Want to add some Va-Va-Voom to your table? Make the napkins! Easy DIY no sew custom cloth napkins are a great way to show off the details.
I’m a sucker for cloth napkins. My fondness or appreciation for them, or whatever you want to call it, stems way way back. Growing up, Mama would always set the table with cloth napkins, even on weeknights with takeout food. We very seldom, if ever, used paper napkins. I’m not sure what the underlying reason was for the seldom used paper ones, but I’m willing to bet that as my Mama was so frugal (cheap) and could pinch a penny until heads comes up on both sides, we always used cloth napkins because they could be used and washed over and over again.
I inherited some of that cheap….
Still, I love a good patterned cloth napkin and I have a growing collection of them housed in the armoire in the dining room. And, when I have a specific table scape design in mind and I set out to find said perfect cloth napkins, well if I don’t find them, then I go ahead and make them. Certainly there’s a cotton or linen fabric that can be found with a close match to color and pattern that I have stored in my mind’s eye.
Table of Contents
Why No Sew?
Funny backstory for you before I get started on the tutorial; My original plan was to sew the napkins. Fold in and pin the hem, then sew along with edge. But, as you all know, and if you’re new here, first of all welcome, but let me tell you that I’m a beginner at sewing, at best. I can pretty much sew a straight line and that’s about it. Gets the job done for those super simple projects like these napkins. However, when I have to rethread a bobbin, well that just throws me into riggers. I try and try to clip that thread and make the loop come up on the sewing plate thingie, but you know what – I’m just shaking my head at myself right now. Stupid bobbin thread wouldn’t catch and I ended up grabbing that bobbin, opening up the front door and throwing it out on our front lawn. That bobbin is out there somewhere, waiting for Sean to run over it with the lawn mower.
Sigh.
I’m frustrated at myself for letting that bobbin-thread-loop sitch get the better of me, but THRILLED that I can bring to you a great project that requires no sewing what’s so ever, and still look high end.
What You’ll Need:
- Cotton or linen fabric of your choice
- Heat And Bond iron on tape, found HERE!
- Iron, my favorite iron on the planet found HERE!
Easy DIY No Sew Custom Cloth Napkins
Step 1. Find the fabric. Solid cloth napkins are easy to find and come in every color in the rainbow and even in between. Fun patterns that you love are a little more of a challenge to find in a finished napkin, but finding the fabric is certainly easier.
Step 2. Determine what size you would like the napkins to be. The ones I made here are 20″ x 20″. Measure and cut the fabric to make the squares for the napkins, allowing a half inch seam allowance for the hem, on all four sides. Example: for my 20-inch napkins, I cut the squares 22 inches by 22 inches.
Step 3. With a hot iron, fold a half inch hem on each side, ironing the seam as you go.
Step 4. Place the heat and bond tape over each hem and fold over a half inch again, then iron to adhere the tape to the fabric. Continue with all four sides.
Step 5. Iron the entire napkin, going over each hem again, then fold as desired.
These no sew napkins can be washed and dried in machines.
Play On Pattern
The greatest Va-Va-Voom factor for a tablescape is a play on pattern. Decide the color palette you want to work with, and then let the patterns do the talking. That’s the best part about these DIY custom napkins. Plus, one can never go wrong with a classic stripe!
Cheers and happy no sewing! For realz!
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