Easy DIY Cocktail Napkins

Easy DIY Cocktail Napkins

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Christmas, DIY, fabric, Holidays, seasons, sewing

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Every once in a while my parents would host a cocktail party and my mom would pull out small squares of cloth she called "cocktail napkins." I thought that was the epitome of fancy!  Who had special napkins for special reasons?  I decided that I should have cocktail napkins too but mine would be easy DIY cocktail napkins!

 This holiday season was the perfect time for me to whip them up since we would be doing a lot of entertaining. It took me a total of two hours to sew up 10 sweet napkins and if you can sew a straight line you can make fancy DIY cocktail napkins,  too.

These are the directions for one napkin.

1. Cut two squares of fabric the size you would like your finished napkin. I wanted them small but not as small but not wee so I cut out an 8x8 inch square.

2. Right sides together, stitch around all four edges using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Leave a small opening on the final side as you would when making a pillow. My opening was about 2 inches.

3. Turn right sides out and use a skewer or some other pointy tool to push out the corners as much as possible. You want them to look square.

4. Tuck in the sides of the opening. Press the whole napkin flat. Flip and press again. This is key!

5.  Top stitch around as close to the edge as possbile, making sure to sew the opening closed.

6.  I top stitched around again using a decorative stitch on my sewing machine that looks like a vine with leaves. I used the same color thread so it was subtle but next set I make I will use a contrasting thread.

Aren't they cute?  You end up with a finished napkin that is 7x7. It was the perfect little napkin to use when serving drinks or hors d'oeuvres.  And it was such an easy and quick sewing project that it wouldn't take much to make them for all different occassions.

Mine washed very well since I made them out of quilting weight cotton fabric. I had to re-iron them but big whoop.

Sometimes I think we are all so used to our busy lives that we forget it isn't that hard to add a touch of fancy to our entertaining. Sure paper napkins have their place, along with paper plates, plastic utensils, etc. But I also think a little bit of fancy goes a long way to making your guests feel cherished!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!  Molly was SO sick with the flu and then pneumonia. We also had house guests for almost 2 weeks so we were very busy!  But here are a few pictures of our Christmas!

Opening presents!

After opening presents!

Even Pixie was wiped out!

We are back to school and work tomorrow. I'm sad not to sleep late but in a way I will be happy to be out of the house so I can stop eating Christmas candy!  

Cheers!

Jenny