Cloth Napkins

Putting a little elegance in your life by using cloth napkins can be a trifle on the costly side, especially if you are purchasing them. Therefore, we need to talk about making them in an inexpensive way. Most of the time if you are going to make them, the only cost will be your fabric. If you are sharp, you can wait for sales and pick up some very nice fabrics for less than half price and sometimes for as little as one dollar a yard. If you can be patient and wait until the day after a holiday, the fabric is reduced by a large percentage. Then there is always the fantastic find at a garage sale or at the local thrift shop. Many people purchase fabric, then never use it and are eager to clear out their coffers. For the easiest pattern to make your own, check out my page, one layer napkins fringed.

Also, don’t forget when you are out on one of your bargain hunting quests, to not only look for fabrics, but look for napkins! These can often be found in the sale bins at many places, even at Walmart and Kmart. Keep your eye open at the local yard sales and also your local thrift shops. Don’t forget to ask your mother or grandmother if they have any extra that they are not using. These could be the least expensive of all.

Tea towels and small hand towels work well too. If you watch your sales, these can be found for practically nothing. Bandanas can make a very colorful selection of napkins for everyday or for that special picnic lunch. They in turn can be used after the meal is over to wet and really freshen up with. There actually are many uses for a bandana besides as your napkin. Just ask any of your neighborhood Brownies or Girl Scouts, they have lots of uses that they learn.

Many of our napkins at home don’t match and that doesn’t bother anyone in our household. In fact it can sometimes add a little extra color to our table. If you are a family that prefers to use your napkin for more than one meal, different napkins can make it easier to recognize your own. I will have to confess, I prefer to use a clean one for each meal, but that is just me. There is always room enough in one of my wash loads for a few napkins. Actually, where I was going was that you can make your napkins out of many things and it really doesn’t matter if there is enough fabric to make more than one or two. I have used a beautiful cotton skirt that didn’t suit my shape any longer, and made a set of four. Patchwork napkins are one more way to use up all the little extra pieces that are not big enough by themselves.

So you see, there are many ways to come up with inexpensive cloth napkins. With a small amount of patience, a little bit of time, and a sharp eye, you too can have many pretty, inexpensive napkins to adorn your table.

DII Primary Set of 6 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.

Double Sided Napkins

1. Wash and dry fabric first.
2. Iron if necessary.
3. At each cut end of the fabric, go down from edge approx. ½” and make a small cut. You are now going to rip the fabric across to the other side. This puts your fabric straight on the grain and allows your napkins to always be square.
4. Make a square template out of poster board or cardboard the size you want your napkins to be plus ½” wider on each side. 16″ cut to 17″ for seam allowance. Cut out your squares.
5. Place two squares right sides together. Pin , putting your pins perpendicular to the edge of the fabric. This allows you to sew right over them.
6. Start at the center of one edge and in approx. ½”. Use your guide on machine to keep stitching straight.
7. Start sewing and when you reach a corner, leave needle in fabric, raise presser foot, and turn fabric to sew next side seam.
8. Sew next three sides and stop at corner of the fourth side.
9. Now you have a square with three sides closed and the fourth side half way closed.
10. Remove from machine and turn the napkin right side out thru the opening on your fourth side.
11. You will need to use something pointed such as a pencil or knitting needle to poke your corners out to points.
12. Iron and be sure to iron the seam allowance at the opening to the inside of the napkin.
13. Now return to your machine and make a straight line of stitching ¼” from the edge, all around the four sides, backstitching at the end.
14. Your napkin is complete!!

Single Layer Fabric Napkins Hemmed
 
Make sure your fabric looks the same on both sides. Gingham is a good example. This is not necessary, but does make prettier napkins.
1. Wash and dry your fabric.
2. Iron is needed.
3. At each cut edge of fabric, go down from the edge approx. ½ “, and make a snip into the fabric approx. ½” to 1″. Now you are going to rip it clear to the other side. This puts fabric straight on the grain, and allows your napkins to always lay flat.
4. Make a square template out of cardboard or poster board the size you want your napkins to be, plus ½” wider on each side. 16″ napkins cut 17″.
5. Go to your iron and press all side in ¼”.
6. Next press in all sides again ¼”. When you reach a corner, it is easier to mitre, but you can just fold over again if it is easier for you. This gives your hem no exposed edges by making a double fold.
7. Return to your machine and sew a straight line of stitching right down the middle of your hem and when you reach a corner, leave your needle in the fabric, lift the presser foot, turn the napkin and sew the next side until you reach your starting point. Backstitch and you are done. If you don’t have a machine, your hem can just as easily be put in by hand. I must also add, if you are lucky enough to have a serger, this would work so easily.
Your single ply napkins might also be hemmed in another way. You can purchase bias tape and sew around the edges, or perhaps even make your own by cutting your strips on the bias. Single ply napkins are the cheapest way to make your own, as you can get more out of your yardage, but my stitching is not always perfect, so they don’t always show as well.

One Layer Napkins Fringed

Make sure fabric looks the same on both sides. Gingham is a good example. This is not always necessary, but it does make them prettier.
1. Wash and dry fabric.
2. Iron is needed.
3. Cut a template out of cardboard or poster board to the size you need. 10″ 12″ 16″
etc.
4. Cut out your squares. A rotary cutter works very well.
5. Set your sewing machine to a zig-zag stitch or a straight stitch will work also. Run a
line of stitching on all four sides approximately ½ inch in from the edge.
6. Fringe each side of your napkin at least 5 rows of threads. They will fringe more as
they are washed, but the zig-zag will prevent them from fringing to far.