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I wanted an easy, green gift for my mother’s day that would be used as much as it was loved and these cloth napkins seemed like the perfect solution. I made six napkins for my mother and six for my mother-in-law using similar patterned fabrics so that I could use the same solid fabric to coordinate with both.
I used:
- 2 fat quarters of patterned fabric (I chose darker fabrics because stains happen and they’ll be less noticeable)
- 1 yard of Navy Kona Cotton
- 1 full spool of navy cotton thread
Tools:
- Pins
- Rotary Cutter
- Cutting Mat
- Sewing Machine (although it’s a small project and could easily be done by hand)
- Ruler
Step 1:
I made two different sizes of napkins to see which I preferred. The larger napkins are 14 by 14 inches and the smaller are 12 by 12 inches.
I cut three napkins from each of the patterned fabrics and six napkins from the solid. (Each napkin set will ultimately have six napkins, three patterned and three solid)
Step 2:
Sew a line 1/4 inch from the edge of your fabric all the way around the fabric. I prefer continuous lines so you don’t have a lot of thread tails to deal with.
Step 3:
On the solid napkins I wanted to add an accent of the patterned to pull the two together. Using the remnants I cut strips 2 inches wide by 14 inches (or 12 inches) long.
I folded the raw edges under 1/4 inch on both sides and the sewed the strips a couple inches up from the bottom of the napkin. I used my 1/4 inch foot as a guide to ensure I got a nice straight line when I said the patterned strip to the solid fabric.
Step 4:
Now you want to iron the raw edge over using the thread as a guide (make the sure the thread is ironed over so it doesn’t show.
Then fold it over again and iron it down so the raw edge is completely turned under.
Step 5:
I went ahead and pinned it down all the way around although with ironing it you might be able to get away with skipping this step.
When you pin or iron make sure you create crisp corners when folding over the fabric so that you can sew all the way around the napkin at once.
Step 6:
Using your presser foot as a guide sew 1/4 inch from the edge of your napkin.
When you start and when you go around the corners your sewing machine may struggle a bit with all those layers. I pushed a bit harder on my foot but made sure that I was guiding the fabric through slowly.
In no time at all your napkin will look like this
Step 7:
I don’t have one of those fancy machines that knots and cuts the thread for you so I had to do that by hand. By going all the way around your napkins whenever you are stitching you end up with a lot less threads to deal with!
The napkins at the top are for my mother-in law and the ones below are for my mom. Now all I need to do is get these in the mail so I don’t forget!
Do you have any beginner sewing projects that would make good gifts? I’ve got a year of holidays left to plan for and could certainly use the ideas 🙂
Make it Modern 