Quick & Easy Napkin Tutorial

I am always without ideas when it comes to hostess gifts or house warming gifts.  If invited for dinner, I tend to bring a generic bottle of wine and make a wine bag.  But the wine does not have longevity and I am not sure every hostess wants to store (or reuse) a cloth wine bag.  

Then it finally came to me :: cloth napkins!  People like them, but do not always want to spend their own money on them.  They are a great way to add a pop of color to a kitchen without over committing.  They are green (ecologically, not always fabric-wise), unisex and have staying power.  Perfect!  Want to make a set with me?

Let's start with your fabric choices.  I used a continuous cut of one print (35 inches x WOF quilting cotton) to make a set of 4 napkins, but you could also use four complimenting fat quarters.  I pre-washed and ironed before making the napkins as I didn't want weird shrinkage after they were finished.  

Note: I use three different fabrics in this tutorial.  It means nothing other than
the sun was setting and you could no longer see the light blue fabric as it got darker.

In terms of notions, you will need scissors, a marking pen, a rotary cutter, your rulers and a bowl.  This bowl is 5 inches in diameter.  You will not need a sewing machine, but will need an over locker.  That's right - pull that over locker out of the closet and dust it off.

Fold your fabric in half so the selvages are matching.  Fold it in half again the other way so the two raw edges are matching.  You should now have four overlapping layers.  Trim a sliver off the raw edges so they are not so scraggly.

Without opening your folded fabric, rotate it and cut your selvages from the main body of the fabric.

Rotate the fabric again (without unfolding it) so that the folded edge is on the right and the raw edges are on the left.  We are making napkins that are 16 inches square.  Now, I do not have a ruler that is 16 inches wide to measure that, so I have to get a little innovative.  I used a 14 inch square ruler (green, left) and a 6.5 inch wide ruler (black, right).  I combined a width of 9.5 inches from the green ruler and the full 6.5 inches of the black ruler to get a cut of 16 inches wide.  Cut off the folded edge.

Again, rotate your fabric and repeat the same ruler regime to cut off the other folded edge.  You should have a set of four pieces that are 16 inches square.

Flip the bowl upside down and align it with the two edges.  Trace around the lip of the bowl with a marking pen.  Do the same for the other three corners.

Trim along the line with your fabric scissors.  I cut all four layers at once as my scissors are very sharp.  If you do that, make sure to keep the fabric and scissors flat on the cutting mat so the layers do not shift too much.

You should now have four pieces of fabric that are 16x16 with rounded corners.  

With Brian's help, we made a movie to show you how to finish the raw edges of the napkins using an overlocker.  A few things to note:  

1) Always start with a tail of thread on your over locker. 

2) Slow down at the corners, lifting the presser foot as needed to adjust your fabric and avoid wrinkles. 

3) As you approach the end, trim off the original tail.

4) To finish off the edge, sew over your starting point, turn the fabric about 90 degrees and continue off the fabric to make a finishing tail.  

5) Create a tail of about 3 inches so you can securely finish the napkin.  

Here we go! 

Using a blunt needle with a large eye....

....thread the tail through the eye...

 ...and place the tip of the needle under the overlocking threads on the back side of the napkin.  I usually push the needle so that the tail will be tucked in for one inch.  Pull the needle out...

... and trim off what's left of the tail.

Ta da!  A finished napkin.  Repeat for the other four to finish off your set.  

I tend to fold them into rectangles so that the curved edge is a corner "accent", then place my flatware on top.  

I hope that was clear - email me (fluffysheepquilting at gmail dot com) if you have questions and I will try my best to help you along.  A few alternative options that you might like: 1) you can shorten your stitch length to have less of the fabric showing through the edge and instead have more of a satin finish or 2) use a wooly nylon thread that poofs up as you sew to hide the fabric.  Thank you!

New-To-Me Overlocker = New-To-Me Excitement

Several weeks ago, we found a listing for a used, industrial sewing machine on Done Deal in our local area.  It had such a massive harp and was built into a table, so we had to go give it a test run. You see, it was listed by a lovely man whose wife used to make wedding dresses from the back of their house.  She had several high-quality, well loved industrial machines for her business (and a pile of thread!!!).  She recently passed away, so he was trying to find new homes for her machines where they would be appreciated.  As it turns out, it was not the sewing machine for me.  However, next to it sat an overlocker that we could not leave behind.  Total score!  We popped it into the back of the truck and went home delighted with our luck.

