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.

DIY Handmade Dish Cloths

I've been needing new dish cloths for quite a while now.  I've got a total of about 4. Two of which are falling apart and/or stained badly enough that I make sure they aren't out when company comes over, haha.  They aren't that expensive in the stores but I just hate buying those types of things which is why I've done without for this long.  But the other day I came across this post that I'd saved to my favorites forever ago and got new inspiration to make my own dish cloths.

I looked through my dish towels, which I have an over abundance of somehow, and picked out a couple I've had since college.  That's about 10 years I've had those towels, that's crazy.  Anyway they were faded and kinda ugly so I thought I could use them instead of an old bath towel, since none of my bath towels are worn out.

They are super simple to make and to make 4 it took me less than an hour.  I got super lucky and somehow Grant was uninterested in what I was doing.  Usually as soon as my sewing machine comes out he's right beside me asking "mama, what you doing?".  If this had been the case it might have taken me a little longer. 

I looked through my stash of fabric and found a print I bought awhile ago I wasn't crazy about anymore.  Not sure what my intention was when I bought it but I've had it too long, so this was the perfect project to use some of it up.

First I cut off the finished edges off the towels because they would have been too thick for my sewing machine. 

I cut 2 squares from each towel, each about 10 inches by 11 inches.  No need to be exact, they are just for washing dishes and counters so perfection isn't necessary.  At least not for me.

Since my towel squares weren't all exactly the same size I took each square and pinned it right sides together with the cotton fabric and cut the cotton to the same size as each towel.  Notice I made sure the images on the towels aren't going to be showing when I finish the dish cloths, so I made sure they were facing the correct way before stitching them together. 


Stitch around all 4 sides making sure to leave an opening for turning.  I used about a 1/2inch seam allowance.  Then clip the corners.

Turn each towel right side out, then stitch around all four sides making sure to stitch the opening closed.  I used 1/4inch seam allowance for this.

Now your done!  Go wash some dishes or wipe off those counters with your new dish cloths.

Or do what I did and shove them in your drawer vowing to finish the dishes tomorrow.


Every time I make something like this I hear my sister's voice saying, "seriously Lisa, why don't you just buy some new dish cloths, they cost like $4".  Haha.  Then I hear my husband's voice saying "wouldn't it be easier to just buy new ones.  Why do you always have to make everything?".  And the truth is I get a little rush and happiness knowing I can take things I have and make things I need without having to run to Wally World and give them more of my money.  I love being frugal (some call it being cheap but that just sounds negative to me), and I love making things.  The two go hand in hand with me.  If it's something we need and I can make it cheaper than buying it, that's what I'm gonna do.

New Burlap Placemats

Before we moved I made some placemats for the table to help the place look a little more like home.

 

I wanted something that looked a little country since that is what the rest of my kitchen and dining room look like, so I chose burlap.  Am I the only one who didn't realize burlap was stretchy and kind of difficult to work with.  I had an awful time cutting out straight rectangles but after a few attempts I finally got 4- 13x17in rectangles.

 

 

After I got them cut out I decided they needed a little color, so I added a little simple design to the side.

 

The only thing I'm not fond of is all the little fly away strings from the burlap, I tend to find them every where and can't help but wonder if maybe I was supposed to do something to prevent that.  Oh well, I love the country look of them.

 

 

 

Coasters For the New Place

We are moving in about a week and I'm finally motivated to start making stuff for it.  I've had fabric for months with the intention of finishing various projects to decorate the place.

I finished the easiest of them the other day, coasters, for the living room.  Our living room set is a navy blue, so I bought a navy polka dot I wanted to use but really wanted to have a matching fabric on the back.  The only problem was, I had no matching fabric in my stash. 

While cutting out a pair of shorts for my little guy from one of my husbands old shirts I realized I had enough extras to back all of my coasters.

Here's what was left after cutting out the shorts:

 

I ended up using both the sleeves and the left side of the shirt which made 6 coasters.

 

 

I used leftover quilt batting for the centers and quilted them just like I did the mug rugs I made as Christmas gifts this past year.

 

 

If you look closely I used the cuffs of the sleeves and didn't even worry about the seems.

 

I think they are gonna work great and most importantly they are soft and unbreakable, so when little man has a tantrum and inevitably throws something, he can't break them or anything else with them.