Timeless Treasures | Team Timeless // Cloth Napkins

Welcome to Team Timeless, an ongoing series of fun tutorials brought to you by some of our favorite designers! This month, Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft is back to share a cloth napkin tutorial that are both cute and a sustainable alternative to paper towels.

Featuring the new Tonga Passport line, these napkins make a beautiful addition to meals and holiday gatherings with loved ones. Read on for instructions…

Cloth napkins with mitred corners are a great way to help out the environment, create something decorative for your table and give your guests something sturdier than a paper napkin while dining. Adding mitred corners to a project was one of the first sewing skills I learned and can be adjusted in measurements to use for a tablecloth or even adding a nice edge to a blanket.

These are also a great seasonal project – Thanksgiving and Christmas for family gatherings.

For today’s project we are using a few of the new Tonga Passport line that is available this month.

I chose these colors as a great Summer to Fall palette for my dining table.

Materials needed:

(1) half yard cut for every 2 napkins you would like to make – or – 17.5” x 17.5” squares – easily cut from a fat quarter per napkin
Coordinating thread
Straight pins
Ruler
Marking tool
Iron
Scissors

Directions:

Since these are going to be washed repeatedly it’s good to pre-wash your fabrics, this will shrink your fabrics just a bit. Iron fabrics well and cut material into 17.5” x 17.5” squares.

At your iron, take your square and fold the edge .5” towards the wrong side, press. Continue around the square until all sides have a .5” folded edge. Fold again .5” creating a double fold and press continuing around the fabric square.

Unfold the second fold, with a ruler and a marking tool place a mark at the 1” mark at each corner.

Placing your ruler across each corner meeting at the marked points draw a line. This will be the place you will sew at the next step.

Working one corner at a time, fold in half right sides together. Making sure marked lines match up. Pin in place to secure fold.

At your machine – stitch along each line, making sure to double stitch at the beginning and end of each corner. This is important so your stitches will not come undone when we turn the points right side out.

Cut the outside tip off of each corner close to your stitched line.

Carefully turn the corner inside, and poke out folded corner with a point. Press corner and sides and repeat for the remaining three points.

At your machine, carefully stitch along the edge of your double found around the perimeter of your napkin. Backstitching at the beginning and end to secure thread.