CasaSugar

Etsy Finds: Setting the Thanksgiving Table

CasaSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:30 -0800

Looking for a unique addition to your holiday table? I've found some beautiful ways to personalize your Thanksgiving day feast this year.

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Open House: How Do You Dress Your Thanksgiving Table?

CasaSugar — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:30:04 -0800

When it comes to the Thanksgiving table, how you dress it is often as important to the hostess as what food sits upon it. Over the years, I've seen family members fuss over table settings, switching out placemats, rethinking china sets, and shifting floral arrangements.

I admit that I'm known to fuss over my Thanksgiving table as well. The first year that my hubby and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family, I stayed up late into the night sewing a dozen napkins, pressing tablecloths, and arranging flowers. In the end though, it was all worth it. Not only did the food turn out wonderfully, but the table looked spectacular as well. Plus, as far as I'm concerned, deciding on color schemes and flower arrangements is all part of the fun.

So tell me, how do you dress your Thanksgiving table? Do you keep things casual? Is your feast a buffet-style affair? Or do you get formal with placecards and calligraphied names? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Source: Flickr User thedabble

Etsy Finds: Sophisticated Cloth Napkins

CasaSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:00:54 -0700

I'm a big enthusiast of white table linens. With a basic backdrop, you can be flexible with your other dinner party décor, changing up your palettes and patterns to make each party special. That said, you'll need to bring in color and flair with napkins, napkin rings, flowers, and serving dishes. So, I thought I'd share a few colorful and sophisticated cloth napkins to get you started on your quest for the perfect party.

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Etsy Find: Table Talk Napkin Rings

CasaSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:00:28 -0700

If you were tempted by the customized wedding ring bowl from artist Paloma's Nest, chances are that you'll also fall for these Table Talk Napkin Rings ($48 for four). Made from reclaimed wood, the rings are stamped with a message of your choice. Need a wedding present for a newlywed couple? These, stamped with their wedding date, would be a great choice. Want to commemorate a special occasion or gathering? These rings can do just that. Since each ring is only two inches in diameter, the text is limited to 30 characters and spaces. The text is printed in uppercase letters in black ink, and the wood is sanded to a smooth finish to accommodate your favorite linens.

Etsy Find: Cactus Picnic Napkin Set

CasaSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:00:00 -0700

If a cactus could ever look cute, JackRabbit has devised a means to that end with the Cactus Picnic Napkin Set, a set of four 10-by-12-inch handmade napkins screen printed with a grid of perky green cacti. I can't think of a better occasion to debut these prickly succulents than a backyard barbecue - or perhaps a Park(ing) Day picnic. While the weather is still warming up here in San Francisco, temperatures are turning chilly elsewhere, so you'd better snatch these babies up fast and throw some T-bones on the grill. But if you're located in the Lone Star State or other arid environments, these linens won't ever go out of style . . . and you know that cloth napkins are always an eco-fashionable statement.

Casa Quickie: Bid Adieu to Paper Napkins

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:00:54 -0800

To add elegance and environmental savvy to every meal, ditch your paper napkins in favor of pretty cloth napkins. Ideal Bite has some resources for cloth napkins, or you can always make your own.

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DIY: Cloth Napkins With a Binding Edge

CasaSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:01:27 -0800

Over the weekend, I made a slightly more complicated version of our DIY napkins, riffing on a pattern I adapted from The Purl Bee. My sewing style is a little more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants when it comes to more straight-forward sewing projects. For instance, I didn't pin anything on the project. While this is fine if you're used to working with fabric, I would recommend pinning for this project if you're not comfortable with more "free form" sewing. This is definitely a pretty project though, and one that will get lots of oohs and ahs at your next dinner party. These directions make 12 napkins.

Here's What You Need

Sewing machine
Three yards of fabric for the body of the napkins
One to one and a half yards of fabric for the binding
A binding maker
Pins
Sewing Scissors
Newspaper or paper bag measuring approximately 12 inches by 9 inches to use for napkin body pattern
Thread that matches the color of the binding fabric
Iron and ironing board

To get more directions and to see photographs of the process, just read more
Here's How To Do It

Prewash all fabric to avoid shrinking and puckering after sewing.
Iron fabric.
Using your newspaper, weight the body fabric (three yards worth) down with a heavy item (I used a Stoli bottle, but a juice bottle works fine as well, or a book). Cut out around the perimeter. You can pin the newspaper to the fabric if you're concerned about accuracy, though this is a forgiving project.
Cut the fabric for the binding, using the directions on your binding maker. For instance, for my binding I cut the fabric to 1 3/4 inches. You can do this on the diagonal to make the fabric longer, though I simply cut it straight across and sewed the ends together. Either way works fine. The great thing about cutting straight across your fabric is that you can notch a cut about four inches into the fabric and then quickly rip the fabric, and it will come out to the correct width. This saves a lot of time.
Iron the binding fabric.
Pull the fabric through the binding maker, ironing as you go. When you get to the end, fold the binding over again and iron. Working on a high steam setting seems to work best.

Once you've ironed all of your binding, fit the square napkin body between the binding edges and sew along the edge. The binding should measure the same on each side, so you don't have to worry too much about missing the binding edge.
Stop before you get to the corner, and either pin or tuck the edge fabric so it aligns with the corner. You're basically tucking a tiny bit of the binding fabric inside itself to form a neat corner.
When you get to the end, finish the edge by cutting a bit of excess for the binding, then tuck it inside itself so no raw edges show, and sew it onto the binding edge where you began.
Do this eleven (or however many napkins are needed) more times, and then do a little party dance (or have a drink with some of that Stoli you used to weight the fabric).
Find a cute and clever way to present the napkins on a table, and smile humbly when you are complimented on such a fine job.

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DIY: Cloth Napkins

CasaSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:09:59 -0800

Tired of buying paper towels every week? Sick of all the extra paper waste you're generating? With some very basic sewing skills you can make a bunch of homemade cloth napkins out of extra sheets, bandannas, or other random fabric you have lying around. These could also be custom made for your Thanksgiving festivities by choosing some Thanksgiving-centric fabric, like that of these festive batiked napkins I found on Etsy.

Here's what you need:

cloth cut into squares around 12–18 inches wide
a sewing machine
scissors
thread that matches your fabric

To learn the steps to make these napkins, read more

Press in double 1/4-in. hems (fabric folded over 1/4-in. is a hem) on two opposite sides, and sew them with a straight stitch.
Press in the remaining two sides 1/4-in. and sew.
Enjoy! Take all of the credit when your guests ask where you picked up these fabulous napkins. Wash with your normal laundry.

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Do You Use Cloth or Paper Napkins at Home?

CasaSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:20:20 -0700

A few weeks ago, I touted the eco-benefits of using cloth napkins, so now I'm curious what type of napkins you use at home.

Casa Verde: Graduate to Cloth Napkins

CasaSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:32:32 -0700

Even some of my more grown-up friends are still using paper napkins (or - gasp - paper towels) for everyday dining. If you're among them, it's time to upgrade to some real table linens, which are both more sophisticated and better for the environment.

For weeknight dinners, don't worry about buying anything fancy. Just some simple, machine-washable cotton will do the trick, such as these Cotton Candy Napkins ($11.95) woven by the Cakchiquel people of Guatemala on looms made from recycled building materials. It would be a pain to wash a bunch of napkins every night, so don't. Instead, use your napkin for a few days in a row, and encourage the other members of your household to do the same. When the napkins are officially dirty, just toss 'em in the wash.