Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cloth Napkins

During Advent we did a "fancy dinner" with china, crystal, and cloth napkins (they were white, now they are white with pizza stains....I'm not so good in the stain department). The girls loved the napkins and a green light clicked on in my head. My mom made cloth napkins before green was in. I loved setting the table because I would give myself the prettiest napkin. Bright colors just make me happy.
I had a store credit for a home store so went looking for some kid-friendly (dark) cloth napkins. They were all HUGE. So....I bought a table cloth. I lucked out because the pattern has squares in it which made it super easy to cut up. I made them twice the size of a paper napkin so they are workable for kids, fit on their laps, but are plenty big for messy adults. The in-store cloth napkins are way to big to manage. Most of the pieces had a side or two already hemmed so the hemming went quickly. Hemming does not require real sewing skills (just folding and sewing in a straight line) only a sewing machine. I got 21 cloth napkins out of a $7 clearance table cloth! It took me about 2 hours to hem them all. Emma bragged to her friend that was eating over that day "My mom made these just today all by herself!" That made it worth it right there! They are bright and colorful, match my fiesta ware and hide food stains well. AND there is one less thing I have to put in my grocery cart..and in the landfill :)
Go over to Rocks In My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas!


12 comments:

  1. These are brilliant. I have some fabric left over from a pair of curtains for a smallish window and its a similar squared fabric only in shades od blue. I should be able to get a dozen or so napkins from the fabric. Thanks so much for this.

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  2. This is awesome. I made the "Earth Day" resolution last year to begin to use cloth napkins - however, I did not want to purchase a week's supply. So then my green idea fell by the wayside. I could definitely sew some like you did! What a great use of the table cloth. And, my mom used cloth napkins every night at dinner while we were growing up too - way before it was a GREEN thing to do - it was just her way!

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  3. I adore cloth napkins, too. I have a bunch that's seasonal. If you have a serger, it's easy to hem them.

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  4. We have been using cloth napkins as well. Great idea on using the tablecloth!! :D

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  5. I just got cloth napkins for the first time and am very excited. I like your idea TONS except that sewing causes me to break out in hives. Maybe the hives would be worth it though. 21 napkins for $7 is GREAT!
    Thanks!

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  6. It's official, your a Comment Queen! I posted your pink eye tip and a link to your site. Congrats! Jen

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  7. This is a GREAT idea!! We really need to do this in our house!

    Thanks for visiting me!!

    ~Tidymom

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  8. Those are cute! I like the idea of not using paper towels & napkins anymore too!

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  9. I have thought about the switch to cloth napkins. Thanks for sharing how you made them!

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  10. Those are beautiful! I love the idea of making them a lot smaller than the normal cloth-napkin size. We already use cloth napkins that I've made, but none in this handy kid-size. I have a closet full of fabric -- I'm sure I could make about 10,000 napkins. ;) Thanks for the inspiration!

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  11. What beautiful fabric! I love cloth napkins. One tip I learned from my grandma: for casual meals and/or messy kids, washcloths make good napkins and hand towels make good placemats--the velour ones look very nice on the table and are available in a zillion colors.

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  12. Those are super cute napkins! I never thought of making them out of a clearance tablecloth. Very smart!

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