More months ago than I'd care to admit, Kathy of Vast Amount of Spare Time wrote about sewing some fabric napkins -- something I finally got around to doing this afternoon. These are for the girls' lunchboxes, so I picked out a handful of fat quarters (on sale! can't beat that), cheerful things I thought the girls would like, and Laura jumped at the chance to help sew the hems when she got home from school.
I like the idea of not making more waste in this world, and the thriftiness of not having to buy paper napkins -- and certainly the thought of something pretty in one's lunchbox is very pleasant!
The finished sizes are more than a bit irregular -- all fat quarters are not created equal -- but since the napkins aren't supposed to match, this isn't a problem.
Laura was delighted to sew so much of these herself, too -- she did most of the straight edges, while I turned the corners (mitered like the furoshiki). This was her first sewing! Other than a few wild careers with the foot pedal, she did impressively well.
The paisley one is already her favorite!
What a lovely idea. It is that personal touch that makes everyday life more special.
Posted by: Fer | Saturday, 07 April 2007 at 01:45 AM
Nice job. But, I do not sew. Do you know where I might FIND some napkins like these? I would love to get some.
Thanks,
Zina
Posted by: Zina | Sunday, 08 April 2007 at 09:20 AM
Zina, Amazon has a fairly wide selection in both price and design -- just search for "cloth napkins". I'm not sure that I would want to pay $5.95 for just one, but on the other hand if it's really beautiful you will enjoy looking at it and using it every day. Mine worked out to be about $2 apiece. You can also try handkerchiefs or bandanas from the dollar store or on sale at Penney's or another department store -- you could dye white handkerchiefs with Rit to whatever matches your kitchen or dining room.
Posted by: Jeanne | Sunday, 08 April 2007 at 11:15 AM
Those are lovely! It's really nice to have napkins that you can toss in the washer when they get dirty, especially when they're so cheery to start with :-).
Posted by: Kathy | Monday, 09 April 2007 at 07:41 PM
Love this idea!
Now I want to start doing this for my daughter! My boys would throw them away! :)
Posted by: leslie | Wednesday, 18 April 2007 at 08:41 PM
I love this idea! I am going to make some tomorrow!
Posted by: Kelley | Monday, 15 September 2008 at 05:57 PM