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I am working on a little project that needs cloth napkins (stay tuned…) and thought making cloth napkins would also be great for Earth Day (April 22)!

Here are two versions, one with  mitered corners and the other with square corners. First pre-wash the fabric. Cut fabric into a square 1″ larger than the desired finished size. I cut 17 inch squares so that I would have 16 inch napkins.

Mitered Corner Napkin Instructions

Iron edge over 1/4 inch.

miternapkin1Moving clockwise, iron next edge 1/4 inch over. Iron all four sides then fold first side over again another 1/4 inch. Do all four sides moving clockwise.

miternapkin3Open up corner.

miternapkin4Cut off top of corner.

miternapkin5Fold top edge down (to corner of second fold line) and iron.

miternapkin6Fold the side edge  to the middle on each side (folding on press lines – fold side down then fold again to make corner). Repeat until all four sides have mitered corners.

miternapkin7

Sew all the way around the edge of napkin.

miternapkin8Finished with a mitered corner napkin!

miternapkin9

Square Corner Napkin Instructions

To make a napkin with square corners, iron edge over 1/4 inch. Moving in clockwise direction iron next side 1/4 inch until all four sides have been pressed 1/4 inch.

napkin10Now fold over edges another 1/4 inch (moving in a clockwise direction).

napkin11When all four sides have been folded over twice, sew all the way around the edge of the napkin. I think most people sew straight off the edge on each side, but my sewing machine doesn’t like sewing through those layers.

napkin12

I also like the way it looks from the front.

napkin13

Finished!

napkin14


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Comments

  1. Those are lovely! The fabric is beautiful! I’ve made my cloth napkins in the past with a rolled hem from the serger as it was quick to do, but I love the look of the mitred corner! Will have to give that a try.
    For those wondering about fabric choice, I used a linen blend for our everyday napkins, and navy for the colour, so no stains show even after a year of daily use!

  2. Thanks so much for your lesson on how to make lovely napkins!! I was never sure on the mitered corner ones even after stitching for years!!

  3. Thanks for the post. I just sewed for the first time this last weekend. I made an activity bag for my oldest for this summer.

    I love the napkins. They seems simple to make and very cute.

    I will be linking to your site.

    Thanks again for sharing.

  4. The fabric I used for the napkins was a lightweight cotton. I really think almost anything would work. These napkins are thin, but I don’t think it matters. I will say that fabric did stretch slightly on some of the mitered corners. It doesn’t bother me but maybe a heavier cotton would prevent that. Do take into consideration that the fabric gets turned two times— that is some bulk to sew through. So too heavy of fabric might make it difficult to sew.

  5. Hah! Perfect! I always love your tips. Thanks for such an easy project that requires very little sewing skill (perfect for me). I added your craft to the end of today’s post on my blog – been trying to blog a different Earth-friendly tip every day.

    Thanks again!

  6. I have to put together a picnic basket for a auction and will now be busy making cloth napkins! Thanks for the tutorial!

  7. Are you using regular woven fabric for this or a heaver weight? I’ve thought about making cloth napkins, but wasn’t sure what sort of material to use.

  8. Very nice! I had started making a few cloth napkins some time ago but never finished enough to make the switch from paper to cloth. This was the post I needed to inspire me to finish that project up. Thanks!

  9. This would make a great addition to your quick gift pattern card set. ;o) Thanks for the tute!

  10. These are gorgeous! Thanks for the tutorial on mitered corners – I can never figure those out!

  11. Thanks for the tutorial. I’ve got some Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric that I’ve been wanting to make into napkins. Thanks for the inspiration I needed.

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