I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Friday, May 10, 2013

I have always used various cloth or linen napkins over the years

during my family's meal times. Some napkins are the usual store bought, some are hand made and hand embroidered by myself, and on special occasions, some are vintage hand embroidered linens.
But there are times when some meals are eaten by hand, such as hamburgers or fried chicken. And sometimes the food can be "messy" such as grilled or barbecued meats. Light weight cloth napkins just do not do well for these occasions and I don't want family or friends to worry about ruining the napkins. So woven cotton hand towels are perfect to make napkins out of. I found this wonderful set of towels at a local farm and feed store.

I cut the towels into "napkin size" and just for fun, I decided to stitch quotes or phrases on to the corners, such as Bless this food, Enjoy!  and Come and get it. I finished the edges in a hand embroidered blanket stitch.  I love the "country" look to these as well.
How about you?
Do you use cloth or paper napkins?
I would love to hear!

9 comments:

Preeti said...

Those are nice table napkins!! Your idea to write something catchy on those make them special and lovely!:)
I usually don't use napkins daily but only when guests are invited . Indian culture asks for washing hands and mouth after eating :) also, major part of food is generally eaten by right hand only. So left hand is free to pass on something or holding a water jug etc. I keep my napkins for decorative purpose only. For specific food types, I use paper napkins but that too is rare.

lil red hen said...

Kathleen, these are almost too pretty to use also! What a great idea!

We use napkins I make for our everyday meals. Fabric that is printed into squares makes a perfect sized napkin. Sometimes I even fold paper towels into a napkin size. :)

staci said...

Super cute! Love the little embroidered sayings. We switched to cloth napkins about 6 years ago and I have quite a stash of them now! The ones we use everyday are simply cotton bandanas. I got the idea from a local pizza restaurant; they're inexpensive, come in lots of different colors and hold up really well to a lot of washing :)

Cindy said...

That's a good idea for nice strong napkins.
I was looking around for woven tablecloths and napkins to replace some old and stained ones. I haven't been able to find any where I had bought them before (Kmart and Walmart.) I even looked online. Do you have any ideas?

papel1 said...

I grew up using cloth napkins, the bigger the better. I love the idea of cutting up those larger hand towels with the embroidered sayings. Might just have to make some for my relatives who love to barbeque.
Judy

Wren said...

I prefer using cloth napkins, but I have grown boys that usually just grab a paper towel. If we have a sit down meal, we will use cloth napkins.

Latane Barton said...

Those are too pretty to wipe nasty fingers on!

A Colorful World said...

What a great idea! I've already had to take your special peroxide and baking soda stain remover to a tea towel I made several months ago! I hate it when they get soiled, but at least that's a great fix. Still this napkin idea is just perfect!

Anonymous said...

Well, I use paper napkins, but I adore your creativity with these cloth napkins, Kathleen! Such a great idea to make napkins from cotton towels, and I love the embroidery sayings. :) Simply wonderful!

Blessings my dear,
Marianne xo