I recently finished a tablecloth that niggled me like that. Amazing vintage damask linen, complete with perfect monogram, and I wanted to modernise it without losing the elegance of the thing. Suffice to say, having spent hours painstakingly sewing ribbon onto it, I spent most of last Friday painstakingly removing the ribbon, washing the cloth and preparing it to start again on Saturday.
Instead of satin ribbon, which just felt wrong for this hardwearing but elegant tablecloth (satin ribbon, for all its charms, sometimes just looks a bit insubstantial), I decided to trim the tablecloth in lovely quality red and white 100% cotton quilting fabric. After much loitering in thefabulous crafting store near my house, I picked out a really pretty red and white flowery fabric, by Moda (I think. I'd have to actually go and find the fabric in order to confirm that and I daren't leave Teddy, who is attempting to practise his engineering skills on our home phone).
The fabric is going together in a patchworkey-type-style, and will trim around the tablecloth. I'm hoping to come across some damask napkins so I can put a trim down them too, but no joy yet in the local charity shops.