I know what you are thinking…table linens? Simple? Joy-inducing? REALLY??? But hear me out! One of the simplest ways to elevate the everyday is to substitute cloth napkins for cheap paper ones, or heaven forbid, paper towels :-). I realize that not all meals call for lovely presentation, but I would argue that most do! And in this time of mostly stay-at-home life, living graciously is so much more important. I admit, I don’t ALWAYS default to cloth napkins…I DO grab a pretty paper napkin most mornings as I head to the deck to enjoy my morning tea and prepare for my day, but most meals can be a celebration with just a tiny bit of upgrading.
Linen embroidered beverage napkins
A casual family salad supper with grilled chicken is nicer with cloth napkins
And lovely presentation need not be formal. My children laugh-out-loud at my definition of “casual” dining…by which I mean we are using the wicker chargers and a simple everyday dish for the extra {useless/just there for looks} plate layered under the food plate or pasta bowl instead of china and gold or silver chargers. But I believe whole-heartedly in beautiful presentation. Food, lovingly prepared, should be celebrated, and eating should be an event, not just a necessity. A thoughtful place setting makes food taste better and creates a relaxed and enjoyable experience for everyone…like dining out at a fine restaurant, only at home! We eat first with our eyes, after all.
A casual soup lunch with cloth napkins serving as placemats
Cloth napkins have been around for centuries…versions of them dating back to the ancient Romans. Modern etiquette says your cloth napkin goes in your lap while dining, on your chair if you must excuse yourself from the table during the meal but are coming back, and next to your plate when you are through. Napkin rings were originally used to identify the napkin belonging to a particular family member so it could be reused until it was soiled…so if you have neat eaters, you might not even need to throw napkins into the laundry hamper every meal! Nowadays napkin rings are most often just another embellishment for the tablesetting as are creatively folded napkins. Pro tip: if you fold your napkins when they are still warm from the dryer, many will not need any ironing. And, while natural fibers will be the most absorbent, if you are ironing-averse, a poly blend is going to be the easiest care. For formal dinners, pressed and starched linen or cotton napkins are de rigueur.
Cloth napkins come in a variety of sizes - most are square, but sometimes rectangular tea towels or bistro striped cloths are used. Generally, 18”-20” square is luncheon size and used for more casual fare, and 22”-24” square is dinner sized and reserved for more formal meals. Smaller beverage napkins are used for drinks, cocktails, and nibbles, and can range anywhere from 5” squares used flat, to 12” squares folded into quarters.
Small embroidered beverage napkins make cocktail hour extra special
I’ve enjoyed the pleasures of table linens for years. My current most used white napkins are ones that I had made 20+ years ago from jacquard weave yardage a friend who ran a textile company in Georgia gave me. They manufactured cloth for the restaurant industry, among other things, and I had a fascinating tour of the facility all the way from where fiber was spun into thread, to the giant jacquard looms weaving the cloth, to the high pressure dying vats. Some of these have succumbed to grease stains over the years and many need replacing, but they have served me well!
My main napkin drawer has stacks of our favorite white and ecru easy care damask napkins, along with an assortment of pretty paper ones.
Cleaning out my secondary napkin drawer was like an archeological dig. I found napkins I’ve collected or been given over the years; colorfully embroidered cotton ones from travel to the Caribbean islands, linen embroidered beverage napkins, scalloped cocktail napkins, counted-cross-stitch napkins and placemats made by my Mom, a variety of colored and patterned beverage and luncheon napkins, and monogrammed damask dinner napkins as well as a pile of assorted napkin rings (some in horribly tarnished silver plate) and ribbons I’ve used as napkin rings. In addition to napkins and napkin rings, I came across several item of dubious usefulness - cloth stemware coaster slips (that fit over the base of only a particular size of stemware), and some convoluted Battenburg lace things with a series of ties and pockets that I think form into dinner roll holders - if you, for some reason, need to keep your dinner rolls socially distanced from one another?!
the contents of one of our linen drawers ready for sorting and editing!
Counted-cross-stitch napkins handmade by my mom
Little scalloped edge cocktail napkins
Embroidered and appliquéed napkins purchased on vacation in the Caribbean
Our newly organized napkin drawer
Here are some new napkin options below (links in text below image). I’ve just ordered the striped bistro napkins in sage for myself to have on hand for our casual dinners LOL. They are a poly blend that feels soft and cotton-like, but is easy care, stain resistant, and needs no ironing.
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A Striped 18” x 22” bistro napkin (other colors available) | B 22” banded cotton/linen dinner napkins (monogramming and other colors available) | C 22” linen embroidered pagoda napkins (3 colors and monogramming available) | D 20” voile cotton block printed stripe (other colors available)
