I learned to sew when I was 15 or 16 years old. My mom bought me a machine (the same one I still use) and I had some basic lessons from the store where the machine came from – more to familiarize you with your new machine that actually teaching you how to sew. I then started some proper sewing lessons from a family friend. I remember Making a sweatshirt was my first project. In my 20’s I sewed some clothes from time to time and made a few simple curtains for our house. I would patch things too. In my late 30’s I started making napkins and placemats. Nothing fancy, but very functional.
Recently I have taken a few classes to brush up on reading patterns and re-learning techniques like zippers, elastic, shirring and alterations. I found a great teacher and have re-learned some old things and learned a ton of new things as well.
I am not a seamstress, but I am so glad I have a sewing machine (affectionately called “The Dinosaur” – after all it is over 30 years old and weighs about 40 lbs.) I have made many gifts with my old trusty machine and it is time to dust it off and make a few more… Christmas and wintery napkins for my brother and his kids. Today over at Sincerely, Emily I have taken a little walk down memory lane about growing up using fabric napkins. I hope the gift of these napkins will create some good memories for my brother and his kids.
When I started making many napkins I decided to make a template out of tag board. With the template I didn’t have to keep the measuring tape out each time I cut a napkin out, I just use the template and cut around it. I had to make a new template and this one was made out of cardboard. Instead of cutting directly around it (it is pretty thick) I used a disappearing ink pen (specially made for fabrics) and traced the outline and then cut. (! Sorry for the TERRIBLE photo – not sure what happened there…)
Template for napkin
I wanted a 17” square finished napkin and I fold under a full inch on each side so my template is 19” square.
Depending on the width of your fabric and shrinkage, and also the size of your napkin, you can usually get 4 napkins in 1 ¼ yard of fabric. Always wash your fabric in warm or hot water BEFORE you do any cutting. Sometimes fabric can shrink quite a bit. You want to make sure that shrinking happens before you start your project, not after. With napkins that isn’t as devastating as it would be if you made a pair of pants. Make it a habit to wash your fabric first.
I am not an expert at sewing (or the proper sewing terminology). “Pictures are worth a thousand words” so if my words confuse you I really hope the pictures will help.
Now that you have cut out your napkins, start by pressing under ½”. Do this on each side. Steam on your iron helps set that fold or you can use a spray bottle with water to mist your fabric before ironing. It is important that those pressed lines hold and create a nice crisp edge.
Press your edges in
Continue around again, pressing another ½” under. Remember to use steam or your spray bottle. You want those pressed fold line to show as we continue on.
Unfold your pressed edges. You are using the fold lines in each corner to cut away a bit of your corner to help create a nicely mitered corner
Showing your cut line & 2nd fold line (dot)
I have drawn on the fabric so you can see the fold lines easier. I have also drawn the 45 degree angle line where you are going to trim the corner of your fabric off. There are two purposes for cutting this corner. You don’t want any fabric to stick out under your mitered corner, but it also helps reduce the bulk of the fabric you have to sew through at each corner.
Your cut
In the two above photos you also see where I have placed a dot – that is the reference point you are using to make your second fold. Stay tuned… that is coming shortly, but I wanted you to notice that reference point now.
Make your first ½” fold again.
Now it is time to use that reference point (the dot) from the above photo. Fold the corner down at a 45 degree angle. The fold line should be on that reference point. Press that fold to help hold it in place.
2nd fold - fold line is on the dot
Fold over ½” again. Your initial pressed lines should help. Your corners should come together and meet creating a nice mitered corner. Press.
3rd fold and press
I tend to complete one corner at a time before moving onto the next. Pressing along the way to keep all the folds neat.
You are now ready to sew.
I don’t like to start right in the corner. I start about 1” before the corner. That way, when I come back around I can sew directly over that first inch of stitching, locking in my threads, and end in the corner. There are no rules here, do what ever you are comfortable with.
My starting point
Sew in once continuous line. Pivot at the corners and continue until you have gone all the way around.
Showing overlap as you come around
Trim your ends.
You are done. Mitered fabric napkins.
Are any of you sewing some holiday gifts this years? What are you making? Add a link to your comment if you have posted about it on your blog.
Sincerely, Emily
Not Dabbling In Normal 
Nice Emily! I started using cloth napkins in college, much to the horror of my apartment mates, who declared it “unsanitary.” I have friends who say they cannot use cloth napkins because of “all the extra laundry.” (Seriously, how many people are you feeding? A family of four will not use so many napkins that you can’t just add them to the towel load.) I’m always shocked when I go to dinner at friends’ houses and they still have paper napkins. So much waste, and such an aesthetically stingy experience.
Hi Xan, I hear the “so much extra laundry” all the time. Our neighbors (now good friends) use paper napkins. When they come to our house for a meal they just couldn’t use the fabric ones and “get them dirty.” It has been a few years now and they finally use the fabric napkins at my house (probably because there isn’t any paper towel on the counter for them to grab anymore!). I am happy to use the fabric napkins & feel it is one way of contributing to less waste. I am tickled when I give them as gifts and the recipient actually uses them!
Yay, this is a fantastic idea. This year i’m knitting most of my gifts, as i just learned how to knit and can’t get enough of it…. it takes forever though. I do love to sew and also have been sewing since i was a very young teenager and got my hands on a used machine. I now have a new Kenmore (affectionately named Ken) who is still in storage, but who i planon taking out in the next few weeks for a few present ideas.
We use only cloth napkins in our house, (i do not notice any extra laundry, and we usually reuse the same napkin for a few nights in a row if we’re not eating something overly messy) so it would be great to make my own, and some for friends. Thanks for the idea!
My gift/sewing project for this year: reusable grocery bags. Not the big ones for the whole grocery list, but the little ones for bulk foods with a draw string.
Miranda – I hope you and “Ken” will get along famously. Your bulk food drawstring bags are a great gift idea. I have made some in a netting for veggies to use at the farmers markets and grocery stores (so they can still see the 5 digit code and know what it is w/o opening the bag. The netting is harder to work with for hemming (for me) so I found using fabric at the top and for the drawstring works better and slip the netting in and top stitch it all together.
I also crochet bags that are more netty… i may be posting the ‘pattern’ after the holidays. had to keep ’em secret until then.
Miranda – your crochet net bags will be fun to see. I imagine they work up fairly quickly.
[…] does get used for other things, in fact you may remember a post I did around the holidays about making napkins. I also posted recently over at Sincerely, Emily about being motivated to sew and I mentioned 5 […]
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