Oh the dilemmas one faces when planning their own DIY wedding. If money wasn’t an option, there wouldn’t be a dilemma. Trouble is, we’ve decided on a budget and we’re sticking to it! I was faced with a dilemma recently when it came to deciding on the napkins/serviettes for the wedding. You see, we’re having both the ceremony and the reception at our home and I’m doing the appetisers and a caterer will supply the main meal. The caterer did supply paper napkins, which is a perfectly good option but I just kept thinking how much I would prefer cloth napkins. Searching the interwebs, the cheapest I could find were about $2 each, plus postage and when you add that up I’d be looking at $100 plus just so people could wipe their faces which to me, was ridiculous. I looked at various good quality paper napkins as well and I so much preferred cloth napkins. First world problems, I know!
I did, however, pick up a brand new double bed size sheet set from the thrift store for $10 and when I saw it I knew it would be perfect for decorating our wedding reception space. I’ve used it already for so many things and I have so much leftover. It’s a light cotton material and just perfect for napkins. I didn’t want to have to fold over the edges, press them and then sew. Too much effort for me. So I decided on this quick sew method.
I cut out a template from a cardboard box in the size I wanted. This is probably about 25cm (10 inches) square.
Using my cutting matter and rotary cutter, I doubled the material (if you’re keen you could fold it over again to reduce time but I think my blade is getting blunt) and I set about cutting 50 napkins.
It didn’t take that long.
After they were all cut, I gave them a wash in the washing machine and dried them so the edges would all be frayed.
I then sewed a line in a contrasting coloured thread around the edge of the napkin (about 1cm in) and neatened the edges to achieve that frayed look.
This did become quite tedious after a while and I’m still finding threads all over the house, the kids and the dogs. I’d got through about half and I decided to finish the other half off with the pinking shears. It doesn’t matter to me at the end of the day. They’ll be folded and only used to wipe your face.
If you count interruptions for getting sick myself, having sick children, a 2 week school holiday break and the usual interruptions that come with being a Mum, these didn’t take too long after all. I’ve given them all a press, ready for the wedding.
We currently use paper napkins at home with our usual meals but these will all come in handy after the wedding and help reduce the number of paper napkins we buy. If you count all the other crafting I’ve done using this sheet set and still have heaps of fabric left, I think these 50 napkins set me back a couple of dollars. A good saving after all.
You can check out my other budget wedding ideas I’ve done here.
