Happy Monday everyone! I trust that you all had a wonderful Valentines weekend. Today is President's Day so most kids are out of school, so have a fun day today.
Saturdays are my "play day" right now. I take a break from the everyday stuff (cleaning, laundry, homeschool, shopping, etc...) that I do during the week and do something fun for me. It could be crafting or baking, spinning or sewing, making products for my online shops, or whatever floats my boat on that particular day. This last Saturday, I decided to sew some fabric napkins. I am working towards eliminating all the paper products in my home. I thought that this would be a good and simple place to start.
So, welcome to Make it Monday! I will try to post a new DIY project each Monday. It could be anything from sewing projects, cooking, woodworking, gardening, or whatever I am currently working on. It should be fun so check back for the latest and greatest on Mondays. This week will be my fabric napkins project.
First, here are some stats on paper napkins for you to think about. I did the math as to how much I could save a year by not buying paper napkins. If my family of 4 used one napkin at each meal, (I won't count snacks) that is 12 a day. Multiply that by 365 you get 4,380 paper napkins a year. I went online to Walmart.com and a 200 count package of Bounty paper napkins is $2.97. With tax that's $3.15. Ok, 4,380 divided by 200 is 21.9 which we are going to round up to 22. I will add one additional package for guests, parties, holidays to make it 23. $3.15 x 23 = $72.45. Now that is a very conservative number as it doesn't allow for messy meals and the actual cost of birthday napkins and such. Not a huge savings but every little bit counts.
A little more food for thought...
*Paper napkins consume natural resources and pollute landfills.
*Napkins bleached with chlorine may contain dioxins and other toxins.
*Paper napkins are thin, tear easily, may not absorb well and may be abrasive to the skin.
With all that in mind, let's get started on our, better than paper, fabric napkins.I happened to have a couple of tablecloths for a round table, that I no longer have, in the closet. They are 100% cotton so I figured they would be perfect for my napkins. The bonus is that one was a gift (still new in the package) and the other a hand-me-down so both were free. SCORE!
I love to repurpose things whenever I can. It's always better to give something a new life instead of throwing or giving it away. I like to get every last bit of life out of everything I have. It is not only a great thing to do but has saved me a ton of money over the years. Now, use whatever you have handy. I often have top sheets that are still in good shape after the fitted sheet is worn out. I like to use those for projects. If you don't have anything to repurpose you can always purchase fabric at your local fabric store. Just make sure it's on sale!
I did a quick wash and press of my tablecloths (since one was new) and folded them in half to do some measurements. Now, here is where you'll have to do your own math. Depending on what you are using you will have to decide how large and how many napkins you can get out of your fabric. "Fancy" napkins can be as large as 21" square. That is kind of big for everyday family use so, I decided to make mine 12" square. It seemed a good size for us and gave me the most use of my materials.
After deciding on my measurements, I folded the cloth again so that I could cut my 12" strips with my rotary cutter. If you don't have one, you can usually buy a starter set at your local fabric or craft store, or simply mark and cut with shears.
I then cut my squares from my strips using my quilting square as a guide. This gave me 12 squares. I had a chunk left, and since I hate to waste anything, I cut 4 additional 6x9 inch mini napkins. (Who says napkins have to be square!) All together that gives me 16 napkins.
Now, there are a couple of different ways that you can finish off the edges of your napkins. I chose the quick and easy serger. (Another hand-me-down, thank you Grandma Peggy!) You could also fold over 1/4", press, fold over again, and straight stitch the edge with a regular sewing machine or by hand. Or, if you have a rolled hem foot for your machine (serger or regular machine) you could used that. Whatever you have access to and works best for you.
Some fabric napkins that I have seen surged have rounded corners so that you can go all the way around without stopping. Granted that is easier and you can do it that way if you like. But, I am a purist at heart (and a little OCD) and prefer nice square corners. They are a little more work but it makes me happy, and that's what it's all about. Right?!
Well, whatever your finishing method...you're finished! I am really pleased with how they turned out. All together I was able to make 32 fabric napkins out of two table clothes. I think that my family will enjoy using them for years to come and this will be one less paper product in my home. Yeah!!!
I hope that you enjoyed this project. Check back next week for my next Make it Monday. Since this has been my very first tutorial, please feel free to comment if there is something unclear or that I could improve on. Also, if there is a DIY you would like, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks for visiting. See you soon!
Tina
I love hitting up thrift stores for cheap top sheets. You can do a billion projects with them! I bought some fabric for napkins once and discovered 2 things. 1-quilter's cotton isn't very absorbent and 2-(and you brought this up) you don't need all giant napkins. I modeled them after my clearance napkins from Target. I can't remember how big they were but it was excessive. In retrospect 10"-12" would have been more functional and I could have made more from them. I also made smaller ones with my left overs and seem to prefer them. A couple really small ones that I thought were silly to even make, have been great for covering mason jars for kombucha, water kefir and infusing oils with herbs. 5"x5" is great for it. Just slap a ring on top!
ReplyDeleteOoh! And I've bought flour sack towels, cut them into quarters, serged the edges and viola, paper towel replacements. I still keep a roll of paper towels for really gross stuff that I want to toss, but the roll lasts two days short of forever when you can use them so sparingly.
I'm so happy that you have your property and are setting up your homestead. I have a very healthy envy. Really, it's the motivating type ;)
I look forward to more posts!
Thanks so much for the great comments Johanna. I find that I prefer the smaller sizes too. I agree that the quilter cotton, although pretty, is not very absorbent.
ReplyDeleteI have made some un-paper towels as well and will be posting that for folks later. Love the flour sack idea. I haven't been able to find those though. Where do you get yours?
We are really enjoying being here in Idaho. It has truly been an adventure so far. You should come and visit sometime if you can.