The right supplies are absolutely necessary - white glue, a dull putty knife, various brown toned cotton fabrics cut into 4-inch squares, dark brown strips of cotton cut with pinking shears into a 2-inch width and trimmed in length as I used them, a throw-away paint brush for the glue and water mix, and an old ashtray recycled into a glue bowl (not pictured).
An old card table was screaming for attention. The vinyl top had pretty much disintegrated. I removed it with scissors, not worrying about little bits of vinyl that remained on the edges (they won't show later). As you can see, the top of the table under the cover was in pretty good shape, so I began laying and gluing squares and strips of fabric in a pleasing arrangement.
For the gluing process, mix equal parts of white glue and water with a paintbrush in an old bowl or recycled ashtray or other container. The ratio of glue to water is not absolutely 50% each, but it's close.
To prepare the table for the fabric, paint a square about the size of the fabric square using a generous amount of the glue and water mixture. Do not allow this to dry.
Smooth a fabric square over the glue and water mixture on the table, butting against the square prior placed. Paint the top of the fabric with the glue and water mixture after it is arranged. Smooth the fabric with your hands to remove any air bubbles that may accumulate beneath it.
Repeat the preparation step; apply the glue and water mixture to the table for the next fabric square.
Repeat the placement of the fabric square step. Smooth the fabric square with your hands again to remove any air bubbles.
After application of the glue mixture to the table and the next fabric square placed, note that the next square is hanging over the edge of the table. This needs to be trimmed to about 1/4 inch and tucked beneath the table top and the table frame with the putty knife.
Begin tucking the fabric between the table top and edge, gently prodding and pushing with the putty knife, being careful not to cut the fabric with the edge of the putty knife.
After the fabric is fully tucked, coat the fabric with the glue and water mixture, using the paint brush and a liberal amount of the liquid. Smooth with your hands if necessary to remove bubbles and irregularities that may arise.
Using the paint brush soaked with the glue and water mixture, make a glue path upon which to lay the brown fabric strip. This strip of fabric will cover irregularities and uneven square edges too.
Follow the method above for tucking the edge of the fabric between the table top and table frame, smooth about half of the brown strip on the glue, paint another length of glue, lay down the remainder of the fabric strip, trim it about 1/4 inch from the end of the table edge, and tuck this edge under as well. Finish the strip by coating it with the glue and water mixture, as well as smoothing with your hands as necessary.
As you close in on the final row, lay out your fabrics, and trim around the edge of the corner piece. Prepare the table with the glue and water mixture, place the corner square, trim, and paint with the liquid.
Push the edges of the corner fabric square between the top and frame of the table, using the putty knife. Smooth irregularities with your hands, and apply more of the glue liquid as needed. Wipe extra glue from table frame with a cloth before it dries.
Continue placing squares, tucking in edges as you go, until you reach the end of the row. Repeat the corner instructions above. Apply glue between the rows of fabric squares and lay down the last piece of 2-inch trim, following the instructions above. Tuck in the edges of the sash trim and coat with the glue and water mixture.
Check for bubbles or irregularities and spread them out with your hands, applying more of the glue/water mixture as necessary to make the fabric pliant. Allow the fabric to dry overnight. (If you do this project over a period of days, you can complete a section, allow it to dry, do another section, dry, repeat, until the table is completed.) After the top is completely dry, finish with at least three coats of a vinyl or acrylic coating so that it holds up under wear and is waterproof. Then, be sure and step back and say to yourself - "look what I have done!"