{make stuff} cloth napkin DIY

Happy Monday friends! My long lost “Music Mondays” have been turning into “Made Mondays” the past couple weeks. I don’t really have a reason, and I don’t know that it will turn into a regular occurrence, but until then, here is my latest DIY to share with you all:

Let me tell you, cloth napkins are where it’s at. They are more absorbent than their paper counterparts, instantly turn an everyday meal into a high class experience, and don’t fill up your trash bin after every use.

And just in case I haven’t convinced you yet, I’m going to show you how easy it is to make your own! After this tutorial you’ll be able to have so many cloth napkins you will be coordinating your place settings with your outfit every day.

Eh, perhaps that’s a little extreme, but you will be able to make your own absorbent, high class, earth-saving meal necessities!

Materials:

• fabric (you can get 4 napkins out of 1 yard of fabric)
• thread

Cut the fabric into 18″x18″ squares. You could get away with 16″x16″, but you’re still only going to get 4 napkins out of a yard, so why skimp? Super luxe napkins go upwards of 21″ – 22″ square if that’s what you’re going for. Any bigger and you’ll be on the verge of making cloth blankets and that’s just a bit unnecessary.

While I was cutting the fabric, Lucy wanted to try and help me. This is how she helps:

Thanks for the help, Luce.

Press under the edges about a 1/4″ twice. Make sure to hide all those raw edges. At the corners, just fold over one edge over the other and secure it with a pin.

After all the edges are pressed, top stitch nice and straight and close to the folded edge. Trim your threads and there you have it: fancy cloth napkins.

Oh, I didn’t tell you the best part about cloth napkins: Folding them! I make a killer lotus flower napkin fold (always a party pleaser) and the fanned napkin about is a delight on the table. Check out my man Luigi, the napkin folding expert, for lots of informative how-to videos on the art of napkin folding!

Stay tuned, later this week I’ll be showing you how to make a simple napkin ring for your new cloth napkins over on Petit Elefant!

Note: I don’t really know Luigi, but found his videos when trying to figure out how to do that awesome fan fold. He’s just a sweet old man in a tux folding napkins. Who wouldn’t love it?