Cloth Napkins with Mitered Hem: A Tutorial

 

 We've been invited to visit some  friends at their North Carolina beach house. A hostess gift is in order, and along with a nice bottle of wine and candles, I thought some seersucker napkins might be a perfect beach house offering. 

We never use paper napkins in our house, unless we are eating crabs or ribs, in which case a roll of paper towels on the table is ok with me. I have collected several sets of four over the years, but our favorites are a big set of seersucker ones that I made at least eight years ago and are still used daily. They are soft, yet sturdy and naturally a little wrinkly, so they feel right at home with pizza or burgers, but step up just fine for Sunday's roast chicken. I even pack them in my lunch- a desk lunch feels so much more dignified with a nice big cloth napkin in your lap!  Linen, chambray, twill or gingham are also good choices.  Printed quilting cottons will work, but you will have a definite wrong side. 

Good cloth napkins can be on the pricey side, but they are so easy to make, it doesn't make sense not to sew your own. Plus, they make an awesome gift.

Now, you could just cut a big square and double turn the hem all the way around, but that can lead to lumpy, uneven corners that scream home-made. Here's an easy, fool proof way to make cloth napkins with a nice mitered hem that look pro and will wear forever. 

Materials needed: Cotton Fabric- yardage to cut out as many 20" squares as you desire
                             Water soluble fabric marker
                             Ruler
                             Pins (optional) & thread

Begin with pre-washed cotton fabric. Cut into 20" squares.  I use a rotary cutter and self healing mat to get nice and precise. 

Press a narrow 1/4" hem around all four sides.

 Fold a corner of the fabric, right sides together, lining up the pressed edges.

Using your ruler, eyeball a nice right triangle ( two short sides are equal) using 3/4" for the measurement of the short sides. The pressed hem will be the longer side .

This will be your stitching line, so draw a line with the water soluble marker to mark it.

Sorry for the blurry picture. Repeat with the other three corners, then sew all four corner along the marked seam line, being careful to make sure the hemmed edges line up exactly. I didn't pin mine, but you certainly can if it helps. 

 

Trim off the corners leaving about a 1/4" seam allowance. Then turn the hem right side out.

Use a point turner if necessary and marvel at your beautiful mitered corners! Press all four sides-

Then stitch close to the pressed edge all the way around.

Voila! A quick press and you're done! 

If you have questions, please email me.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Pam

Before and After

The slipcovered dining room chair I had been using for sewing left alot to be desired. It was clunky, heavy and didn't have wheels,  because dining room chairs don't typically have wheels. 

During my latest lament about that "damn sewing chair", I learned that my husband was in possession of some old office chairs (Huh?). "They're pretty gross, but you can take a look if you want..." 

Yep, that's pretty gross. There was even a little spot of bird poop on the back. But it has wheels!, and it swivels! and the seat is adjustable! and this is what it looked like less than an hour later...

LOVE HER!!! She's lightweight, comfy, she rolls and swivels, and now she is CUTE!! Swivel to the right, cutting table & mirror, swivel to the left, ironing board & dress form. And the best, best, best part is, she was totally FREE!!! The fabric is leftover cheapo home dec weight stuff from Hancocks that I bought ages ago to make little zippered cosmetic bags-finally put to good use. 

My skirt and top are making good process. Just a few more details to be worked out and I'll be ready to reveal. My new chair has made ALL the difference