Diy Simple Cloth Napkins

I made some cloth napkins a couple Christmas's ago that were supposed to go to my cousin as a gift.  Well, I never made it to her house, she lives an hour and a half away, and then we moved and then she moved and I decided I would just use them at our place rather than save them forever.  Back then I made 12 out of a table cloth I found at Target on clearance.  They work perfectly and are thick fabric which I love. 

I've finally gotten my son and husband to use cloth napkins (when they are washed and ready) instead of the paper towels.  I hate buying paper towels but it seems like 12 cloth napkins don't last very long and before I know it they are all in the dirty clothes and we are back to using paper towels.  I've kept my eye out for another table cloth on clearance but with no luck I decided to raid my fabric stash.

I went back to the fabric I used to make dish cloths a couple weeks ago and found a yard of another fabric I had no use for as well.  I ended up getting 7 15x15inch napkins out of these 2 fabrics.  The fabric is just regular cotton so it's not very thick like the others I have but they will serve their purpose.

I used the same tutorial here, that I used for the receiving blankets and the other napkins I made.  I think I'm in nesting mode trying to get some things done before baby arrives and my crafting comes to a serious slow down for a couple months.  These cloth napkins have been on my to-do list for quite a while and I'm so glad they are finally done.  I'm still going to watch for inexpensive table cloths so I can have a crap load of napkins and there will be no excuse for anyone in our house to use up paper towels just for wiping off their hands.  But if you are wanting to get started using cloth napkins and have regular old cotton fabric lying around, go ahead and give it a whirl.  Most of the time we don't actually need really thick napkins anyway, it just feels more like the fancy ones you get in restaurants than the cotton ones.  I'm sure no one in my house will notice the difference between the two, they will be too busy eating to worry about what they are wiping the mouths with.

Cloth Napkins- A Christmas Gift

My cousin loves to entertain with dinners and get togethers.  She is not one to throw out some paper plates and 2 liter bottles of Pepsi and do things buffet style.  She held a Christmas dinner, of about 20+ people, a couple years back and we used regular plates, centerpieces, and the whole table was set with place settings.  Everyone sat down and the food was passed around the table.  It was really nice and beautiful.  I have not lived in the same state as her in a good 6 years and we have missed getting together, especially at Christmas time.  I decided this year I wanted to get her something special but with our limited budget I knew I would have to get creative.  One day it just hit me, monogramed cloth napkins.  I knew she didn't have any and she is one of the few people I know of that would use and appreciate them. 

I started looking into fabrics to make them (because why would you buy something you can make yourself? haha)  and found linen fabric at Hobby Lobby was, wait for it.....$18.99 a yard (mouth gapping open as I looked at the price tag).  I couldn't believe it nor could I justify paying that kind of money for napkins.  The other day my mom and I were at target and I randomly decided to go through their kitchen section (I rarely go through this section since their stuff is normally a little pricey).  As luck would have it I found this:

 

A 60x84 inch rectangle table cloth on clearence for $5.38 and the best part was the color was perfect.  Her kitchen is done in lemons and blueberries so the blue stripes will be perfect on the kitchen table.  I used a cloth napkin I already had as a template and cut out 12- 12x12inch napkins (and I think I can use the extra fabric to make a really cute table runner later). 

 

Normally when I do monogramming I use a water soluble quilting pen but because this fabric was so dark I knew that wouldn't work because I wouldn't be able to see the markings.  Instead I used a trick my friend Melissa taught me (except she taught me to use it with my embroidery sewing machine).  I printed the "B" on computer paper in the size I wanted then traced it onto a napkin.  next I baste stitched around the napkin square to hold it in place while I hand embroidered.  Here is what it looks like when you have it basted:

 

 

I used a satin stitch.

 

 

I liked how it turned out but using a satin stitch was going to take me forever and a day, and lets face it I don't have that much time to devote to one project.

 

 

So I used a basic embroidery stitch (havn't a clue what it's called, my Mamaw taught it to me years ago) and basically just stitched around the "B".

 

 

For whatever reason my mom and I both liked this one better.  I think it's kind of different from your typical monogrammed napkins.  I can't wait to give them to her!