exact measurement for it, just make sure it's big enough for the dowel rod.  It's better for the casing to be too big than too small.

Next, I ironed on my applique.  Make sure to follow the directions on your applique.  If it asks for a hard surface, make sure you have a hard surface.  I laid a towel on my ceramic bathroom floor and ironed it there.

These are my 6' rods.

These are my table legs.  Those table legs have screws already built into them where the white tag is.

I found a drill bit that matched the size of the built in screw in the table leg and used it to drill a hole in the end of my 6' rod.

I then screwed the table leg into it.

I then put the rod in the patio umbrella stand.  I used one off of my patio, then borrowed another from a neighbor.

These are my wood screws.  I found a drill bit that looked to be about the same size as these.  You don't want it to be bigger than your screws, so err on the side of too small if you're unsure.

I took my 3' dowel rods and marked the center lengthwise.  I then pre drilled holes all the way through.

Using the same drill bit, I also pre drilled a hole near the top of my 6' rod.  This time only going about 3/4 of the way in...not all the way through.

Next I took my sail, marked the center point across the top and the bottom of the sail.  I cut a slit at each mark and then slid a 3' dowel rod through the top casing and one through the bottom casing.

Using a screwdriver, I ran a screw through the top dowel rod until it was peeking out the other side.  I matched it up with the pre drilled hole in the top of the 6' rod and then screwed it the rest of the way in.  I didn't want it to come through the other side, so I didn't screw it quite all the way in.

Once the top dowel rod was in place, I marked where I wanted the bottom one to be and repeated the same steps for pre drilling the hole into the 6' rod and then screwing them together.

Once everything was in place I used some super glue to glue on the wood balls to the end of the 3' dowel rods.

To put it all together, I placed a brown table cloth on each table and centered my sail on each table.  For decoration, I added some small wooded treasure chests (found at JoAnn's for about $1 each) and filled them with chocolate.

For place mats I used sheets of 12x12 scrap book paper that had a print of an old world map.