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Help me find waterproof tartan material
I'm almost done building a custom table for my engineering department area at work. Aside from being a conference/meeting table, it will also house a 65-inch monitor in the tabletop that we use for viewing engineering drawings. But at certain points during the year we have an office luncheon, and we will need to eat at that table. I'm designing the monitor to crank down below the top of the table and be covered by a drop-in wood panel to cover it.
For obvious reasons, I don't want anyone to be able to spill food or drink into the electronics when we have our luncheons. So I need to provide a waterproof table cloth that I can cover the entire table with. I'd like to make it with a material that has a traditional-looking tartan pattern, but I'm having a hard time finding suitable material. Here are my requirements:
1. The table is 48"x144" (4ft x 12ft). I'd like about a foot of drape on all sides, so I need a piece of material at least 72"x168" (6 ft x 14 ft). I suppose I could join two narrower strips together lengthwise, but I'd rather avoid the work of sewing it and not have a seam down the middle (possible leak point). If all I can find is a 54" or 60" wide bolt, then there's also the option of sewing a border along the edges to gain the width. Still, that's a lot of work I'd rather avoid. I'm not ruling out these options, but a nice clean single piece of cloth at full width and length would be ideal.
2. The material needs to be waterproof or water-resistant, of course. Vinyl or oilcloth (cotton-backed vinyl) seem like typical table cloth materials, but I'd also be interested in a waxed cotton or other material, as long as it won't let spills come through. In fact, the more natural and authentic-looking the material, the better. As long as it's suitable for use as a table cloth and able to be cleaned off. It will see not only liquid spills but greasy food as well, I'm sure.
3. I don't necessarily care if it's an official named tartan or not, but I want it to look like a traditional tartan pattern. Some of the "plaid" table cloths out there look pretty cheesy, and I'm not interested in pseudo-tartan or hokey versions. I'd actually prefer a darker tartan instead of one with a lot of light colours.
4. Cost per yard can't be ridiculous. My company is paying for this, so I have to be able to justify it as reasonable. For the approximately 5 yards I'd need for this project, keeping it at or under $25 USD per yard is ideal.
Does anyone have any idea where to look for such a material, or have leads on a supplier? So far I've found what seems like a decent waxed cotton in two tartan patterns, but it's only available in 60" width and it's at the top end of my price range. Are there other materials I should be considering that will serve the purpose, which might be more available in tartan patterns?
*edited to add: here's another waxed cotton canvas that could be a contender. But again, only 60" wide and slightly over my ideal price.
Last edited by Tobus; 11th May 18 at 10:07 AM.
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