I have always loved cloth napkins. Beautiful china set with shiny silverware, wine glasses, and a stark paper napkin just doesn’t work! I also do not love throwing away bleached paper napkins day after day. What a waste. And who knows where those trees used to live. Best to use cloth. If we are only dabbing our lips after a lip smacking meal, I just fold them back up and we use them again (if it’s just me and Doug, obviously one would want to use fresh, clean napkins for company!). Aesthetically they are nicer, less wasteful, and a great addition to your farmhouse table.
Cloth napkins in beautiful fabrics range from $6-$12. You can get some cheaply made China ones from Walmart for $3. I can get a whole yard of fabric and make my own for a buck a piece or less and still have leftover fabric for quilt blocks. This is a great beginning sewing project.
1) First, set up your iron! Grandma taught me this; let the iron do the work for you. I typically detest ironing, but for sewing it is a must!
2) Measure out how big you want your blocks to be. I didn’t want to waste too much fabric, so I folded the cloth in thirds and cut at the creases. Grandma also taught me that if you cut down a few inches, you can finish the cut by tearing the fabric. It will tear straight and true and save you time and crooked pieces. I did it the other way as well. I ended up with nine blocks.
3) Fold and iron a 1/4 inch hem. The hot iron holds the fold. Then fold once more 1/4 inch for a finished seam. Iron and pin. You don’t want frayed edges or unraveling strings; that is why we fold the fabric over twice.
4) Sew a straight line 1/8 of an inch from edge of hem. You could also do a second run doing a zigzag stitch on the edge of the fold to ensure sturdiness.
5) Iron and fold.
I chose this plaid fabric because with so many colors it is bound to match anything I put on the table! I think I will go get some cute ranch/farm scene fabric and make another set so that I can alternate them on the table.
These make great homemade gifts as well!
Farmgirl School 
They are beautiful, and my grandmothers taught me to sew as well. But they also taught me to fear plaid! What if the marks don’t line up! I love the colors though.
ha! That’s right! But in this case, I just followed the lines to make sure they stayed straight!
I should do this!
Hubby got me an old machine years ago and as no one could teach me to sew as a child… I never could ‘get it’… I thought I would make serviettes first. I cut up an old unused table cloth, zig zagged around the edges (remember I was a novice) and ended up with so many serviettes we are still using them nearly ten years later…the little blighters just will not die lol and I dont feel right about making new ones to replace them ….
Had anyone told me to pin and fold and iron when I started down this road, I would never have started lol. Thanks for sharing this with us 🙂
You may have a better way! Love it!
Thank you but no, your way looks classier and I prefer it :-)… I just didnt do it that way due to lack of skill lol