I was searching for a "green" way to say happy Mother's Day to my 2 daughters who were Mom's...and I had recently read a post about the amount of dollars and earth dollars spent for us to have the luxury of paper products (it was a kind of scary numbers thing - how much gas was used to truck the lumber, the electricity and water spent, etc.). Well - I started thinking about those little things and how they add up. So, for Mother's Day I made cloth napkins from muslin (am I spelling that right?) that I had on hand. I cut them very generously, using cloth napkins that I had...trimmed them, sewed them and then my Mom helped to sew ric-rak on one end. I used 4 different colors of ric-rak for a set. Then, I tied them up with butchers twine and made a cut out of a leaf, making the veins of the leaf and added these word: GREEN NAPKINS (across the top of the leaf) and along the bottom I wrote, reuse, recycle, reclaim. Then, because we still have 2 daughters who are'nt Mom's yet...I picked up some great flavored pitas from the farmer's market (these gals are local and have the best baked goods!)...and made them flavored pita chips (cut into wedges, brushed them with butter and added spices). I used the same leaf tag...but these said GREEN TREATS..."buy local, make tasty, save gas"....I have to say...I enjoyed doing this more than buying something! And the girls all loved them! The napkins were a HIT! and I will be making more out of fabrics on hand. I'm also going to try making dish towels. Give it a try?!

Good for you and your family!!

I did something like this last year. I was using fat quarters I got on sale to make doll crib bedding. My daughters grabbed some for emergency tea party clean up. We've been using "party napkins" since and my little girls love them. I opted for using a fabric glue stick to baste the raw edges under twice and sticked once with a zigzag stick in contrast thread for a quick finish. It's an inexpensive way to fancy up the table a little.

I enjoyed making them...I just wish I had taken pictures to give me a "catalog" of things I have made - I seldom remember some of the things I make!

You know, it's funny how perspective changes from house to house. Some moms will swear by the amount of laundry "saved" by using paper napkins, and some will wow their dinner guests with 'cloth-we're-SPECIAL-company!' napkins... which get used every day... to "save" trash.

It's getting harder to persuade people around here to use cloth napkins (or cloth anything) because we have a green bin curbside compost collection service now, which means paper napkins can be "guiltlessly disposed of" in a bin for mass composting... picked up in a giant diesel truck.

Good for you, Diane, for making the napkins, and GREAT for your daughters who love them!

I have a serger, so when I make napkins out of irredeemably soiled or tattered table linens/skirts/towels, I use rolled hems on the edges with woolly nylon in the upper looper for even and total hem coverage. It's fast and easy and gorgeous.

I am a member of a social/support community here in Salem Oregon that is 150 people strong. I was so impressed by this that I sent the idea along to them, in case someone wants to start a "trend" or "project" or whatnot with the idea.

Thanks DianeCarol

Red