Posts filed in Block-Print Napkins

Uncategorized

How to: Fold Cloth Napkins With Silverware

When you’re entertaining, it’s the small and simple touches that can make all the difference. Candles flickering in your mother’s heirloom candleholders, fresh flowers from the garden, the fruit from the farmers market, and that signature dish that always gets raves from your guests. 

We appreciate being a part of your gatherings with friends and family. As you probably know, we work with a small team in India to design and manufacture our lovely block-printed textile patterns and linens. We’re committed to safely producing eco-friendly tablecloths, napkins, dish towels and scarves using mill-made cotton and natural dyes.

We make our cloth dinner napkins in hopes that they will be a special addition to your memorable moments when you connect with friends, family and loved ones over a meal.

With that in mind, we thought it might be fun to go over a few ways to fold your napkins to feature silverware. 

Napkin Origami Horn

This lovely creation comes from Love to Know. To me, it looks like a dress with three layering hems, turned upside-down:

  • “Start with the finished side of your napkin face down. Fold the napkin in half vertically, then fold in half once more to make a square. Press the folds lightly with your iron if needed.
  • Place the napkin in front of you in a diamond position with the open ends at the top. Fold each layer of the napkin back, tucking it in so the seam is not visible. Space the layers roughly one inch apart, taking care to make the folds as neat as possible.
  • Flip the napkin over and fold the left point across the right point. Flip the napkin back to the original position, then add any silverware that is desired. Alternatively, this design could be used to hold flowers or other decorative accents for your table.”

Simple Rectangular Wrap

This easy, no-fuss fold comes from WikiHow:

  • Place the napkin flat on the table. Fold up the bottom two to three inches evenly across the bottom. 
  • Place the silverware in the pocket, nesting together if needed to keep the bundle small. Place the flatware so the bottom of the handles touch the inner fold. Also, place the bundles about two inches from the right.
  • Then fold the top half over the silverware so ends meet. Then simply roll, starting from the right, and secure the bundle with a ribbon, a piece of twine, or whatever goes with your decor. 

Basic Silverware Pouch

This classic favorite comes from napkinfoldingguide.com:

  • Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.
  • Fold the napkin in half and orient the open end toward you.
  • Fold the napkin into quarters.
  • Orient the napkin so the open corner is facing away and to the left.
  • Fold the top-most layer of napkin in half diagonally and press it down.
  • Turn the napkin over so that the open corner is now facing away and to the right.
  • Fold the right-side back about 1/3 of the way and press it down.
  • Fold the left-side back also about 1/3 of the way and press.
  • Flip it over, straighten it up and insert those shiny eating instruments.” 

Enjoy, friends. Wishing you the best of times.

“The essence of great entertaining: a seemingly effortless combination of authentic food and imagination presented with a personal touch and enjoyed in good company.”

― Annie Falk

Tags:
, , , , ,
Comfort

Carrie Allen – Passion Prints

I have spent much of 2019 thus far looking inwards and reflecting on what’s important in life, what’s important to me, focusing on my daily rituals, which ground me and give me a cadence I crave, so that I can be true to my authentic self and show up every day full of love and inspiration in all that I do.  (At least that’s my goal…of course we all have good days and bad…)

grayprints

August Table “Sequoia”,  “August”, and “Talelayo” block prints in Tern Gray

Following your bliss and passion are key to finding happiness, key to slowing down and embracing each moment.  Life is better when you slow down and pursue things you love.  One of my passions is Indian block-printed textiles.  Patterns made with wooden blocks, hand printed by skilled artisans, with natural dyes, derived from indigenous plants – indigo, turmeric, hibiscus, pomegranate and ochre.  Each print has imperfections that add beauty to the overall artistry.

While block printing was first developed in China roughly 4500 years ago, the practice of block printing is about 2000 years old and trade in cotton cloth is said to have existed between India and Babylon from Buddha’s time.   It was on the Indian subcontinent where hand-block fabric reached its highest visual expression.

BlPrtingMS

Photographs by Mehera Shaw

In home workshops scattered throughout India, you can still find chippas, a caste of printers who continue day after day to stamp lengths of cotton fabric with color using hand-carved wood blocks. They were taught this trade by their parents, who were, in turn, taught by theirs — each generation working almost exactly as the one before, going back at least 300 years.  They are truly skilled artisans.  The recipes for the plant-based dyes are developed within the families and kept alive for generations. The colors are dependent on the quality of the plants, the water and skill and knowledge of the printing masters.

Last year Krister and I worked with an amazing team in a little factory in India to design our own block-printed textile patterns for linen napkins and tablecloths – and August Table was born.  August Table and our block print designs bring together so many passions for me.  Passion for connecting with loved ones over a meal, passion for baking and cooking, passion for entertaining, and a passion for trying to inspire others to find joy in the same.  I also realize I have a love for styling photographs with our textiles, slowing down in the present to capture a moment of our daily lives.

Additionally, we get great pleasure in knowing through the production of our textiles we are providing a source of income to many village families in an environmentally positive approach with mill made cotton and natural dyes.  Using cloth napkins is good for the environment while also bringing a touch of boho elegance to your meal, and the linens get softer and better with each use as they age. A few of my favorite shots from 2018 with our textiles are below –  a visual diary of quiet, caught moments, special moments, celebrations and more.

weddingbanquet3

 

33D3287D-7494-4CBE-894B-A02DF7A5768D

Carrie Allen created this site as a way for people to share stories about things they love.  She loves chasing quiet, authentic moments and sharing them with her family and friends.  Read more about her inspiration here. 

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , ,