HOMEMAKER SERIES Tip Nr.1 - Make Fabric Scraps into Table Napkins

There are a lot of DIY projects I have in mind and for me they call for a lot of fabrics...i.e. quilts, pillowcases, tablecloth, curtains, bed canopy as well as bedlinens and here, I will be discussing about table napkins.

When I invite friends in my house for lunch or dinner, as much possible I would set the table using napkins made of fabric instead of the disposable paper ones. I love the feel of cotton or linen. Although fabric napkins have disadvantages of washing and ironing them, I would still love to do the process like they use to do it in the older days... Sometimes I even starch them to have that perfect look.

As you might have read in some of my posts, I love hoarding fabrics for later use... I´m always on the look out for rest pieces that have potential like making them into pillowcases or for quilt samplers. I´m a spontaneous crafter, the moment an idea comes up, I quickly gather my materials and start to work. I make a lot of projects for my home, so I start by searching for the right colors from my stash, then a project is born.

A couple of years back, I recycled some vintage duvet covers from Oma, hubby´s grandma.. There was a hole in each of the front center to enable the duvert to easily get inserted. I recycled those duvet covers and bought fabrics to close the hole, add a closure on one side and used buttons on one of the sides to close it. There were rest meters/yards and I used them to make these simple table napkins.

One of the ideas is to make these napkins from a rose printed cotton fabric. I first washed the fabric before cutting it to its size to be on the safe side.. I made 6 pieces, finished sizes of which are 40 cm x 40 cm. I double folded the borders, tucked-in the corners with pins.... it´s quickly done with a running stitch using the sewing machine. A piece is so easily done because I prepared to cut and fold the edges before hand. It pays when the edges are folded and pre stitched before sewing finally using the machine.

I love to use these napkins on mismatched plates....the rose fabric design picks-up the colors of the plates above. And so, just remember, if you´re the romantic type and love it the old ways.... you might want to make your own sets like these ones.

There are more home projects and ideas to come via my Homemaker Series....so stay tuned!

All photos are by the author.

Thank you for reading.

@mers