How to make quick DIY Wedding Napkins from scratch (No Sewing Required!)



Style (and purse!) conscious brides to be, as well as fellow rustic home-makers are going to love this 4 step tutorial.
Create your own beautiful, and totally unique rustic or vintage style guest napkins from scratch at a fraction of the cost of buying ready made and with absolutely NO sewing. Fantastic if you have little time left until your big day.
Best of all, you can use any fabric - no colour choice or pattern is off limits! 

Fabric napkins add an extra touch of luxury to your wedding reception (and are also much more environment friendly).
Don't settle for plain white - get creative... 

Remember, the perfect wedding décor is all in the details.

If you can use scissors and an iron, there's no way you can go wrong. Follow this how to - you'll be surprised at just how easy it is to achieve napkins that will wow your guests and add the perfect finishing touch to your décor!


To create the napkins you will need:

  • Material of choice - For each napkin you will need an 18" ( or 46cm) square. 1 metre of fabric makes 4 napkins.
  • Bonding web - roughly 1.5m per napkin 
  • Iron & ironing board
  • Damp cloth
  • A pair of fabric scissors - I used pinking shears (zigzag cut)
  • Ruler or measuring tape
  • Chalk (or pencil on light fabric)
  •  

    Tips on material choice...

    - Choose something heavy weight or opaque. As a rule, if you can clearly see your hand through it, it won't be suitable for this technique (as the seams will be visible through the fabric).

    - For a rustic theme try a mixture of beiges, creams, browns and fresh earthy greens

    - For a vintage mismatched china look to your tables, try mixing floral patterned material to create a one-of-a-kind napkin for each guest.

     

    Step 1: Measure your napkin squares

    • Firstly, measure and draw out the 18" squares onto the reverse of your fabric using chalk on a dark fabric or pencil on a lighter fabric. Pen can be used but make sure to cut exactly on these drawn lines otherwise the marks will be visible on the end napkin.

    Step 2: Go ahead and cut those squares

    • It's important to cut the lines as neatly as possible as these cuts will be visible on the finished napkin. A good quality pair of fabric scissors will make life so much easier! Pinking shears are great to use as they disguise not so straight lines.


    If your fabric is fraying alot after being cut, you might want to get some fray check (craft stores) or apply a little clear nailvarnish or water-based varnish to the ends and leave until dry. Some fabrics can also be sealed by running a flame briefly over the frayed ends. If you aren't sure of whether your fabric is suitable for flame sealing I don't advise doing this.

     

    Step 3: Create the seams

    • Cut off each corner of each napkin diagonally as shown above.
    • Fold in half an inch on the napkin edge and press with the iron to create a fold. Repeat for each edge of every napkin.

     

    Step 4: Seal each seam

    Place a strip of bonding web under the seam flap, cover with a damp cloth and iron on high for 10-20 seconds or until the bond has been made. Repeat for each seam flap on each napkin.

     

    • Fold up your napkins in half and half again, and voilà - your beautiful, co-ordinated and inexpensive napkins are complete. No-one will ever know they were so simple to make!

     

    Hope you found this useful, I know I like to get away without sewing if I can!

    Sian xo

     

    If you'd like to turn your newly made napkins into personalised place names to suit your theme, click here to get DIY-ing


    How To Make Personalised Wedding Napkin Place Settings (No Sewing Required!)

    36 comments

    Jennica

    Kudos to you! I hadn’t thhougt of that!

    1 6 7 8

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