How to Make Fabric Napkins: At Home Step by Step

We use cloth dinner napkins at our dinner table, with lunchbox to school, and also sometimes drying plates over the kitchen sink and a lot more. Do you know you can make napkins at home in your free time?

how to make fabric napkins

Making napkins from fabric is not a difficult task. If you make your own napkins at home, also you going to have some fun as well. In this article, I’m going to show you how to make fabric napkins.

What is The Good fabric for napkins?

People use different types of fabric to make napkins, but elegant napkins are always made with fine linen.

But more casual napkins can be made with broadcloth and other polyesters or cotton materials. And if you want printed fabrics, quilting cotton fabric is a good one for you.

What Size Should Cloth Napkins be?

Napkins come in several sizes, they’re commonly found in following sizes such as 16″x16″, 18″x18″, 20″x20″ and 21″x21″.

Larger napkins such as 20″x20″ and 21″x21″ for more formal occasions including in well-end restaurant service, holiday dinner party, and banquet dining in a formal dining room.

Learn More About How to Make Fabric Napkins: 3 Ways

1. Make Mitered Corner Napkins:

Things You’ll Need:

Make Your Mitered Corner Napkins Step by Step:

Step 1: Trim The Fat Quarters

To make each napkin, trim one fat quarter 19×22″ into 19×19″ square to make an 18″ square napkin.

Step 2: Mark The Corner Out

Take your ruler and a pencil or pen, because now you have to use them. Even you can use a fabric marker instead of a ball-pen or pencil.

So, take the ruler and measure, and mark a line half an inch from the border, mark it with your pencil/pen. Also, measure and mark a second line one inch from the border.

Step 3: Cut The Corner Out

Now take your rotary cutter, because you have to cut the corner. Just fold and press the fabric along half an inch, so it touches the one-inch line.

After that, unfold and then cut off the corner with your rotary cutter.

Step 4: Now Align and Fold

In this step, fold the corner that you’ve trimmed so that the fabric points align with the one inch with pencil/pen marking.

After that open up the fold and draw a line along the diagonal fold. Make sure that the line should not touch the edge of the napkin, and just stay inside the corner portion.

Step 5: Bring The Right Sides Together

You must fold the fabric so that the right sides are together. And then sew along the dotted line that you’ve made in the previous step.

Step 6: Take The Right Side Out

Once you’ve stitched the dotted line just flip them right side out and then poke the corner out as well.

After that, you just fold the raw edges of the fabric under, use the fold from step two as your guide.

Step 7: Final Step, Topstitch

When you’ve folded the raw edges, just topstitch one inch from the folded edge.

You know what? you can make it easy yourself if you use a stitch in the ditch foot along the edge and move the needle position a few steps to the right to get an accurate topstitch.

You’re done the job. I don’t think this is hard for you! If you want to make more mitered corner cloth napkins just repeat the method, and make them.

Next Read: how to make pillowcases

2. Sew Simple Fabric Napkins:

Things You’ll Need:

  • Fat Quarters ( linen or cotton fabric, 18″x18″ for a regular napkin, and 16″x16″ for a child napkin )
  • Machine thread
  • Chopstick
  • Iron
  • Iron board
  • Fabric Scissors
  • A basic sewing machine
  • Some pins
  • A Pencil

Step 1:

Prepare your fabric, I mean at first wash your fabrics and dry them well.

Step 2:

Once you’ve done the washing and drying, stack the squares of your fabric 2 by 2, right sides together, and then pin them together along the sides.

Step 3

Take your pencil and mark 3 inches opening on one side with 2 pins.

Step 4:

Now you can start from one end of the opening. Sew the squares together with 1/4 inch seam allowance, also pivoting the needle as you turn each corner.

You should stop when you’ve reached the other end of the opening it will remain open.

Step 5:

Cut corners with your fabric scissors, but make sure that you don’t cut through the thread, so work gently.

Step 6:

Now turn the fabric out through the opening, so the right sides face out. Take your chopstick, push out the other corners perfectly by using the chopstick.

Step 7:

You must press the edges of your napkins, so they can lay nice and flat. After that, fold back the lips of the opening so it becomes invisible.

Step 8:

This is the final step, now topstitch along all 4 sides about 1/9 inch from edges, you should pivoting the needle as you turn each corner.

It will serve the double purpose of making the edges of your napkins crisp, and also sewing the openings shut.

3. Make Your No Sew Napkins:

This how to make a no-sew napkin guide will help those people who don’t have a sewing machine and if you have zero sewing skills.

Things What You Needed:

  • Rotary cutter for fabric or fabric scissors
  • Fabric (linen or cotton is perfect)
  • Iron
  • Iron board
  • Heavy-duty right angle ruler
  • Heat and bond hem tape
  • Pencil or chalk

Step One:

At first, wash your fabric, and dry your fabric completely. Because we don’t want these napkins shrinking later on.

Step Two:

Once you’ve washed and dried your fabric, use your iron and iron board, and iron your fabric well to get all those creases out. Next step you have to measure and cut the fabric.

Step Three:

You have to decide what size napkins you want to make. For example, you want to make an 18″x18″ napkin.

You must add an extra half an inch for the hem, so you have to cut 18.5″x18.5″. Take your ruler, rotary cutter or scissors, and pencil or chalk out.

Measure your fabric by using the ruler, and mark the fabric with your pencil/chalk, and then cut the fabric with your rotary or scissors.

Step Four:

In this step, you going to make your napkins look cool and nice.

At first, on the underside of your fabric, measure half an inch from the edge and then mark a line there. Just fold your fabric on that line and iron it down.

Step Five:

Already you’ve folded your fabric half an inch. Once again fold that half an inch and then Iron it with your iron. And now you’ve got a nice finished edge.

Step Six:

This is the last step, take your heat and bond hem tape and place it under your finished hem and then take your iron and iron it down. That’s it, you’ve done!

Read Next: Step by step guide on making tea towels

Final Words

Hope! this article will help you to make different types of napkins. And also now you know what is the perfect fabric for napkins, and how to make them at home. See you soon with another topic, stay safe.

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