Way back in February, a friend showed me a technique for creating dinner napkins. She was in the process of moving from a wonderfully huge house, including at studio space where she held quilt and sewing classes. She and her hubby had decided to move into a smaller condo in the downtown area of the big city and she was clearing her stash, sort of...
I am a "quick study" so it only took a few moments to catch onto her method and now, I have so far sewed about 42 napkins, with at least that many to go.
So using her many fat quarters, she was making EVERYDAY dinner napkins. They take a bit of time, the hem is fiddly if you want it too look just right, but they are so worth it! I discovered an assortment of last years christmas fabrics at a fabric outlet store and bought 18 meters! 3 meters of each colour that I liked. Now I am in the process of making dinner napkins for my friends to use at Christmas time. I actually don't give Christmas gifts. These in fact would be a waste if given at the tradition time -- so about a week or so before I will be delivering these to my friends and family. Not all of the napkins are Christmasy, though. I thought while I am on this "kick" I may as well go into my own stash and do some 'clear-out' so I am making a few everyday dinner napkins ---- for ME!
Please Note: The napkins are made using metric measurements (again sort of) In Canada, our fabrics are sold in meters and centimeters, though most of our fabrics are American produced. A meter of fabric is just about 40 inches - technically just a bit under that, but most every shop counts the fabric meter at 40 inches. Therefore a fat quarter here measures about 22" x 20". When I cut my fabric to make these napkins, they are based on that meter length, so from on meter I can get 4 napkins that measure 20 inches x 20 inches before the hem is done (18"x 18") finished. In order for this size napkin to be made using the "yardage system" you need 4 more inches on the length of a yard, or if you want to make 12 napkins the same you need an extra foot on three yards. I think it is more economical to purchase that extra 1/3 of a yard and wind up with napkins just that little bit larger, than to cut off the 3 inches of waste from the yard length and almost 5 inches from the width. So if you buy American fat quarters (18" x 20") you have no choice but to use an 18" square and finish at 16", but if you buy American yardage, get the extra 4 inches to call it a meter and you can wind up with a full 20" square...I am a "quick study" so it only took a few moments to catch onto her method and now, I have so far sewed about 42 napkins, with at least that many to go.
So using her many fat quarters, she was making EVERYDAY dinner napkins. They take a bit of time, the hem is fiddly if you want it too look just right, but they are so worth it! I discovered an assortment of last years christmas fabrics at a fabric outlet store and bought 18 meters! 3 meters of each colour that I liked. Now I am in the process of making dinner napkins for my friends to use at Christmas time. I actually don't give Christmas gifts. These in fact would be a waste if given at the tradition time -- so about a week or so before I will be delivering these to my friends and family. Not all of the napkins are Christmasy, though. I thought while I am on this "kick" I may as well go into my own stash and do some 'clear-out' so I am making a few everyday dinner napkins ---- for ME!
