“What is all that fabric for,” you ask. My response is, “cloth napkins, of course.”
I spent yesterday evening ironing the hems of 5 sets of cloth napkins for several custom orders I am trying to get out this weekend. I also cleaned my iron–which you can see from the before and after photos below–was badly-needed.
If you would like to have a nice, clean iron as well, all you have to do is fill it with a 1:1 ratio of water and white vinegar. Then turn the steam on high, turn the steam on high, and hold it a few inches above a towel to catch all the steam that is going to come out. I planted myself in front of the TV and did this while watching “The Office” last night (yep, it takes about a half an hour, depending on your iron). A little note of warning here: the steam stinks, and it is hot. I am not responsible if you hate the smell of hot vinegar or if you put your face too close to the iron and get burned! Once all the steam is gone, let the iron cool a bit. Get a soft bristle tooth brush that you do not plan on using for your teeth ever again, and scrape the remnants out of the steam holes on the bottom. Again, don’t burn yourself! Fill the iron back up with water and “rinse” it by letting more steam out. Some of this steam may be a little dirty, so do it on the towel, not on brand new fabric! Once the steam runs clear, you will have a much happier iron! And finally, if your iron looks anything like mine did in the “before” photo, then please be aware that you are going to have *a lot* more steam coming out the next time you use it when it looks like the “after” photo…don’t burn yourself like I did!
On top of ironing and cleaning my iron, I took photos of the entire napkin-hemming process in preparation for my first tutorial.
That’s right. I have thought long and hard about whether I really wanted to put out a tutorial (it’s a lot of responsibility to teach someone else how to make something!), and I have decided to go for it. Since I love using cloth napkins so much (and since I want you to use them too), I am making a tutorial on cloth napkins. More on that later.
If you just can’t wait, be sure to check out the sets of napkins that I have up in my shop right now!
great way to get a mundane job done while enjoying a tv show. The Office is so funny, I enjoy it too!