Today I am excited to have Rachel from Reprezent98201 sharing a speacial story about cloth napkins. I’m sure you will enjoy her story as much as I have.
After congratulating me on our engagement, my grandmother asked me a question I had been waiting to answer since I started dating my now husband:
“What colors would you like for your cloth napkins?”
Okay, not everyone would get excited about this but in my family, it’s a big deal. Cloth napkins are a main component in sharing meals with friends and family on my dad’s side of the family. At my grandparents’ house, everybody has a napkin ring with their name on it, printed from my grandmother’s old label maker. When you’ve been dating awhile, you know your significant other is considered marriage material because at the next meal at Grandpa and Grandma’s, there’s a new napkin ring with their name on it. Most likely they’re seated across the table from you so an uncle or cousin can give them a hard time though. I also grew up with cloth napkins in my parents’ house – my grandma was always bringing over a new set of cloth napkins, especially if the Mariners had a few games in a row on television…she always hemmed napkins or quilted her latest project during baseball games.
Why are cloth napkins so important to me? They’re a legacy, a tradition, a mainstay in the fabric of our family [double meaning intended]. As long as I can remember, we’ve used cloth napkins. They’re financially responsible, they’re good for the environment, and they have love in them. Really.
In response to my grandmother’s question about colors, I told her I liked bright colors. At my bridal shower a few months later, I opened a box with a few of our dinner plates she had purchased but more importantly, a set of 8 hand-hemmed cloth napkins in the most wonderful print of bright oranges, reds, teals, and pinks. She also included a set of hand-turned wood napkin rings from her neighbor, another piece in the puzzle of cloth napkin love.
You see, my grandparents live on a river in the little Cascade Mountain town of Leavenworth. Their neighbor George was a master woodworker and would make the most incredible treasures from wood that the river would leave on the rocky shore. One of his many handcrafted creations were napkin rings. He would go into his workshop with a rough section of wood and come out with perfectly shaped, incredibly smooth works of art. I received a stack of 6 napkin rings on a custom built “tower” that stands proudly on the hutch in our dining room. Inside each one, he wrote the name of the tree species the wood came from, adding to the care and character of each napkin ring.
He put love into every project he completed; the few months before he passed away, he chopped and stacked enough wood to last their home-heating woodstove for several years and wrapped all the honey-do projects around the house. No one knew why he was working so hard but when he passed away suddenly, we all saw his efforts come together as a last gift to his wife and those he knew would be taking care of her. Since my cloth napkins are wrapped in his handiwork, these cloth napkins have love in them.
There is something quaint, in a simple yet beautiful way, about cloth napkins. They represent a time when planned obsolescence was not part of our collective psyche, when we made do with what we had (dresses from curtains, Sound of Music fans?), and when the homemaking arts were truly an artform. Mostly unrecognized, but still, an art. My grandmother makes the most amazing things and has told me even more stories about the items she has crafted for friends and loved ones through the years: the 4 fingered gloves for the little boy at church with a birth defect, the argyle socks for my grandpa, each wedding quilt for my cousins and I. That is why my cloth napkins have love in them.
Cloth napkins are making a resurgence which is why I have the honor of sharing my story with you. People still startle when we sit down for a meal at our house and I get out cloth napkins instead of a torn-in-half paper towel or paper napkins. But then I get to tell them about my grandparents, my parents, and now my own cloth napkins. For my sister-in-law’s birthday this year, I made her a set of cloth napkins as a housewarming present for her new apartment. What better way to enjoy a good meal than with the accompaniment of beautiful and functional cloth napkins?
Whether you’ve been using cloth napkins for a time or just considering trying them out, you have an opportunity to maintain/start a family tradition that signifies a warm, inviting, and sustainable gathering. They bring beauty to your table, cleanliness to your lap, and joy to your heart. Don’t believe me? Make a few and share them with family and friends…you might just change your mind. Still not convinced? Shoot me an email and I’ll tell you more stories.
Thank you, friends, for letting me share this piece of my life story with you. Here’s to many meals with cloth napkins by your side!
