Thanks Patricia for the picture of the tablecloth - it brought back many pleasant memories. When I married my navy guy >30 years ago we were stationed in Hawaii. The first week I was there the CO's wife "came calling". We all had the silver trays by the front door and placed our cards in it when visiting others. I still have my Army-Navy tablecloth in my cedar chest and use it occasionally. I also have my silver tray by my front door. I doubt people know what it is (it is engraved with the squadron's emblem). During my DH's career we saw many changes taking place for the benefit of families (out went the old addage that if the Navy wanted you to have a wife they would have issued you one)! In the beginning of his career we would write letters that were sequentially numbered so that when the ship got a mail delivery my DH could open the letters in order. He would get sometimes 20 letters at a time. When in port, the guys would rush off the ship to stand in long lines at pay phones and call collect. We wives sat home waiting for their phone calls. It was a hoot. Nowadays, cell phones and email keep families close. I remember at the end of my DH's career one wife was pouting bc she hadn't received an email from her husband that day. It was quite amusing. We even had to change the Wives Club to Spouse's Club and include fiancees. Lots of changes but the linens live on.....

I have a lovely late 19th century English D-end* mahogany table, but our two sons, ages 19 and 20, live and farm with us, and we use the table daily, not just on special occasions, so I too have to protect my real antique table from hoi polloi : ) . Unlike Lady Grantham, I don't have any household staff, so all the care and upkeep is down to me. Plus I like the look of a tablecloth, and lately favor colorful block print fabrics. * it can be converted from one large oblong table into a smaller rectangular table and one small round table.

I have a similar family tablecloth. Mine has some children's handprints as well. The first signature on the cloth is from 1934 and the last from 2000. We are out of space so we started a second one. The tablecloth belonged to my grandmother. She passed it down to my aunt. My aunt never married but live her entire life in the homestead so she hosted Christmas Eve. She passed down the tablecloth to me when I started hosting the family Christmas Eve. It is a prized possesion. Funny story - In 2000, my cousin hosted a a huge family reunion at his beach home. He requested I bring the tablecloth. When I left at the end of the event, he helped me load my car. I double checked to be sure I had the tablecloth. When I got home, the tablecloth was no where to be found. Thinking that maybe in the rush to get the kids and my elderly father ready to go that I had only thought I had the tablecoth but in fact had forgotten it, I called his sister who was still at the party. I told her I thought I had forgotten the tablecloth and asked her to look for it. She called me back about an hour later and said she had the tablecloth and would get it to me. When I asked where I had left it, she laughed and said "Tucked in the back of a drawer in my brother's bedroom!"

I wouldn't do a table cloth if you won't use it. If you will only display, I'd use something for display or less likely to be stained. If it is worth making and having, it is worthy of more than a folded display. You can wash a tablecloth, you can get out stains. If I were going to do the project, I'd probably use linen -- either white or natural and do the embroidery in a tone on tone. You could do a runner or topper that sits in the center of the table, but I'd allow for a centerpiece and have them go around the edges -- also where people will see them. Or do a pillow/cushion top. All you need is the raw fabric (prewash and dry) and mark the "safe" zone for signatures. I'd run a colored thread around the area, but tape would work. A hoop could make it harder to write on. And test your markers with the fabric if at all possible. A napkin of the same fabric or a piece cut off the end (you plan to shorten it -- if a plain fabric, you should be able to take the length off one end).