Yes, the picture above is of a yummy bowl of sweet potato noodles in a garlic escarole sauce with sweet Italian sausage. No, this post isn’t about this recipe.
Instead, today is about how I made that pretty red striped napkin. Looks like a real napkin, right? Well, it’s not – it’s a quarter yard of fabric that I “stitch witched” with my hair straight iron to appear like one.
First, please check out the recipe exclusively at LivinPaleoCuisine.com: click here.
I mentioned on Sunday that I went to Mood Fabrics store in NYC to buy fabrics to make napkins. Basically, I was tired of paying $20 for one napkin at Anthropologie and figured that I could spice up my pictures (inexpensively) by picking up some fabrics and making my own faux napkins.
I say faux napkins, because these napkins aren’t made to (or meant to) be the size of regular napkins. I like to pinch my napkins in my photos to create that disheveled “I just can’t wait to take a bite” look, and it’s a bit difficult to do that with an ordinary napkin because they’re either too short, too thin, or have different shades of color on either side.
While in the fabric store, I discovered Stitch Witchery. What a lifesaver – I thought I was going to have to painstakingly sew the napkins. With Stitch Witchery, you simply apply the cloth-like “tape” down on the seam, fold it over, and run an iron over it for 5-10 seconds and voila – a sealed seam!
Sadly (actually, I’m embarrassed to admit) that I don’t own an iron. HOWEVER, I do own a flat iron (for my hair). So I used that.
At Mood Fabrics, the smallest increment of fabric you can purchase is a half yard. I dashed over to the cottons section (the least expensive) and started shopping. I love pinstripes, checkers and flannel patterns.
What’s the cost for each? Well, they’re sold by the yard, so it’s half of the tagged yard price. Most of my fabrics were priced at $12-$16/yard, so I got fabrics for $6-8! And each fabric makes two napkins… that’s $3-4 per napkin! You can’t beat that. Each half yard yields 2 very large napkins (but could yield 3!)
Let’s review. You need:
- 1 roll of Stitch Witchery (buy here)
- fabrics of your choice, in half-yards
- an iron
- a scissor
- sewing pins
DISCLAIMER: My nails are painted orange and black for Halloween. I’m a nerd, I know.
Step 1: Cut your fabric in half.
Step 2: Fold each side over until you reach your preferred shape. I took a napkin that I already had and mimicked that shape, just a bit larger. Once you do that, use sewing pins to keep the folds.
Step 3: Line a piece of the Stitch Witchery tape under the folded edge. It will be a little loose, but that’s okay. Fold over the fabric to cover the “tape.”
Step 4: Hold a flat iron (or iron) over the seam for 5-10 seconds. Tug at the seam and make sure it’s secure. Repeat in sections until all seams are sealed.
That’s it – now you have matching sets of napkins for a fraction of the price!
It will look like this – sturdy for pictures!
I hope you learned something. I’m sure there’s an easier way to do this, but it works. Happy Stitch Witchering!
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