Square Overlays

Overlays are a personal design choice — some prefer longer overlays to cover more of the cloth underneath, others prefer shorter — but there are some general rules of thumb when choosing an overlay size.

When working with round tables, you can use either a smaller round cloth or a square cloth as an overlay.  When choosing a square cloth, be sure to keep in mind the “corner-to-corner” distance, as described in the illustration below.  The corner-to-corner distance of a square cloth is longer than its sides — for example, a 90” square cloth has a 127.28” corner-to-corner distance — so you’ll want to reference that distance when determining how far you want the overlay to drop from the table.

When working with rectangular tables, you’ll most often see square cloths used as overlays, either in a “diamond” position or in a “cap” position.  When using a “diamond”-style overlay, the corner points of the linen lay between the corner edges of the table, so you’ll want to consider the corner-to-corner distance when deciding how far you want the overlay to drop.  When using a “cap”-style overlay, the edges of the cloth lay parallel to the edges of the table, so you’ll want to consider the linen size when deciding which overlay to use.