DIY Napkins

Two facts: my family uses LOTS of napkins and I do LOTS of laundry. While considering these facts, I came to the conclusion that amidst all of the clothes, diapers, towels and stuffed dogs I wash on a regular basis, a few cloth napkins would be hardly noticeable. So, I have gradually been transitioning us to cloth napkins. Nothing too fancy, mostly fun, bright-colored napkins I already owned. They have really cut down on our paper napkin use and do a much better job of cleaning up blueberry covered faces and puddles of smoothie.

I decided to try sewing some napkins of my own. I have seen a lot of postings lately with cloth napkin instructions. Some are really cool; but, most were a little more complicated than I wanted for everyday napkins. I decided to branch out on my own a little.

First, I purchased a super cute bundle of coordinating fat quarters. I had intended to just buy some fun individually packaged fat quarters; but, I really liked the fabrics in this bundle. Fat quarters are awesome because they don't require any cutting. They are already perfect sized napkins.

Next, I folded and pressed in the raw edges a quarter inch at each end twice to make a finished edge. I stitched these with a coordinating thread and then did the same to the other two opposite ends. This allowed me to make fairly uniform finished corners. A lot of tutorials I looked at used smaller hems; but, I wanted something easy to sew and sturdy for lots of washings.

I think they turned out really cute. They're fun to use and do make us feel slightly fancy; well, as fancy as one can feel while people are climbing on you and screaming at you while you eat. I can't wait to try out some more fun fabrics!