UFO #1—Mitered Corner Napkins

Woven, homespun and yarn dyed fabric, is the perfect choice for napkins.

Each of these styles of 100% cotton fabrics are created by dying the cotton threads first, then weaving it into cloth. The results are double-sided cloth, with no right or wrong side.

Diamond Textiles is a California importer of fair-trade woven cottons from India, Pakistan, Turkey and Bangladesh.

I carried their collections for years; the fabric is extremely versatile as the soft drape means it works well for apparel, quilting and other home dec projects.

I purchased Picket Fence Homespun in 2018 and started making my first set ever of napkins to promote the line. Eight napkins seemed like a decent set; and I found a great free pattern on Purl Soho for the perfect mitered corner napkins. The instructions on their website are excellent. There is also a video if you prefer.

A few notions that I used when making these are a Clover hot hemmer, starch spray, an erasable fabric marker and a quilting bamboo pointer.

Clover Hot Hemmer, heat resistant for measuring and ironing perfect 1/2 inch seams

A small ruler is easier to manipulate in tight spaces.

Using a water soluble or air erasable marker works well here.

I use a pin to make sure the two blue lines meet before sewing.

A bamboo pointer, or a chopstick will also work, to push out the corner as you create your mitered corner.

The closer you can be to the miter when you turn the corner, the neater your napkin will be be.