I looked everywhere for some fun spring napkins for our dining room. I think I even went to two different HomeGoods…twice. I finally gave up. I also didn’t feel like spending an arm and a leg on them since I’ll most likely want to change them out soon (earmuffs Evan). So what did I do? I made my own. While they might not be functional napkins – they make my table look pretty and that’s really all I wanted anyway.
I bought a yard and half of fabric in a fun spring print from Hancock fabrics. Of course it was on sale, and I used a coupon. I rarely ever pay full price on anything! I think my total was around $6, and it was enough fabric to make 8 napkins. We only have 6 place settings on our table normally, but when the table is extended we can fit 8. I wanted to make sure I had enough for 8 just in case we needed to extend the table.
Now for the fun part – how to make the fabric into napkins!
Materials needed:
Fabric (I used a yard and a half)
Ruler
Scissors
Iron
Ironing Board
Ribbon
1. Cut the fabric into 8 even pieces. Mine were roughly 12″ x 20″. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of this step, but the fabric can really be any size you want it to be.
2. Next, lay a piece of the fabric face down on the ironing board, and fold the long side over about a half inch or so. Make sure that half inch of fabric makes a straight line and iron over it a few times.
3. To make sure the crease was solid I turned it over and ironed the opposite side as well. Turn the fabric back over and iron the second long side so that both have a nice looking crease.
4. Now you’re ready to start folding. Grab the un-ironed side and fold it half-way over into the middle.
5. Fold the opposite un-ironed side into the middle as well so that both are touching.
6. Fold in half again so that you have nice creased edges on all sides.
7. Fold like an accordion – mine had 3 or 4 folds.
8. Tie ribbon in a knot to keep the napkin from unfolding.
9. Tie ribbon into a pretty bow! Repeat the process for all napkins.
And there you have it – a $6 easy update to freshen up your dining room. You could also use hemming tape (the iron-on kind) or actually sew your ends for more functional napkins. I opted for the faster diy version since they won’t be getting used. You could also make fun napkins rings instead of ribbon bows – the possibilities are endless. Next time I’m going to try diy-ing a fun napkin ring. I just bought a huge thing of moss, and I’m thinking about using that somehow.
Find me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and BlogLovin!