Simplifying the Kitchen: Cloth Napkins

Posted on November 25, 2009 by LJ

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

One of the ways I decided I could cut down on disposable goods was to substitute cloth napkins for paper ones. Making cloth napkins is one of the tasks I have taken on recently that I find I am enjoying very much. I’m not much of a seamstress, but I can manage to make the straight lines that hemming napkins requires. Here is my easy method to make cloth napkins:

Materials

Cloth (I prefer a dark-colored cotton), about 1/2 yard
Thread
A sewing machine (optional, you can sew these by hand)
An iron

Prepare the Fabric

I always pre-wash and dry my fabric to shrink it. After this, you can iron it out and remove any non-straight edges. Cut the fabric into squares. I make mine 14″ square, allowing for a doubled-1/4″ hem on all sides.

Iron in the Hems

I next take my iron and eyeball a 1/4″ around the outside of the napkin. I take the scissors and miter the corners next, then fold the hems in on themselves and iron all the way around.