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Cloth Napkins

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Little by little I’m making all of the things that’ll make this apartment feel like home to me. Saturday night (yes, I am a dork), I made six cloth napkins to complement our placemats. They are the simplest sewing project ever. I just cut them to size (about 15″ by 18″) then pressed each edge under twice. First, I pressed a .5″ hem, then folded half of that under for the second pressing. After that, all that’s left is to stitch around all of the edges. Voila! No more paper napkin waste.  I might be a little eco-crazy, but at least I’m in good company here in Bozeman. We actually got 15 cents back for using our own bags at the grocery store. Yay!

September 3rd, 2007 | Category: Green Living, Sewing | 11 comments
  • I love napkins also! There is nothing that feels so elegant even when eating PB&J's.
  • kt
    I love those napkins they are so cheery!
  • those are so pretty!
  • Sulu-- I know! I feel like you are my twin or something. :)
    Roxanne- Glad I could help. :)
  • Ah, thanks for the tips! I think hand cranking around the corners will be a huge help. My future cloth napkins thank you! :)
  • We're experiencing such similar situations since our moves! The grocery store clerk here offered to enter me in a raffle since I bring all of my own reusable bags to tote my groceries in. Portland is all about being earth-friendly, too!
  • Roxanne- The first thing is I never start in the actual corner- I put the needle down a few inches from the corner and cruise around. When I get to a corner, I put the needle down and rotate like you said, sometimes I have to hand crank it just to make sure that it doesn't get stuffed in the plate. If you think your fabric will be really thick in the corners you could also try a denim strength needle. Usually I backstitch a bit to make sure the corner stays flat. I just take 'em real slow, I have no other secrets.
  • yay! those are beautiful. we have some sort of blah cloth napkins, and I'll definitely be taking a cue from you and your super-cute tableware. i'm with roxanne on corner issues when sewing a narrow hem like that-- i'd love to know your secret too!
  • love your napkins - they look like could be ours!
  • What's your secret to sewing close to the corners? When I get to a corner I leave the needle down and rotate. The trouble is starting again. A lot of times the corner seems to get stuffed down in the plate (where the bobbin thread comes out) and I can't start up again. I always have trouble sewing from an edge. Good thing I don't have to start from an edge too often.
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