If you are a regular reader, you know that I threw a bridal shower tea party for a good friend of mine. I wanted the tea party to be very elegant with a vintage feel, so the tables had to have floral cloth napkins. My mom liked the idea too and helped me go to work sewing them up. They were not hard to make; we just had a lot of them to make--about 20. Thanks again, Mom!
First, we cut out 18" squares.
Then we sewed two opposite edges of the napkin at a time.
For the seams, we folded over the fabric a 1/4" on one edge and ironed it down.
Then we folded the same edge over a 1/2" and ironed it down. We did this to two opposite edges of each napkin, and then sewed down the folded seam of each side.
Next, we did the same thing to the other two opposite edges of the napkin, first ironing down the seams and then sewing down the seams.
The finished product was a 16 1/2" square napkin, which turned out to be a good size.
After the shower, the napkins became a gift for the bride.
After making these napkins, I found this great tip at Marthastewart.com for quickly ironing even hems. Martha is ingenious, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have to mess with an iron that shuts itself off every 5 minutes either.
