Things You'll Need:
- Cardboard
- Dressmaker Pins
- Fabric Chalks
- Fabric Cutting Boards
- Fabric-marking Pens
- Fabrics
- Ironing Boards
- Irons
- Sergers
- Sewing Machine
- Sewing Needles
- Threads
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Scissors
- Pencil Or Pens
- Poster Boards
- Yardsticks
-
Step 1
Choose a cotton or cotton-polyester blend fabric in the color or print of your choice. Purchase 1 yard of 45-inch-wide fabric for every four napkins.
-
Step 2
Prewash the fabric and press it with an iron.
-
Step 3
Make a template or pattern for your napkins out of any stiff poster board or cardboard. Your template should be square and should be 1/2 inch larger than your finished napkin size. For example, make a 16 1/2-inch-square template for a 16-inch-square napkin.
-
Step 4
Place the template on the wrong side of your fabric, and trace around the template with a fabric marking pen or fabric chalk.
-
Step 5
Repeat for each napkin.
-
Step 6
Cut out each fabric square along traced marking line.
-
Step 7
Press each raw fabric edge under 1/4 inch.
-
Step 8
Press that edge under once more.
-
Step 9
Pin the fabric edges into place so that the pins are perpendicular to the edges of the fabric. Use a sewing machine to stitch the napkin hem. When you reach a corner, lift the presser foot of the sewing machine and swivel the fabric so that your stitching line remains straight. Keep the needle inserted in the fabric as you reposition it.
-
Step 10
Hand sew the napkin hem in place with a backstitch if you do not have access to a sewing machine.
-
Step 11
Add a decorative touch to the finished napkins by sewing a decorative hand or machine stitch on the right side of the fabric along the edge of the napkin.











Comments
ambviv said
on 7/17/2009 Thanks. Very user friendly
rschaal said
on 4/3/2007 I'm just an amateur, but step 3 appears to be incorrect. You need a 17 inch square to make a 16 inch napkin if you intend to make two 1/4" folds all the way around.
Anonymous said
on 1/6/2006 Using a loose weave fabric, run a row of stitching about 1 inch away from the ends on all 4 sides. Pull the threads until you reach the stitching and you have a nice fringe.