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| Napkin DIY |
| Make your own napkins and dine in style. |
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Finding napkins in the colour, style and size you want can be tricky but by making your own, you can get exactly what you want. Napkins are made to be used, they need to withstand food stains, lipstick and in emergencies they may also be called upon to mop up the odd drop of spilled wine. So napkins need to be practical. You can make them from various fabrics but natural fibres work best because of their absorbency.
Materials
For each napkin, arm yourself with fabric, cotton, scissors, measuring tape, dressmaking pins, sewing machine, iron, ironing board, and spacious table or bench in good light. The linen napkin needs a little crochet thread too. Two of the napkins are machine sewn and the third is machine sewn then finished off with decorative hand sewing
Contrast Facing Napkin
We've chosen two poly-cotton fabrics for this double-sided napkin. One is a kingfisher blue while the other's a burnt orange. Poly-cotton's good because it's absorbent enough but the extra bit of polyester means ironing's hardly needed after laundering. This fabric is very lightweight, a bit like handkerchief material but this is balanced by using two fabrics. The colours are strong and bright, making them perfect for an outdoor lunch.
The fabric is 112cms wide so be economical by cutting two squares @ 56cm each, from both the blue and orange fabric. In effect each piece of fabric will be cut into four squares with nothing left over. Next check you've got the perfect square by folding each one in half diagonally, if all sides meet exactly you're in business, if not trim excess.
Step by Step
1 Pin together the blue and orange squares, then thread up your machine with orange thread on top and some blue in the bobbin to give two-colour stitching.
2 Stitch together 1cm in from the edge leaving an 8cm opening along one side. Trim back the corners, snipping off excess, then turn right sides out and press.
Contrasting Hems
For this single thickness napkin we've gone for an Indian cotton which is heavier and thicker than the poly-cotton. This fabric's wider than the previous example (at 135cm rather than 112cm) so this time we're going to make slightly smaller napkins to avoid fabric wastage — in effect each width will be cut into three.
Each napkin will be 45cm wide. This time we'll get six napkins for our 95cm of fabric, working out at $3.50 per napkin, including fabric used for the border. We've chosen a cherry cotton for the main part of the napkin and snowy white cotton for our border. This gives us a clean elegant look that's perfect for special occasions but at $3.50 per napkin you won't be afraid to use them every day. The cherry colour's good for disguising hard to remove stains but you can make these napkins in any colour you choose.
Step by Step
1 Start by cutting six x 45cm squares from the cherry fabric. Then cut the white fabric into strips 8cm wide and 50cm long.
2 Fold one long edge of each strip under about 6mm then press with your iron.
3 Lay one strip over the fabric so the unpressed edge lines up with the cherry fabric's edge (strip ends will extend past the ends of the fabric square). Pin and stitch with a 6mm seam — use the guide on your machine to keep you on the straight and narrow.
4 Trim the darker fabric back to about 3mm, press the strip out flat, then fold the strip over the seam allowance to the other side of the fabric square enclosing stitching. Pin and press with iron.
5 Stitch the strip to square 1mm in from the turned edge. Sew with the 'right sides' up to make sure the light stitching doesn't stray onto the dark fabric. Trim ends to meet the ends of square.
6 Repeat, attaching another strip on the adjacent side, but before folding the strip over, turn under and press the end of strip at the corner formed with the hemmed strip to line up with the hemmed edge: pin. Stitch around corner to make a box then stitch down the second hemmed side. Repeat, hemming the remaining sides.
Blanket Stitching
Now for our special linen napkins. Our fabric's 152cm wide and costs around $30. You could use other materials, just make sure they're of a reasonable 'weight and body' otherwise the stitching may not look so attractive.
Step by Step
1 Measure and mark up your fabric giving you four 70cm squares.
2 Loosen then pull a thread across the width of the fabric to ensure the squares are cut on the grain — very important or you'll get wobbly shaped napkins
3 Turn and press all edges under 6mm then again turn under by 2.5cm.
4 At one corner open out the 2.5cm hem on both sides and fold the napkin back on itself on the diagonal keeping right sides together.
5 Lay the fold flat on a work surface. Lay a ruler across the corner perpendicular to the diagonal fold, starting where the 2.5cm crease meets the fold. Draw a pencil line and stitch along it. Trim the corner to 6mm from seam, press open.
6 Turn corner right sides out, following 2.5cm creases. Press, then repeat with remaining corners.
7 Instead of machine stitching the hem use a decorative hand stitch. Work on the wrong side from left to right.
8 Take the crochet cotton and make the first stitch down through the hem and fabric 10mm in from hem edge at one corner: leaving a 5cm tail of thread free to tuck inside the hem.
9 Bring needle up through fabric just above the hem edge opposite the first stitch: pull through.
Make your second stitch 10mm to the right of the first and when you draw the needle through keep the loose thread behind the needle. When you pull it tight it will form an L.
10 Continue stitching all the way round, finish with a knot and tuck 5cm tail inside hem.
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Cost
Cost will depend on the fabrics you choose. We've gone for fabrics ranging from an inexpensive poly-cotton blend, an Indian cotton and a ritzy open weave linen. The poly-cotton gives good sized double sided napkins for around a dollar a piece, perfect for a summer picnic or BBQ while the linen napkins with blanket stitching work out at around $7 each and will make your special dinner table look elegant. Double sided napkin: Polypop Fabric 112cm wide @ $1.99 per metre comes in lots of colours. We chose Kingfisher blue and orange
Contrasting Hems: Resort Dobby (Cherry colour) 135cm @ $9.99, White Border is Allura @ $4.99 per metre
Linen Napkins: Tracey Linen 152cm wide @ $29.99 per metre, Ecru crochet cotton $3.25
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More Info
Fabric supplied by Lincraft Stores Head Office (03) 9875 7575 fax (03) 9875 7500
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Disclaimer
All Fact Sheets and other material on the Our House website are provided as a general information service only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified tradesman. Neither ninemsn nor its licensors (including the Nine Network) assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or appropriate application of any information whatsoever in any Fact Sheet or other material on the Our House web site. Your use of the Our House web site is governed by this disclaimer and the ninemsn's Terms of Use.
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