Meet Rachel
I’m a stay at home mom to a baby girl but will eventually go back to my career as a teacher when our kiddos grow up. My husband brings home the big bucks 😉 as a public school teacher and I help out by coaching girls basketball and coed rowing. I’m just getting into blogging and like to post about recipes, homemaking, adventures in the outdoors, and how my faith in Jesus Christ intersects every aspect of my life. I write atreprezent98201.wordpress.com.
We have a basket of cloth napkins on our table, and I’ll give you another reason to use them. When my daughter, Hannah, who is now 6, came home from China at age 3, she saw all of her older siblings doing chores. Hannah has limb differences, so I pondered over what a non-walking child with one arm shorter than the other could do to contribute to the family. (Most of our kids started emptying wastebaskets at age 3, which obviously wouldn’t work for her.) I came up with folding the napkins. Once she had surgery and got her prosthetic leg, we added putting the cloth napkins into the basket on the table. Now that she’s older, she’s taught her little sister, Katie, who is 3, how to fold napkins, and it’s a joy to watch the two of them tackle the task together.
My favorite napkins are flannel or flannel on one side and quilting cotton on the other.
That is such a wonderful way to include your kiddos! Thanks so much for sharing, Shecki. And flannel on one side…great idea!
I just googled “cloth napkins like my grandmother had,” and this post was the first thing that came up. (I was not expecting to cry over napkins and napkin rings, but indeed I did). The reason I am searching for this is that I “saved” my grandmother’s fine linen napkins from an old box in my parents’ basement. They hadn’t been used in decades, and now we use them daily. But due to their age, they are close to shredding to ribbons after every washing. What fabric do you make yours from? I have never found any store-bought “cloth” napkins that are as soft and absorbent as my grandmother’s. Thank you for this post. I didn’t think there was anyone who valued things like this anymore.
I am honored that we could bond over napkins! My grandmother still uses her nice linen ones so I only have cotton but they are soft and still work wonderfully.
You’re right…they’re not the same as ones you can make. I have purchased [organic] cotton quilters’ cloth as well as thicker cotton cloth for my napkins. Honestly, cotton’s my favorite – just make sure you wash it first (before cutting and hemming) or you’ll end up with some funky shapes!
I am SO glad you got to stop by and read this post. With what I value, I find that I am 50 years too late. Or perhaps it’s a good thing that God has me here now so that I can encourage and remind others about the importance of such everyday, yet beautiful, things.
I would love to hear what fabric you choose and how your napkins come out. Please post back on here with an update if you remember! 🙂
I loved your story. I have a nice collection of cloth napkins myself, including some lovely damask that once belonged to my dear departed mother-in-law.
The importance of tradition reminds me of one sit-down Christmas dinner I had here for twelve or fourteen some years ago. I told my oldest grandson, who was about twenty at the time, that I would have to use paper products because I didn’t think I had a large enough tablecloth to set a proper table otherwise. Because I have always set the table with linen, candles, etc., he was extremely disappointed, reminding his ‘Grammy’ that it was tradition to do it up right. This grammy was up until 3:00 am sewing tablecloths and napkins so we could set a beautiful table and maintain our tradition. I’m thankful I took the time to do that for him and furnish him with another good memory for him to savor long after I’m gone.
I, too, am so glad you took the time to listen to your grandson! I pray that when my daughter (or other future children) ask me to do something like that, I will have the foresight to say yes. Way to go, Grammy!
Beautiful! I am inspired to elevate even the most mundane aspects of life after this post. Napkins?! Who would have thought that they would bring me smiles, hope ad tears? Thanks for sharing.
You’d be amazed at what people, especially kids, remember. I am so glad you were moved to smile AND cry. Guess I should have passed out some cloth napkins with this story! 😉
What a wonderful tradition. We love cloth napkins too, but yours is truly a legacy!! Thanks for sharing this heart warming story.
Marci, thanks for reading! It’s a legacy I am certainly proud of and hope to live up to…
This was such a beautiful post! We use cloth napkins, but for much more utilitarian purposes. They just came from a big store, but they are lovingly held in a basket that my daughter and I wove together at a club she is in. I suppose that surrounds them in love!
Everybody’s got their own way of makin’ it work. 🙂 That totally counts!
This is beautiful. I am so glad you wrote down this memory to share with your family for generations.
Honestly Laura, that’s why I jumped at the chance to write it. I come from amazing stock and can only hope to emulate those who set the example for me!