Monday, March 9, 2009

Cocktail Napkins - A Tutorial


These are my version of a cocktail napkin. They're not so much for the dinner table as they are for outdoor soirees: picnics in the park, lunches on the lawn, or a little tea party with your friends! They're the perfect size to hold a little sandwhich, or a cookie or any other small finger food - like a little cloth plate! They double as coasters...and I just love them!



You will need:

1/4 yard cotton fabric

Cutting mat, rotary cutter and quilting rule or

Scissors

Thread for your sewing machine



Begin by cutting your fabric - you will need eight 6" squares.



Grab two of your squares and stick 'em right sides together. Line up the edge of the fabric with the right edge of your presser foot and sew along three and a half sides of your square. (Did you get that? Sew three sides, and then half of the last side, leaving a hole so you can turn your square right side out when you're done.)



Clip the corners and flip your little creation right side out. I like to stick a closed pair of scissors inside and poke the corners out so they're nice and square.



Fold the open edges down inside and now line your fabric up with the left edge of your presser foot and sew the opening shut. Continue on around until you've sewn around all four sides - this is called Top Stitching.



Press it if you like...and you're done! I like to do these assembly line style - cut out all the squares, sew them all together, flip them all, clip them all...you get the idea.



These would make great party favors for a little girl's tea party, or a great addition to a summer BBQ.



If you do make these, blog it up and send me a link - I'd love to see what you come up with!!

(The ones in the photo are available at http://www.lolocraft.etsy.com/)
Head over to the 6 o'clock stitch for lots of other great Make & Tell Monday tutorials! The list will be updated all month, so check it out!

7 comments:

Christy said...

Great photo styling! One of my favorite kinds of projects!

shelia said...

cute and the whole idea of a soiree makes me feel fancy! :)

Su said...

A very green idea! Love it.

the 6 o'clock stitch said...

I love these! Thanks so much for sharing it at Make & Tell! The Mr. Linky will be up all month so feel free to add another tutorial any time! A new one will be posted the first Monday in April!

Xazmin said...

So cute - I'm adding this to my list of cute stuff I want to make this summer!

Annikke said...

Hey! I have some just like this - -oh wait...you made them for me! Hee hee! We love them!!! I received my "Pay It Forward" Package yesterday! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Unknown said...

LOVE these! I'll be linking!