Making napkins
 

I have been asked to make napkins. They will provide fabric. What would you charge to hem 18x18?

How will you be hemming them?

Doing a rolled hem on a serger? Narrow turned hems that are straight-stitched? Other? Using a hemmer?

Will "they" also be providing the thread?

Have you seen the fabric? Some fabrics are not cooperative.

Thanks for your reply. I have not seen fabric, but is a plaid from Hobby Lobby, so probably a light weight cotton. She will provide thread and I think a turned hem.

I tried making napkins from some Christmas fabric for my daughter.

It was "quite" the experience - I think I tried making a 1/4 inch hem on them. I did not enjoy doing it.

So - as far as how much to ask - I have no idea. I know it took me a looooong time to hem each one of those napkins. But I am a slow sewer.

Maybe cut an 18 inch square of light weight cotton and hem it and see how long it takes?

I am thinking that I am not a napkin maker,only a quilter. Gonna tell her $3 or $4. If she wants them she will pay it.

I remember thinking "how hard could it be?" Famous last words! Took me a lot longer to hem cloth napkins that I ever thought it would. Or should. i thought there was something wrong with me. Glad to know i'm not alone! Or maybe I'm just missing something. But the corners were a pain. Decided if I wanted cloth napkins, I'd buy them!

Thank you for your post - I feel somewhat better about my experience now.

For some reason I have a hard time doing a narrow 1/4 inch rolled hem. Any suggestions of doing such.

Well, I am going to practice with the special foot, otherwise I will just press and turn.

I recently did some napkins for a friend of a friend...I used 1/8” fusible type tape to iron the sides before stitching. Sorry I can’t be more descriptive as I have thrown the packaging away...

Donna Jordan has a video on how to make matching placemats and napkins and shows how to do the hem in a really easy way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEaCQ0zLmgw

Watson

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VEOw8Xu0ncY

This is my favorite tutorial for making mitered cornered napkins and it goes pretty fast. Her technique is pretty ingenious

Wow, she makes that look easy. That's the way I make placemats but I free motion thru them. Napkins, I just can't get the edge that perfect. Maybe it's using lots of starch. Great video, thanks for sharing Watson. PABeard, that's pretty cool way to use buttons and to keep the napkins clean. I may have to give that one atry.

I don't know how many napkins you are making, but I would charge an hourly rate that included any materials like thread or embellishments. I figure I can hem about a ten napkins in a hour between cutting, ironing and sewing.

I make napkins all the time. I first used a serger but didn't like the corners. I have two different rolled hem feet for my Viking and have stayed with this method. If the fabric is light in weight I use the narrower foot and if fabric more sturdy then I use the wider foot.

I also clip the corners off about a quarter inch or so to decrease corner bulk. I would practice on some scrap fabric that isn't as large to get your corner how you like them. Be patient and you will love the process.

Thanks for asking. Karen

Love that tutorial on simple placemats. She does a great job. Very easy to understand and follow. Thanks, Watson.

I'd pass on this job, plaid means stripes, hemming them will be a nightmare. The hem will look crooked even if it's not. It would be very difficult to do because lets face it no fabric is perfect. Even of you cut them out on a specific line if the fabric is printed crooked it will still be off and won't look square.

If it's a woven plaid, one can follow the threads.

Printed plaids and stripes - they can be challenging.

Do you have a serger? If you do, I would do the little hem that I think is called the rolled hem. I made 45 napkins for my granddaughter's wedding reception for decoration and surged them all. It was a slippery material but the serging worked really well and they looked really nice as well. I am not sure you could pay me enough to do the 1/4 hem on
them!