I set it up in the kitchen and immediately started making pillow cases and napkins to sell at a Christmas fair.  She is smooth and fast, purring along.  The crazy, rapid fire double needles and blade scare me a bit, but I am starting to figure out how we can work beautifully together.  The only down side?  She's INSANELY heavy, so we couldn't get her up stairs to my sewing space.  She lived in the kitchen for weeks and weeks and weeks...until an unsuspecting friend came over for breakfast last weekend.  (insert evil laugh here...)  The two boys grunted and strained the entire time, dragging her up stairs to her forever home.  

In preparation for my napkin making mania, I started to prep fabric from the shop.  You see, eventually these napkins will be sold via the website or in pop up shops as a way to sell to local fabric appreciators/lovers who don't sew.  It's a super way to bring a bit of color and design to your home at a low cost and with little commitment.  

I decided on sets of four, mostly because it keeps the purchase price reasonable and because I came from a family of four.  In my head, dinner tables are always set with four place settings.  Irish families, though, may have to buy two sets of napkins :)  Anyway, I pre-washed fabrics, ironed them, then cut out 16 inch x 16 inch blocks.  The edges were rounded (for the over locker) by tracing around a cereal bowl, then cutting with fabric scissors.

I was on fire.....overlocking to my heart's content.  Until I realized not every fabric would look great with a white thread edge.  With an overlocker I needed 4 spools/cones to sew in one color, when I'm used to buying and using one spool of each color at a sitting.  I had tons of white thread so it was easy enough to scrape together four spools in the beginning, but when I needed a color like pink or navy, I was out of luck.  Only one spool of each in my thread stash.

While I was in the US over Christmas, I saw my opportunity and jumped.  Joann's (of course!) had an entire wall of overlocking thread at a very reasonable price.  I kind of lost the run of myself and bought white, red, yellow, blue and green cones.  I wish I bought pink too, but there had to be some sense of reason. When I got it all home and dumped my bounty on the living room floor, I think my mother was questioning my sanity (clearly!).  I'm sure it was also a first for Customs to find on a search....made their day more interesting, didn't I?

So, I think I am ready to roll now.  New colored thread - check.  Overlocker in her new home - check.  Fabric washed, ironed and prepped - check.  

The only thing we're missing is a name.  What do we call her?  When I see her, names like Fang, Jaws or Tarantula come to mind, but they're not very feminine.  Any suggestions?

The Canvas Pattern: Now Available in FSQ

I am delighted to announce that She Can Quilt's Canvas quilt pattern is now available at Fluffy Sheep Quilting {the shop}!

You can find the pattern by clicking on the "Patterns and Kits" button on the shop home page, or by following this link.  Currently the pattern is available as a PDF that will be emailed to you after your purchase.    

Created by Leanne of She Can Quilt

Leanne's pattern is very clearly written with a lovely prologue describing considerations when you are designing your own Canvas quilt.  She helpfully includes size charts including fabric requirements, two cutting charts and figures for each step of the piecing process.  

Created by Leanne of She Can Quilt

My favorite thing about this pattern is that you can use it time and time again in different sized projects for different occasions.  Included are the cutting instructions for each of the following projects: mug rug, table topper, napkins, pillow, mini quilt, baby quilt (two sizes), lap quilt (two sizes), queen quilt (two sizes) and king quilt (two sizes).

Made by me!

With a new pattern hanging around the shop, I could not resist giving it a try!  I thought I would make myself a set of four napkins.  For the first time, I cut into my precious Locally Grown fabric for the centers, framed it with Kona Tomato and Kona Bahama Blue and then set off with Le Creme Swiss Dots in red.  They're backed in more Kona Tomato.  Can't have enough red.

They are generously sized napkins, so you can easily square them without them shrinking too obviously.

I think they will be fun for our next picnic.  I would absolutely return to this pattern for my next house warming gift or if I need a baby quilt.  The Canvas pattern offers a great opportunity to personalize each project with the fabrics you use while still offering great impact with its design.  Lovely job, Leanne!