Hi, Therese! I'm so glad you found my tips helpful. I use regular all purpose thread. Karen

I wish I knew what to tell you. I have been able to adjust distorted weave on burlap before I sew, by just pulling on it. The old saying is, "When in doubt, rip it out." You may need to take it apart and resew it. Sorry.

Pam - The burlap will fray at the edges if you don't do something to it. I usually hem it. There are some companies selling premade table cloths and runners online.

Linda - I would sew a rectangle of something strong, like canvas, into the bottom of the bag. If you want to make it a little easier, you could cut a rectangle of something strong the width of the bag, fold it over each side at the bottom, and stitch it down. If you sew something to the outside of the bag that way, I would make it pretty short because it will reduce the length inside the bag. I would use short stitches and reinforce the seam by sewing one or two extra seams a quarter inch and half inch away from the first seam.

Vicki - I don't know how other people do it, but I sew burlap with a very small stitch. For your project, I would zigzag all around the edges with a wide stitch. You may not even need to hem it if you like the look with the zigzag. You will have a little bit of a bump where you join the two pieces, so you might want to check on the train layout before you stitch. You may not want the seam in the center. If you end up with a seam that interferes with the train or the track, you may want to "shim" up the lower part by putting some felt or batting under the lower part, to even it up with the seam. You may decided to cut one piece in half lengthwise, so that you end up with two seams that are not in the center of the table. I wish you the best of luck, and I would love to hear how your project turns out!

LuWana - I don't know about the odor. But as far as the fraying, I think zigzagging might help. My experience has been that even on a gentle cycle, the weave shifts in washing. I think the pillowcase might help with that.

Yes, I think so. I don't have a serger, so I use a zigzag stitch on my regular machine. I use a wide stitch so that it goes past the first couple of threads. If you don't go wide enough, you end up pulling out the first thread instead of securing it. And I use a shorter stitch length than I normally do for zigzagging edge. I also add Fray Check to raw edges that look like they still want to fray.

Sam - I'm not really comfortable with the idea of putting lights too close to anything flammable, but I have read that there are certain lights that are safer for this type of project, so I assume you are using those. As for the burlap, I would try a zigzag stitch. And I do think two rows might be more secure than one. You might also try an adhesive. Good luck!