Holiday Cloth Napkins – Simple Sewing Tutorial
Happy November friends!
I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so when November comes I’m always looking ahead to Thanksgiving. Do you enjoy setting a beautiful holiday table? One of my favorite things for setting a table for special meals are using cloth napkins.
Sewing them with perfect mitered corners is so simple with the right tools. I’m excited to show you how to make two different types of cloth napkins today! These are very simple and with just the basics of sewing skills you can make them too! Lets get started.
Necessary Supplies:
- 1-1/4 yard fabric (I used two different types: tan linen and fall color quilting cotton)
- Thread: machine sewing thread to match your cotton fabric
- Embroidery Thread: use a color that creates a contrast with your linen fabric
- Iron
- Clover Hot Hemmer – Art. No 7806 and/or Hot Ruler – Art. No 7811
- Clover Hold It Precision Stiletto – Art. No 7807
- Clover Gold Eye Embroidery Needles – Art. No 235
- Clover Wonder Clips – view the assortments
- Clover Water Erasable Marker (Fine) – Art. No 516
Instructions:
We are making two different types of cloth napkins; linen napkins with hand embroidered running stitches along the edges and cotton napkins finished with the sewing machine. You will have step by step instructions for both.
Note before continuing: Steps 1 through 10 are the same for both the linen and the cotton napkins. Step 11 is for finishing your cotton napkins and Step 12 is for finishing the linen napkins.
Step 1: Gather your supplies.
Step 2: Using a rotary cutter and a cutting mat, cut your fabric into 21 inch squares. You should end up with four fabric squares for both the linen and the cotton. Heat your iron to the hottest temperature. Starting with one square of fabric, iron it until it has no wrinkles. It makes it easier working with a freshly ironed fabric square!
Step 3: Lay your hot hemmer or hot ruler (either will work) one inch from the raw edge of the back side of your fabric. Fold the front of the fabric over the edge of the ruler until it lines up nicely with the one inch mark on the ruler. Iron this edge down. Continue in this manner until you have ironed a one inch hem all the way around.
Note: I love the hot ruler and hemmer so much because it takes all the guess work and frustration out of getting that perfect measured fold. And the fact that you can iron right onto it keeps the fabric from slipping as you iron that crisp fold. The ruler also has a nice felt finish so that it doesn’t slip around on the fabric at all and that helps to be able to get the accurate fold.
Step 4: Now we will work on our corners. Open up the ironed raw edges and place the hot hemmer at the corner where the two ironed lines meet. You will fold your corner in, lining it up with the one inch marks on the corner of the hot hemmer. Press this corner firmly. Repeat with all four corners.
Step 5: Remove your hemmer and place it on top of the folded corner, lining it up with the ironed lines.
Step 6: Now, in order to end up with edges that are not raw, you will fold your long edge right up to the edge of the ruler and then fold it over on top of the hot hemmer, forming a perfect half inch hem with no raw edges. Iron this carefully. Continue all the way around the napkin. At this point do not worry too much about ironing the corners.
Step 7: Once your long edges are ironed into the half inch fold, there will be a small raw edge of fabric from the corner fold that is showing beneath where the mitered corner will be. Take your scissors and carefully cut that little corner raw edge out, as pictured above.
Step 8: When you have ironed a crisp half inch fold around the napkin, it is time to get that perfect mitered corner! The should almost happen automatically as the two sides of the napkin come together at the corner they should match up perfectly. Keep your hot hemmer in place at the corner so that you can confirm that the mitered edge is coming together exactly on the diagonal line of the hot hemmer. I like to use the grey edge of the precision stiletto along with my iron to get the edges to come together. Press each of the mitered corners carefully.
Note: I love the precision stiletto because you can literally put the hot iron right on the tip where it is holding the fabric in place. There are so many uses for this little tool that I highly recommend it!
Step 9: It helps to use wonder clips at every corner and a few along the straight edges to hold everything in place.
Step 10: (This step is for finishing the cotton napkin.) We will now sew the topstitched finished seam on the sewing machine. Slowly and carefully sew on the back side of the napkin about 3/8 inch from the folded edge. Be sure to pivot, with your needles down, at each corner, creating a nice clean corner seam.
Continue all the way around the napkin. Your stitches on the front of the napkin should look as good as they do on the back.
Step 11: (This step is for finishing the linen napkin.) We will be sewing an embroidery running stitch along the edge of the linen napkin and in order to hand sew a straight and even line, I like to mark a line 3/8 inch from the edge, on the top side of the fabric. Use the water soluble marking pen so when you are finished the marks will simply wash off. Mark this line all the way around the napkin.
Use all six strands of embroidery thread and thread into an embroidery needle with a large eye. Start at a corner, hiding your knot inside the mitered corner.
Simply hand sew a running stitch all the way around the napkin, sewing along the marked lines. Try to keep your stitches consistent in size. Spray your napkin with water to remove the marked stitching lines.
You can change the linen napkin up by sewing the hem with your sewing machine and then use embroidery thread to sew a border about an inch away from the edge. It is the same idea, but gives a little bit different look.
Step 12: Press your napkins with a hot iron and some spray starch. Whether you are folding them simply to place under the silverware, or folding them fancy for the middle of the plate; a good starched press gives them a beautiful finish.
Repeat all the steps for your remaining fabric squares! Now you will have eight napkins that you can mix and match on a beautiful Thanksgiving table.
Another thing I love about beautiful home sewn cloth napkins is to gift them! So even if you don’t need them for a holiday table this year, a friend or family member might! Place them in a stack, tie some twine around them with a sweet tag and I promise you, the recipient will be so happy!
I hope you have a lovely November and an even more lovely Thanksgiving!
~ Dori ~
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