Saturday, October 20, 2012

Being a Little Green With Cloth Napkins

I don't really consider my family 'green' - yes we do drive a Prius as our main vehicle, we recycle as much as we can, we use bio/earth friendly products and yes we try not to use paper products when we can.  Hmmm maybe we are a little 'green'.

 
A few cloth napkins I pulled from our household's cloth napkin pile.

But whatever the label is, I wanted to share one of my favorite things around the house.  It happened out of necessity.  When my oldest was around 2.5 and my younger one was starting solids, I got FED UP with paper napkins.  We would go through dozens at one meal sometimes.  The paper ones would tear, get stuck on their little sticker mouths and hands and even eaten sometimes.  As a solution, I decided to sew up some cloth napkins from fabrics from my stash. 
 
Over a dozen washes and still looking good :)

The sewing wasn't hard, but it took a bit of time since I kept having to sew more and more to keep up with the demands of a growing family (we must have about 80 napkins now - and it usually last us a whole week before washing).  Here we are 3 years later and we are still using cloth napkins.  We keep a stash of emergency paper ones somewhere in the pantry just in case we don't have time to wash or have larger parties.  I don't know about the rest of the family, but I am absolutely hooked on cloth napkins.

I'm sharing this [green and on-going project] at these lovely linky parties.

Looking for some pre-sewn cloth napkins sets?  I have been adding it to my JAQS Fabrics shop HERE.  And through October - enjoy 10% off the whole shop with coupon code JAQSBlog10 for being a JAQS Studio blog reader :).

35 comments:

Studio Paars said...

Hmmmm, it never occured to me actualy, but that's a great idea! I think we probably use a roll of paper ones in a day or two here. I may just have to go through my stash and make some myself :)

Thanks!
Liefs, Audrey
http://hetkabinet.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I really should try this!

tiarastantrums said...

we don't use paper napkins either - BUT not to be green. It is the way I grew up, I hate paper napkins!

Susan said...

Love the colors!!

Hope you have a blessed Sunday...♥

Anonymous said...

We have not bought paper napkins in ages either. They're expensive, cloth is washable in my frugal homemade detergent and HE machine. I was going to cut up old fabric and make sets and I realized no one cared and they were so cheap at SA. We were there one day when all you could fit in a bag they gave you was $20! I bought lace, napkins, even some clothes for sonny, lol. Enjoy.
Janet

i am pam said...

i have cloth napkins for a couple of years now. they work out well and I not so much waste!

truly simple and easy!

Kim said...

Love this idea!! So smart and they are so cute!!

Redfly Classroom said...

Great idea! I have 10 now for a family of 5. I am finding out I need to make a lot more!! Thanks for the incentive.

Melissa
redflycreations.blogspot.com

Nancy at maddalee™ said...

This is a great idea! An old idea made new again, love the colors. I'm a new follower, thank you for sharing!

Have a good day, Nancy

Crystelle Boutique said...

Cloth napkins! What a great concept! So much better than paper: agreed!

Crystelle
http://www.crystelleboutique.com

Jeanette said...

Great idea, we use cloth too (not homemade though!) but now I'm thinking this would be great for Christmas gifts!

Jocelyn said...

I love the colors you chose. :)

Rachel said...

I'm guessing it's because we don't have kids, but we go months without using a napkin in our house...and a roll of paper towel last us three months, on average. :P But I'll keep this idea in mind for the future!

Cassandra said...

I really love this idea! Might have to start sewing some up using my vintage sheets.

Kelly said...

They are gorgeous - what a great idea!

rebecca said...

Love the colours! :)

SewSweetVIntage said...

This is awesome! Great colors. Following you now. Follow me too at sewsweetvinatge.com I posted Chic american and chalk board table to Creative blog hop tuesday:)

Carolyn said...

Such a cute idea. I prefer cloth to paper any day and make double sided ones as gifts.

Chrissy + Nate said...

What a great idea! We stopped using paper napkins/paper towels too... it was ridiculous! We use fabric napkins as much as we can.

Chrissy
www.everydaywiththejays.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

This is a great idea. Good for using up small leftover pieces of fabric too. Thanks for sharing
Donna @ onceuponasewingmachine.com

Mik's Jewelry Shop said...

This is such a great idea. Thanks for helping get the idea out there.
Mikaila
alittlebitofcraft.blogspot.com

Resa @ PitcherAndPlate.com said...

Perfect! I am exploring ways to change the way we dine. Cloth napkins were a fleeting thought because I didn't think they'd be do-able. But now I see that they are! Since my sewing machine is currently in need of repair, I will probably be visiting your etsy shop soon!

KC Coake said...

Love cloth napkins, but until recently never thought of making my own. That is a 'Duh' moment. I just made mini napkins for my daughter's american girl doll party...you know the doll's need a napkin! Too cute!

Kyra said...

Great way to be green - love your fabrics! Just pinned it! THanks for sharing...

kyra @ caramelpotatoes.com

Art and Sand said...

I have used cloth napkins for years. When we would have people over for dinner, I would use cloth napkins and then I asked myself why only company got the nice napkins. Like you, I have a drawer full. I make a lot of them, but I also find great deals on sets at TJMaxx and Marshalls.
I love the colors you showed.

Unknown said...

Great idea! Saw you linked up at a bunch of link parties. Would love it if you linked up on my blog hop and added mine to your list www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!

Natalie said...

What a great idea! We've been having this problem with paper towels and our toddler. And they are never very soft, so I hate to use them in the first place. I can also never locate burp cloths at meal time. I might have to whip a few of these up before the holidays!
I wanted to invite you to share this project on my blog, Confetti Diaries, link party this week. I know my readers would love such great inspiration. We hope to see you there!

http://confettidiaries.com/2012/10/wednesdays-goody-bag-link-party-7/

Leanne said...

We only use cloth napkins too, but ours are white. Yours are much prettier. Thanks for linking to the Home Decor and Organizing link party. I featured them this week.

Christy said...

I love your cloth napkins! We don't use cloth, but now that my kiddos are older we barely use regular napkins either. Thanks for linking to tip-toe thru tuesday. I hope we see you this week.

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

What a great idea! And they're so cute!

Amanda said...

I'm a big fan of cloth napkins! Thanks for sharing at I Made It! Monday. Can't wait to see what you share this week.

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

fabulous!
they're lovely & cheerful :)
i remember an oprah show where they discussed how many trees are saved just by one person changing to cloth napkins ! crazy ~ good for you :)

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

I love these so cute but I love that you are saving so many trees! I need to do this more often, thank you for the post, I'll be featuring it later today.
XO

Stacey said...

Love yur napkins!
They are pretty, too!
Thanks for sharing this week - I will be featuring them tonight granted the storm doesn't keep me from posting!
Stacey of Embracing Change

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

I love your cute colorful napkins. Not only are they thrifty, and useful but so much prettier than anything paper! Thanks for sharing them with Share Your Cup.
Hugs,
Jann

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