Cloth Napkins with Mitered Corners Tutorial

[caption id="attachment_170" align="aligncenter" width="278"] Matching set using Art Gallery Fabrics in Summer Grove[/caption]

I love cloth napkins! They are reusable, and washable, and they can be made in any cotton fabric that you want to use! They make great gifts too, which is what I did for Mother's Day this year (if my own mother reads this blog frequently: stop reading or ruin the surprise!). In this case, I chose some nice brightly colored fabric for my parents to use in their gazebo this summer. I picked 4 half-yard cuts and was able to make 2 napkins from each. I started by cutting all my fabrics into 18" squares. You could do 20" as well, but then you'll need slightly over 1/2 yard, so it makes it a little trickier. For this tutorial we will be finishing the edges using mitered corners. Start by marking a right angle shape 1 3/4" in from each corner.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Clear ruler marks 1 3/4" from each side.[/caption]

Once you've done that you will want to snip a corner off. If you have a ruler with a 45 degree angle line on it, use that to mark the corner, measuring up 1". You can also mark a point 1" up from the corner on each side-- the diagonal line that connects those points will be the mark you'll follow to cut the corner off.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="292"] Marking the corner piece to snip it off[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] After snipping, your corner now looks like this[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="302"] Fold the corner up until it meets the right angle you drew in a previous step. Finger press so it stays folded while you do the other corners.[/caption]

Repeat this process with all the corners of each napkin. Once that's done you are going to fold over each edge 1/2" , with the wrong side of the fabric facing you, and press it down.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="293"] Please excuse my horrendous ironing board cover.... it got like that after 1 week!![/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="283"] Once you've folded the corners once by 1/2" your napkin will look like this.[/caption]

The next step is to fold the edges over one more time, again by 1/2". When you do this the corners should been up, forming a 45 degree angle.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Mitered corner[/caption]

Sew along the edge of the folded part, keeping the needle down to pivot at the corners.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="299"] Pi-vot![/caption]

I sewed two times around each napkin, one toward the outside edge and one towards the inside edge of the folded part of the napkin, just for some extra security.

[caption id="attachment_152" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Finished set[/caption]