A simple Christmas cloth napkin tutorial and an easy way to add a touch of charm to the holiday season

Last winter, I set out to sew my own linens during the cold winter months. This was one of several things listed on my winter homemaking checklist. Although I didn’t get to sew as much as I wanted due to a baby coming along, my fond for making my own linens has not waned.

Napkins was just one of the many things I wanted to sew for my home. If you longing to create a handmade home through sewing, the easiest sewing project you could start with is cloth napkins.

There is nothing finicky about this project and it’s super quick from start to finish. You literally cut your fabric either in large squares or rectangles and then simply hem the sides.

Since I already made some cloth napkins for the everyday seasons of life, I thought it would be fun to have a few Christmas cloth napkins around to feed that glorious holiday spirit. I chose a green gingham fabric and then sewed with a red thread to add a little more fun and pop of color.

What is the best material for homemade napkins?

Natural fibers are a good choice because they are softer than other fabrics which makes them much more pleasant to use as napkins. Linen or 100% cotton are great options. I prefer 100% cotton and you can find at your local craft store. 

Most stores like Hobby Lobby have a broad selection of cottons to choose from. Most of these however are quilting cottons and can be a little more stiff then what I want for a napkin. If you dig through the selection and feel for softer cottons, you will most likely come across what is called homespun cotton. This is my first choice of fabric for napkins because it is a softer cotton. 

Is it cheaper to make your napkins?

If you use paper napkins a lot then sewing your own napkins will undoubtedly help you save some money eventually. 

It can be cheaper but there are a lot of variables that come into play like what kind of fabric you use, how many napkins you are making, what size napkin you are wanting. The smaller the napkin the less fabric needed and the lower the cost. 

The napkins I am making in this tutorial cost me $5. I got the fabric on Hobby Lobby’s once a month fabric sale for 40% off which came out to $5 a yard. With one yard, I can make 8 napkins that are 18”x11” for $5. 

How much fabric do I need to make napkins?

This depends on the size of your napkins and how many you want to make. In this tutorial, I am using scraps of material left over from a house dress I made, but if I were going to buy fabric for this project, I would get 1 yard to make 8 cloth napkins. I like larger napkins, but if you wanted to, you can definitely get more than 8 napkins out of 1 yard of fabric. 

You could also buy squares of precut fabric if you don’t want to buy in bulk or by the yard . Stores usually sell 5 squares in a cute little bundle tied up with a ribbon for $4-5.

You will need…

• Sewing machine
• Coordinating Thread – I chose a green gingham fabric so I went with red thread to add a touch of Christmas color.
• Extra Bobbin (if you don’t already have one in that color of thread)
• Scissors
• 1 Yard of Fabric or Scraps of fabric

How to Sew Christmas Napkins

Cut your fabric. 

For this tutorial, I am using scraps of material from a house dress that I made without a pattern, but if you are buying new material just for this tutorial, here’s how I made cloth napkins earlier on the year from a yard a fabric.

Basically, I cut the yard of fabric into 8 pieces by cutting it in half and then in half again and so forth until I had 8 pieces. Get pictures and more details here.

If you are using scraps, lay them out and cut them into large rectangles or squares. I’m planning to use these for everyday during the Christmas season and not for a Christmas dinner so I wasn’t to particular on them being all the same size. I, also, liked having some cloth napkins that are smaller for my little ones to use.

If you are wanting uniform sized napkins, I suggest buying a whole yard and going from there instead of trying to use up scraps.

Hem. 

After you have your fabric cut, all that is left to do is to hem all four sides of each of your napkins at about ¼”. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end to keep the thread from coming out.

And there you have it! Your very own handmade Christmas napkins!

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