DIY Cloth Napkins

Ah, finally life has slowed down a bit and I can finally get to all my DIY projects! If you recall, I had a growing list back in October. Over the Christmas holiday, I had 2+ weeks off work where I took advantage of my time! First project? DIY Cloth Napkins. Seems like an odd thing, BUT it’s the only way to get the right fabric to personalize your space for a low cost! Here’s the original fabric I bought at JoAnn Fabrics.

I bought a yard of each, which cost $15 total. My inspiration was drawn from Etsy. I saw so many cute napkins for our table, but they were so expensive. Our table seats a minimum of 6. To buy 4 napkins costs $35. To seat my table of 6, it’d cost $70.

I forgot to take pics as I was making them – sorry – but I can explain what I did.

I knew I wanted them to be 15″ x 15″ squares, so I cut them out to be 16″ x 16″ leaving an half inch on all sides for sewing. I cut my squares, then folded the edges over and ironed the fabric to hold the creases where I would sew. I then had to make another fold and iron again to make sure you wouldn’t be able to see any of my cut marks on the fabric.

Once cut and ironed, you just run it through the sewing machine. This was my first time really using a sewing machine, and it was awesome! My wonderful mother-in-law, Kim,  helped me out so much with ironing and teaching me tricks of how to use the machine! The project definitely took way more time and had more steps that I originally thought (i.e. having to iron everything), but it was well worth it. Here’s the final napkins:

{ two table settings of 6 napkins each = $15 total}

I LOVE making things myself. It’s so rewarding when someone compliments you on something! Now to go out and buy a sewing machine so my obsession can continue. Any suggestion of reasonably priced ones??

Until next time
<3 jenna

new projects to come

When I was home the other weekend, I stopped by JoAnn Fabrics to buy some fabric. I have a number of projects that I want to do :)

Project #1 is making my own napkins for our dining table. I keep looking around for the right colors and right design, but everything is so expensive. On Etsy, the ones (like these) I want are $30 for 4 napkins. I have a 6 person dining set, which means it’d be $60. I picked up these two fabrics to create two sets :) Only cost me $15 :)

{ fabric from joann fabrics }

I don’t have a sewing machine, but Jake’s mom does. I’ll post pics soon once the project gets underway :)

Project #2 is creating a headboard for our bed. It’s super simple (see instructions here), just need to find the right fabric and find a place big enough to do it.

Project #3 is making pillows. We have some now (furry brown ones), but I really want ones with fun fabrics. I had actually went out and found fabric, but didn’t fully realize the cost to make your own. Definitely pricier than you think, especially because I want to make big and small pillows. Probably something I’ll save for later :)

Project #4 is my gallery wall. I want to hang a bunch of frames in our hallway, but I’ve been waiting on getting our wedding pictures from our photographer, as well as a canvas print. Once I get that, I can actually do something :) Until then, the frames shall sit in my hall against the wall.

There are tons other projects, BUT I should just start with one at a time.

Until next time
<3 jenna