A few months ago, I mentioned that we almost always use cloth napkins at our house. And after reading the comments, it sounds like many of you also use cloth napkins.
However, I did receive a few emails and comments that suggested cloth napkins were too expensive.
I got our cloth napkins as gifts so I’ve never really priced them out… but if you are looking for REALLY cheap {possibly even free} cloth napkins, you might want to check out this simple tutorial for No-Sew Cloth Napkins.
I can’t believe never thought about making my own cloth napkins from old shirts! Wouldn’t it be fun to mix and match colors and patterns to make a set? What a great gift idea too!
And if you don’t have any old shirts you are willing to cut up, I’m sure you can find a bunch at your local thrift store for probably $1 each.
Oh, and if you have unused t-shirts you want to re-purpose, you should read what I do with ours!
Lea Stormhammer says
Fabulous Idea! I’m going to bookmark it and file it away for later use.
I have found that Target routinely has 4-packs of cloth napkins for around $3-$4, sometimes on sale sometimes just regular price, depending on the season. When my children were learning how to eat with utensils, a friend recommended buying a multipack of inexpensive wash clothes for them to use rather than traditional cloth napkins. Worked like a charm!
Here we usually pay a minimum of $3 for a pack of paper napkins (without coupons) and we have to replace them when they’re gone. The cloth napkins go right into the wash with the other household linens and then back into the linen cupboard for use again. We’ve been married for almost 14 years now and still use some of the higher-quality ones we received for wedding gifts. So they really can last a long time! It’s amazing how much further my weekly grocery/toiletry/paper goods budget can stretch when I don’t have to buy things like paper napkins and paper towels routinely!
Julie says
We have used cloth napkins for almost 10 years. I found all of mine clearanced at pier one imports. I was given some as gifts and I have even found some at the resale shop around Christmas that were priced for 25 cents each. I have made some as gifts. I bought a large table cloth at the resale shop and made 6 12×12 napkins with enough left over that I can make another 4-6 napkins. I love them. And once you get used to using them its no big deal. I just leave a basket of them on my table so we can grab one when we need one.
Pam says
After reading your post, I decided to give cloth napkins a try. I found Crate and Barrel napkins at my local thrift store for 0.79 each! Love this idea and love your site! Thank you!
I Do Declare says
I love this idea!!!!