Tuesday, November 10, 2009

simple gifts: monogrammed napkin ring in burlap

With the holidays getting closer, there will be lots of gathering and shared meals. We use cloth napkins daily, but this can make for an incredible increase in laundry when you have guests. With the question of "was this your napkin?" and the response of "oh, just grab another"... the wash piles up, and the eco-value of cloth decreases. By creating a personal napkin ring for each family member/guest, you can give a gently used napkin another go at a following meal. Monogrammed rings also dress up a table setting and make wonderful gifts to go along with a set of handmade napkins. (Here's a link to diy cloth napkins and 5 napkin tutes.)
I combined some of my favorite ingredients for this burlap ring, all of which came from my scrap basket and recycling bin. Very festive for such humble materials!

Materials:
  • toilet paper tube
  • scraps of loose weave fabric (burlap is perfect) cut into short strips and one larger piece for the roll
  • selvedge from a compatible fabric (linen)cut into smaller strips
  • linen covered button(button kits available at sewing shops or online)
  • alphabet stamps and stamp pad
  • Mod Podge
  • needle and thread

Make:
  1. Burlap blossom- first loop: fold strip of burlap and secure ends with a stitch.
  2. Repeat first step until you've added all of your loops of burlap. Stitch each consecutive one to the next.
  3. Continue with smaller loops of selvedge.
  4. Cover a shank button with a piece of linen (kits available at most sewing shops).
  5. Stamp with initial.
  6. Stitch button securely to the center of the blossom.
  7. Cut a tp roll into thirds.
  8. Paint a section of roll with Mod Podge.
  9. Attach a piece of burlap to the roll.
When almost dry, stitch the burlap blossom to the covered ring.
If you're really opposed to needle and thread, I'm sure you could get away with glue gunning each stitch step. Don't you think a little burlap blossom would make a fabulous present topper, too?! There are so many ways to customize these... the basic ingredients are a tube and some form of ID: an initial, number, symbol. Make these in your favorite style, and your holiday table will feel complete and personal. I've got another very different version coming up! Pin It

24 comments:

  1. Maya,

    These are so pretty. If you make a table setting with all of these, please share a picture.

    Jessica

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  2. Thank you for posting this tutorial! These napkin rings caught my eye in the pumpkin-chipotle post. Just like you say, they are humble, yet so festive... a wonderful addition to any holiday table.

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  3. Love them, great idea, and so rustic looking.

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  4. They are so cute, lovely vintage look, some things that french people are looking for.
    Thanks for sharing.

    xox

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  5. Much to my amazement I had never found your blog until yesterday. I am the director of a creative reuse center... and SO many of your projects align perfectly with materials we have in large quantities... THANK you for sharing your beautiful creativity!

    Donna
    http://www.recreate.org/

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  6. Hi Maya,
    It must be National Napkin Ring week! :) I love the addition of the TP tube inside, that would be a helpful add-on to my felty acorn rings I posted yesterday.

    I love how we all use scraps of our own favorite materials. :) Yours is a beauty!
    Betz

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  7. Thanks for sharing. They are so pretty and so easy to make. I am going to make them in my classroom for the children to use.

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  8. Wow, this is gorgeous! I love these so, so much! Lots of my favorite things going on in these rings. Thanks so much, I'll be linking. Ooh and thanks for your sweet comment on my interview! =)

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  9. great idea maya, i love the materials you are using!
    we also use only cloth napkins, what a lovely way to present them and dress the table up!

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  10. They are very beautiful! I love your creative use of the materials!

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  11. You have such a magical way with scraps of cardboard and fabric.
    I can't even glance at burlap without thinking about you.

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  12. Gorgeous-I love the stamped buttons idea-could be used on so many other projects

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  13. Thank you very much for sharing your wonderfully creative and artistic treasures. :)

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  14. My favourite thing about this project is the stamped buttons! They are so sweet! What type of ink pad did you use? I'm getting ideas for trying these buttons on other projects as well. :)

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  15. thanks everyone!
    Laura- I used versacraft. They have a fabric ink pad that I use all of the time.

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  16. Wow, that's just so totally fabulous! :)

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  17. I love how earthy this look is (gorgeous!)

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  18. Sweet! I was just thinking about napkin rings for my Thanksgiving table.

    Jody

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  19. It's nice!It's a good idea.
    JĂșlia
    Portugal

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  20. HI there!

    Love the idea!

    Even posted about it on my blog:
    http://potatoboutique.blogspot.com/2010/10/burlap-bow.html
    Hope that's OK....!!!

    Have a wonderful and creative week!

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  21. Hi Maya
    I just found your blog via Crafting Rebellion. I'm your newest follower.
    I love your use of burlap for this wonderfully natural napkin ring. I just pinned it to my "Gotta Love Burlap" board:

    http://pinterest.com/pin/109564203405737348/

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