Thursday, February 11, 2010

Frugal Friday: Homemade Cloth Napkins


This past week my Mom has spent a lot of time making cloth napkins for us to use on a daily basis. Cloth napkins can be very expensive to purchase so I had an idea. I started collecting fabric from remnant baskets at stores and from Thrift Stores & Garage Sales. This is a great way to get fabric cheap! We now have a variety of cloth napkins to use everyday as well as some for holidays & seasons. There are not any napkin "sets" just a mish mash of fun and decorative prints. The point was not to have all matching napkins but to have enough to use for 3 meals a day. This will help save money because I will no longer be purchasing paper disposable napkins and it is good for the environment because we have completely eliminated a disposable product in our house. This idea is not only frugal but fun!





To make cloth napkins:

  1. Cut fabric into squares (any size will work).

  2. Use a serger or you can hem the edges with a sewing machine.


My son loves the Napkins made out of Cars fabric!



For more great frugal ideas visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

(This post was originally published on 07/31/09)

12 comments:

  1. Wow! That's a lot of napkins. I keep starting and stopping with this idea. Your lookd great!

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  2. How fun!

    There are often many older women who have cloth napkins sitting in a drawer that aren't being used. If you mention your desire to switch, they may offer theirs to you.

    I prefer the dark colors because I don't have to use stain removers on them. My children get the job of folding them and putting them away when they are clean.

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  3. Funny you should post about this. I am a sewer and have just started doing this with all my leftover fabrics. This is a fun project and my children love to be involved.

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  4. I should do this just to use my BabyLock that NEVER comes out of the cabinet. I've realllllly got to get back into sewing - I used to LOVE it!

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  5. I just made some napkins like those a few weeks ago with leftover fabrics from my other sewing projects. I cut them into about 12" squares and serged the edges. They work wonderfully!

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  6. This is on my spring project list. I love the idea of using fabric from my stash, not having to buy disposable napkins anymore (well, except for barbeques) and using dark colors to hide stains.

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  7. I am so glad you posted this! I am trying to build up a stockpile of cloth napkins and never thought once about getting extra fabric from clearnace and such. I will be checking the stores now! Blessings!

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  8. I bought some on a great sale (but I still felt lame because I knew I was paying too much for hemmed fabric) I have been hesitant to make more because I've been unsure about what kind of fabric is best? any ideas there?
    Kathryn

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  9. I like cloth napkins and have made some myself--I even got to practice making mitered corners on them. (Alas, I don't have a serger--they scare me a bit.) I like them because they are a)pretty, b)soft and c)so much bigger than the cheesy paper napkins.
    I only wish I could get my husband on board with them. I think he still sees them as a luxury instead of a money- and earth-saver.

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  10. Oh, neat! I need some cloth napkins. I"m going to have to try this. :D

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  11. Kathryn,
    I used mostly cotton fabrics to make my napkins. I did find some home decor fabric(like the kind for making drapes, etc.) really cheap at a thrift store and it worked really well because the fabric is very durable.

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  12. My mom has been making cloth napkins for us for years. I love them. It is nice to have great looking napkins for all the holidays! My mom uses fabric that is 100% cotton and most of mine have lasted for years.

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