Cloth Napkins

Cloth Napkins i made
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

In an effort to make less waste I recently picked up two habits that have seriously decreased the amount of garbage we put out on the street each week (it's down to about 3/4 of a bag and that includes diapers).

Anyway, i sewed these to get some practice on the sewing machine - i didn't sew the green ones. Here is an easy way to reduce your paper usage (and trash)...

Buy the cloth necessary for 12 x 12 napkins (i made 24). It cost me $3 for the fabric. All you need to do is cut the fabric into 12 x 12 inch pieces and pull 5 threads from each side to give them a fringed look. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete the project and saves money as well as helps with consumption waste. I love using them too. It feels nice to use cloth napkins. I don't worry about staining them. I wipe my curry covered hands on them and wipe Little Dude's spaghetti face with them. That's the beauty of such a cheap and easy project.


Make some yourself! Look for a wrinkle free fabric...100% cotton and thin is good. Linen doesn't look as good and crinkles up around the fringe so they would need an ironing (my green ones are a linen cotton blend, the yellow is 100% cotton and are completely low maintenance.