Old-fashioned Oilcloth

by Julia Parker, from the April 2004 Newsletter

I had heard of oilcloth sometime, somewhere in my past, but I wasn’t really sure what it was. After reading, re-reading and re-reading my daughter’s favorite book, “Little House on the Prairie,” in which Ma put on and took off the red-checked oilcloth from the table approximately 4,000 times, I decided to check into oilcloth.

Traditionally, oilcloth was made from sturdy fabric like canvas or linen and coated in linseed oil and paint. Modern oilcloth is made with canvas impregnated with vinyl. It is moisture resistant, can be wiped off after use, and laundered when needed. It is apparently all the rage right now. I even found an article by Martha Stewart on all the uses for the new fossil-fuel based version of oilcloth. Yikes! This is not an article about vinyl oilcloth!

I am always looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives. One way to do this is with oilcloth. It can be used for tablecloths, placemats, and shower curtains, and even as an alternative to sandwich bags. It is not quite waterproof as plastic but I would imagine it would last as long or longer. (We have only gotten through the first three of the Little House series, but I bet Ma is still using that oilcloth in the sixth book too.) In addition, oilcloth is not made in a refinery, and it won’t fill up landfills as quickly as plastic.

The project I have chosen for April is oilcloth sandwich wraps. You can use the basic oilcloth instructions to make whatever item you would like. The sandwich wraps can help kids (and adults) reduce the number of plastic bags they use for lunches. The average American uses 20-40 sandwich bags per person per month. You can use these cloths to wrap up many different lunch or snack items not just sandwiches (although I don’t think I’d throw a scoop of tofu salad in there).

I would suggest working with school age kids on this project so they have a hand in painting and designing their own oilcloth sandwich wrapper.

Materials needed

• A pre-washed 15”X15” square of linen or canvas
• Linseed oil
• Acrylic paint or fabric dye (or leave it plain)
• 1” paint brush
• 3 feet of ribbon, cord, leather string
• Needle and thread

Directions

• Paint your fabric with linseed oil.
• Paint a design on your oilcloth.
• Hem the edges of your oilcloth.
• Fold the piece of ribbon or string in two.
• Sew the center of the piece of ribbon to the middle of one edge of the fabric.
• Place sandwich in the middle, fold the sides in, wrap the string around the sandwich like you’re making yourself a present and tie it.

Care of oilcloth

• Wipe clean when you’ve used your oilcloth.
• Wash gently and hang dry.
• Do not bleach (linseed oil and chlorine don’t mix well).
• When your painting fades, you can re-oil and re-paint your cloth.

Julia Parker is a mother, a doula, and a recovering academic.

Copyright: Copyright on articles and recipes are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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