Cloth Napkins That Serve a New Purpose

There is no market for fine linens,

so I don't bother with listing them for sale in my etsy shop.

Believe me, I've tried, with little success.

But what to do with all of the cloth napkins from my grandmother?

I have been storing them for ages, wrinkled and unused.

This week I decided to cut them up *gasp!* and otherwise alter them.

Remember in my last post about cloth bags,

I told you I would rummage in my china cabinet drawers for more materials?

Well, I did.

And here is my report.

 

 

Linen napkins make fabulous sachets or gift bags!

This one was too "white", so I dyed it was some old tea left in my pot

(I drink sometimes 3 pots of black tea a day).

Once dry, I cut the napkin up into quarters and made a dainty bag from each quarter.

I sewed the lacy scraps and buttons on first,

then sewed the bags up on two sides, using the fold as one side.

The linen napkins I have are serged on all 4 sides,

so I used the finished edge for my opening st the top. 

 

 

Before I made the small ones, I made a large one from a single, uncut napkin. 

I gave it the same tea dye treatment to give it some age, and to disguise any stains

(none of my napkins are spotless!)

This napkin was also bordered on all four sides, so I used it.

It also had some machine embroidery on one corner, which I also used in my design.

 

 

 You might recognize the crowned heart from one of my first bags.

I plan to repeat that design until I run out of the crocheted doily I cut it from.

You may get really tired of seeing it, because I have a lot of that doily left!

So there you are.

Use folded paper towels at the dinner table and

save your good linen napkins for creating ditty bags!

Now go make something!