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Etsy Find: Cactus Picnic Napkin Set

casasugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:00:00 -0700

If a cactus could ever look cute, JackRabbit has devised a means to that end with the Cactus Picnic Napkin Set, a set of four 10-by-12-inch handmade napkins screen printed with a grid of perky green cacti. I can't think of a better occasion to debut these prickly succulents than a backyard barbecue — or perhaps a Park(ing) Day picnic. While the weather is still warming up here in San Francisco, temperatures are turning chilly elsewhere, so you'd better snatch these babies up fast and throw some T-bones on the grill. But if you're located in the Lone Star State or other arid environments, these linens won't ever go out of style . . . and you know that cloth napkins are always an eco-fashionable statement.

Casa Quickie: Bid Adieu to Paper Napkins

casasugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:00:54 -0800

To add elegance and environmental savvy to every meal, ditch your paper napkins in favor of pretty cloth napkins. Ideal Bite has some resources for cloth napkins, or you can always make your own.

Source

DIY: Cloth Napkins With a Binding Edge

casasugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:01:27 -0800

Over the weekend, I made a slightly more complicated version of our DIY napkins, riffing on a pattern I adapted from The Purl Bee. My sewing style is a little more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants when it comes to more straight-forward sewing projects. For instance, I didn't pin anything on the project. While this is fine if you're used to working with fabric, I would recommend pinning for this project if you're not comfortable with more "free form" sewing. This is definitely a pretty project though, and one that will get lots of oohs and ahs at your next dinner party. These directions make 12 napkins.

Here's What You Need

Sewing machine
Three yards of fabric for the body of the napkins
One to one and a half yards of fabric for the binding
A binding maker
Pins
Sewing Scissors
Newspaper or paper bag measuring approximately 12 inches by 9 inches to use for napkin body pattern
Thread that matches the color of the binding fabric
Iron and ironing board

To get more directions and to see photographs of the process, just

DIY: Cloth Napkins

casasugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:09:59 -0800

Tired of buying paper towels every week? Sick of all the extra paper waste you're generating? With some very basic sewing skills you can make a bunch of homemade cloth napkins out of extra sheets, bandannas, or other random fabric you have lying around. These could also be custom made for your Thanksgiving festivities by choosing some Thanksgiving-centric fabric, like that of these festive batiked napkins I found on Etsy.

Here's what you need:

cloth cut into squares around 12–18 inches wide
a sewing machine
scissors
thread that matches your fabric

To learn the steps to make these napkins,

Do You Use Cloth or Paper Napkins at Home?

casasugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:20:20 -0700

A few weeks ago, I touted the eco-benefits of using cloth napkins, so now I'm curious what type of napkins you use at home.

Do You Use Cloth or Paper Napkins at Home?

Cloth

Paper

A combination of cloth and paper

Other (Tell me below)

A combination of both

Casa Verde: Graduate to Cloth Napkins

casasugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:32:32 -0700

Even some of my more grown-up friends are still using paper napkins (or — gasp — paper towels) for everyday dining. If you're among them, it's time to upgrade to some real table linens, which are both more sophisticated and better for the environment.

For weeknight dinners, don't worry about buying anything fancy. Just some simple, machine-washable cotton will do the trick, such as these Cotton Candy Napkins ($11.95) woven by the Cakchiquel people of Guatemala on looms made from recycled building materials. It would be a pain to wash a bunch of napkins every night, so don't. Instead, use your napkin for a few days in a row, and encourage the other members of your household to do the same. When the napkins are officially dirty, just toss 'em in the wash.