Linen Napkins--any ideas
 

I have a few linen napkins to "make" something with. Any creative ideas other than whole cloth mini, purse, pillow? A few are about 12" square, others closer to 18"

Here's hoping that someone answers you with some good suggestions because I too have a number of linen napkins that someone gave me and I just cannot use them as napkins because they are too nice. They are Irish linen and have some scroll work in the corner. I was using them as a sort of valance over a bay window. I folded them diagonally with the scrolled corner toward the room and put them on a rod just over lapping a bit. They looked nice but I have since moved and no longer have that kind of window. For some reason I am clueless as to what to do with them now. Thanks for asking this question.

I have some from my grandmother's estate and am figuring out what to do with them too. I think I will make some kind of star medallion quilt, like a Lonestar, and use them for the squares around the star.

The larger ones I can cut in half and use as one side of a baby burp cloth and the other a crumb combo of flannel--trying to find a use for scraps, too. I was also wondering if the 12" ones could be one side of a baby tag blanket.

You could make table runners or mug rug or placemats!

I started my journey in wearable art when I was poor a couldn't afford fabric so I bought old linens at the resale shop. I made everything with them (at $3.00 for a large table cloth and about the same for napkins, it was a deal) I made blouses, skirts and jackets out of them. I've just finished a jacket made from a vintage printed tablecloth which I'll post pic of when I get them taken. My friend made a cute blouse out of tablecloth fabric that she dyed a dark purple. The fabric in good linen table cloths and napkins is really nice.

My favorite to make is the little storage envelopes for your jewelry or small items that need protection in your dresser drawers. There are some really nice machine or hand embroidery images to add, like pink roses or daisy. I sometimes line them with a soft flannel. Very nice made as a gift bag too. Linens last many lifetimes as you well know.

Thanks for the ideas, folks.:)

I embroidered the 4 corners of the napkins with different designs, then I put a backing but no batting. I use them as table centerpiece when I have company.