I am far from a save-the-whales type of person, but I hate waste. I also hate spending money. Leann, one of my good friends, made dozens of cloth napkins for her house, and generously cut out cloth squares for me to do the same. I am not a fan of cloth napkins, because most of them seem cumbersome and I end up only using one corner and then feeling badly that the entire napkin has to be washed when three-quarters of it is still unused.
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| Typical Cloth Napkin |
These cloth napkins are perfect, though! They are 10 x 10 squares of fabric that has been hemmed.
What worked best for me is hemming the left and right side first, and then flipping it to hem the top and bottom.
Green napkins...
Blue napkins...
On the green napkins, I used bright green thread, because I thought it contrasted nicely.
I'm totally lying. I used bright green thread because I didn't have any light green thread.
But I think it worked out.
Here's the size of the napkins in comparison to a dinner plate.
I'm so excited to use these! They also work great for wiping off counters and for cleaning. The fabric isn't super absorbant, so I don't think they will work to clean up spills, but let's be honest, cheap napkins don't absorb crap. I think these are going to be great. I want to make more so I only have to wash them once a week. This would be a great way to use up scrap fabric while also saving the planet. Who could pass up a two-for-one deal like that? Basically you'll be Superman, but a cooler version of him with a sewing machine. And brightly colored cloth napkins. I have a huge blue flowered curtain I bought from Salvation Army and didn't use, so I think I'm gong to cut up and make more napkins.
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| The almost-completed-except-for-string-cutting stack of blue napkins. |