Saturday, April 18, 2009

Picnic Time!

Ahhh! I love the feel of cloth napkins! Here I've completed a set of mix-and-match placemats and napkins.
Some of you know I've been spring-cleaning my craft space (half of our office----ok, MORE than half! Hee hee!) Along the way, I've unearthed many half-done projects. I plan to complete them or throw them out before I begin new ones! Ok, AND scrap in between. I made these placemats double-sided.

And then an assortment of napkins to coordinate with either side. Don't you love options?!

Here's my tip for making perfect corners on the napkins---for any right-angled item, for that matter. First, I iron about an inch corner of all 4 corners. Make sure it is at right angles to the sides of the napkin.

Next, tuck under the corner and finger press for each corner.

After that, finger-press about a 3/8 inch seam along one side---I recommend doing one at a time.
Fold that over one more time to cover the raw edge and iron flat. Repeat with each side.
Voila! You have a perfect corner. Simply stitch around the entire napkin in whatever stitch you choose.
Now, don't you just want to go on a picnic? We had a BBQ in the back yard with my sunny set!
P.S. I still need your advice here. Thanks!

4 comments:

Carla said...

My mother adored cloth napkins. She used to pay me a nickle for each one I ironed. Thanks so much for reminding me of her today!

Ruth said...

Hey Vanessa,
These would cost a fortune to buy in an upmarket shop!!
I just think they are so pretty and love the idea of mixing and matching them!!

Thankyou for joining our new blog. I hope you can contribute a layout when you feel ready!!
Love Ruth xxx

Claire said...

I like these! Makes me excited to go out on a picnic!

Jane Smith said...

Hi Vanessa, I am going have a go at the alcohol inks on the transparency...looks fantastic...love your napkin combos too..lovely. Everybody must be cleaning out their gear at the moment - I've been giving away some of my stash too!!

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