Hello Everyone!

I am looking into making some cloth napkins for our household. We currently use paper napkins and I guess I want to be a little more "green".

For those that have made them before, what kind of fabric did you use?

I was thinking a linen or a cotton for absorbency. But I'm not even sure where to get it. I would love to use all the cute prints Joann has but am unsure if they are safe for this kind of project.

Your advice is much appreciated :)

I have made napkins from the same material as I use for quilts. The 100% cotton. A couple sets I only finished the edges to make a 17" square, on one set, which I love to use to line the bread basket and such was actually 8 9" finished blocks sewn together in two sections of 2x2 blocks then sewn right sides together with a small opening, turned and then stitched across and around the edge. It is a lot of fabric to use for a napkin, but I love the size of them and they look nice!

I use whatever fabric I have on hand and serge the edges. Most of my napkins don't match--that way when one gets too stained and I need to throw it away it doesn't matter. Of course, for special occasions I do have matched sets--eventually they become everyday napkins too!
Rose Hall

I guess I was just concerned with health issues with the printed material. I noticed last time I was at Joann that near the Calico section they had a note posted saying something along the lines of "this material is known to contain formaldehyde"

So then I thought I would have to use 100% Organic Cotton/Bamboo fabric.

Thank you for your insights :)

I was thinking of making like seven 8 count sets. So there would be more than enough for during the week and then maybe a couple of holiday sets.

I would think that as long as they were prewashed there would not be a problem. You would wash them before using, I'm sure.

Oh definitly :) I would likely wash the fabric before I even made the napkins.

Also, another question, should I put something in the middle for absorption, or would the two layers be enough?

I use the same fabric for napkins that I use for making quilts. And if there is definitely a wrong side and a right side, who cares? Just fold so that the "right" side shows. Definitely wash the fabric first so shrinkage won't be an issue. You can also just serge around them or add a very simple hem.

No, you don't neet to put anything between the layers of fabric. Many napkins out there are of a thicker material but they are only single ply. Admittedly, the single ply one are not very absorbant but being 100 % cotton they absorb more than say something with polyester in it.

I have made napkins from my quilting materials, if i over bought for a project. I like them not matching, but coordinated, like quilts! :lol:

Thank you for all your help and suggestions :)

for the ones DH takes for his lunches, and for daily use in our household, I made a bunch of them from old bath towels that had worn thin or were too shabby for other use. I also cut some from a large old terry bathrobe. Just single layers.

For the "company" ones, I cut flannel squares from my stash and used two layers, having the right sides facing out.

All of them were serged around the edges with a variegated thread.

Seersucker is good (cuts down on the ironing) and gingham for everyday or barbeques. For special evenings or when you have people over, linen, hemmed and edged with crochet or cotton type lace gives a bit of glam. You could do some quilted placemats and pick a plain fabric from the placemat palette to do the napkins. Embroidered corners looks pretty as well.

I make mine this same way!! :D :D :D :D

i've always loved cloth napkins. over the decades i've bought some in stores and luckily found some cheap at the church flea market and some at garage sales. dont think i ever paid full retail price for them tho.
some are the linen a bit like tone on tone fabrics but the texture is real not just visual. they also sell them at places like cost plus or pier one imports if you have those near you. prices pretty good too as they last for years and years.
i love them. using them everyday. they are so much more absorbant than paper napkins. tho i dont know about using regular quilting cotton, i dont think it would be heavy enough.
i'd say either look for them on sale everytime you're out and about or buy some yardage of the linen tablecloth fabric, cut and sew the edges down and should work a treat.
mine vary in size from 10inch square, not as useful to about 16 inch square. you could also have a good nosey at the ones in the shops to see what you think is better size to make your own.
...and keep a close eye on those garage sales etc around you. amazing how many folks now cant be bothered adding to the laundry, they're so small doesnt make a lot of difference to me, so they sell cheap with what they think is just more stuff...we all know better tho, eh. i just hated using paper and half way thru a drippy meal needing to get up and get more napkins.
hope that helps some.

Thanks so much for all of you great ideas!

We went green at our house last year and use fabric napkins only. I use the same fabric I use for quilting.

I've been using my serger to make dinner napkins from leftover quilt fabric. We're trying to use less paper at my house too, so no more paper napkins for dinner. Some of the novelty fabrics lend themselves well to the dinner napkin idea. We have some for Mexican food (red peppers on a black background), cookouts (hot dog and hamburger print). . . I'm also making them for my friends as hostess gifts, birthdays. . . My grandsons got some with Clifford The Big Red Dog. I serge mine, but hemming them looks great too!