I have always thought that I would like to teach sewing. Maybe this is my first class!
I haven't used cloth napkins regularly since I left home in 1974. My Mother used them all the time and made lots of them. My first experience in learning to iron was as a little girl, and I was allowed to iron the napkins and handkerchiefs.
The shortage of many supplies during the coronavirus quarantine inspired me to conserve the paper napkins and paper towels I have on hand, and make some cloth ones to reuse instead. I am going to heartily recommend a video tutorial that was my reference. It is well done and she has already worked out all the handy techniques. I'll go over the steps I followed, and you can also watch the expanded version.
Here's the video that got me considering cloth napkin production.
Supplies
You will need:
a square of fabric, (at least 12 inches square, bigger is better) You may want to practice the technique on something smaller at first.
scissors (cutting mat and rotary cutter are nice but optional)
ruler
iron
starch is helpful, see below
thread to match
a working sewing machine, with an edge stitching foot if you have one.
1 yard of 54 inch fabric, or 1 1/2 yard of 45 inch fabric will make 6 napkins. Quilting cotton is fine.
I started with 1 yard of 54 inch home dec fabric. I didn't pre wash. I felt the hems would press in better without prewashing. I also used spray starch. My favorite is Sta Flo in the blue jug from Walmart or Fred Meyer, diluted about 1/3 starch to 2/3 water in a spray bottle.
Here's a finished napkin.
I cut my 1 yard of fabric into 18 inch squares. I did a little math for the piece of fabric I had on hand and that size made 6 napkins. The video calls for 20 inch squares. I thought that sounded huge, and I could get 6 from my fabric if I made them smaller. I also skipped the little loops and buttons she shows in the video. They're cute but not necessary. I used starch and ironed the hems in the squares, starting at the top edge and working counter clockwise. My hems were 1/2 inch instead of the suggested 5/8. I folded over once, ironed, folded that hem down and ironed.
I went back and took some more pictures of the corner fold with a different fabric.
Turn to the next side, and repeat, folding over the ends at the corners and pressing.
Keep moving around the whole square. Repeat for all the napkins.
Sewing
I used an edge stitching foot and did not pin anything.
Start in the middle of one side, with the folded hem facing up. That means the bobbin thread will show on the front side of the napkin, so make sure your tension is correct and the stitches look nice. Practice on a scrap if you need to first. I lengthened my stitch a little, and used contrasting thread that showed up against the fabric on top and in the bobbin. If you're not confident of your stitching, use a neutral thread that won't show as much.
Sew along the edge of the hem, and stop stitching about 6 inches before you get to the bottom edge. You need to leave yourself space to fold in the mitered corner. If you stitch too far, you will not have room to work.
Stop stitching, leave the presser foot down and the needle in and unfold the hem on the right hand side. Leave the bottom hem folded up twice.
It will help to watch the video for this step. Fold the right hem up in a triangle, lining it up with the inside crease from the folded hem. Make sure the triangle fold goes all the way to the raw edge on the right. Tuck in the first fold with the mitered corner and then re-fold the second fold. You should be pretty close to having a mitered corner that meets at the hem edges. Wiggle things around a little if it seems way off. Again, watch the video for a better visual of this step. If it helps, make the folds and put a pin in to hold them ahead of time and remove the pins as you get to the corners.
I stitched just over the first fold of the miter, leave the needle down, lift the presser foot and turn the napkin to start stitching the next side.
Stitch around all 4 sides and repeat for all the napkins. You will get better as you practice!
Clip loose threads, make sure the front sides look nice.
I ran them through the wash when I finished. They're napkins, they are going to be washed and probably get stained. If they're not quite square or the hems are not exactly even, it doesn't matter. You did something pretty and creative for yourself and your family!
I think the size is just right, and 20 inch squares would also have been a great size. By the time you add the hems and then they shrink a little when they are washed, a little bigger is better. The 18 inch made the most of my fabric size.
Here's a regular paper napkin on top of my cloth one for size reference.
I hope this encourages you to try making some cloth napkins.
This blogging adventure is not something I have experience in, but what better time to play with technology? If you have questions or need help with any sewing subject, or this project, I will try to answer. I would love to see pictures of your napkins!
Love, and best stitches!
Kathy
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