How To Make Quilted Napkins
How To Make Quilted Napkins
I have been experimenting on making all types of cloth napkins, and quilted ones have me a little stumped. There are all styles of quilted placemats on the market. In fact they seem to be the best kind and they have that layer of batting between the top and bottom of the placemat. Okay, so now imagine a quilted placemat as a napkin. I can’t quite see it. They are just to thick and don’t bend or fold well. If you make them without the batting, then they aren’t really quilted. So I made some using the leftover scraps of fabric from the napkins I have been making, and they have a patchwork effect. So now I have two patchwork napkins that I am displaying below. I used my rotary cutter and made perfect four inch squares. I them laid them out in a pattern and sewed them together. I was so very careful to make my seams exact, and when I crossed over a seam, I made sure they were all pressed open , and they still came out a little crooked. If you are a quilter, you may know how to do this more precisely than I do, and if you know how to make all of those beautiful patterns that quilts come in, then your napkins would look more like a quilt.
Making quilted napkins seems like a very difficult thing to do. If any of you out there have done this, and would care to comment on how to accomplish this, I would welcome your expert advise. I am sure that there are many who would love to try this project. It would be a great way to learn quilting on a small scale.
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December 21st, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I’m a quilter and I’d recommend using flannel to replace the batting. The flannel is thinner, so it is a better choice for things like place mats, table runners and napkins. I would also use a single fabric for the backing and not try to put two quilt blocks back to back to start with. The other suggestion would be to bind the edges like a regular quilt. Hope this helps.
May 17th, 2008 at 3:23 am
You are correct that without the batting you are not really quilting. “Quilts” have three layers: the pieced top, the batting in the middle, and the backing which is solid fabric on the bottom layer. What you are doing with these napkins is making the top layer of a quilt.
Sew all seams 1/4″.
To keep the squares straight here is an example:
-Sew four 2.5 inch strips together.
-Press seams to one side, not open. You may alternate the direction you iron the seams between the strips but iron them all to one side or the other.
-Your new large strip of fabric should be 8-1/2 wide”.
-Now cut the large strip perpendicular to the seam line into small strips that are 2-1/2″ by 8-1/2″.
-Mix and match the multi-fabric strips into squares and sew them together, press seam to one side, alternating sides.
If you are making a set of napkins, make several large strips that are not identical, cut them all up, and mix and match for more variety.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Wow! Thanks Laura! This is great information for me, but also for anyone else that wants to do this. I will have to give it a try. Thank you again!