Chindi Napkins : Anthro Knock-off Week Day 6

Fabric napkins add an air of elegance to any dinner, but these Anthropologie inspired napkins add both fun and quiet sophistication. Read on for a full tutorial, and at the end of my post I've included photos and links to the four other blogs participating in Anthropologie Knock-off Week. Happy crafting!

You need:

Cream fabric cut into 16in by 16in squares. I found an awesome deal in Wal-Mart’s fabric ends bin (For those of you who don’t do much sewing, stores often sell the oddly sized ends of fabric at a discounted rate. At Wal-Mart, they usually have a bin or two of bundles that you can dig through)
Multicolored Fabric – you wont need very much. I used less than one square foot.
Medium size round beads – 12 for each napkin. The ideal size is ½ cm in diameter (which is bigger than you think)
Needle + Thread.
Pins.
Pencil + Ruler.
Fabric glue.

Step One

Hem each of your squares – my hem is about ¼ in, and I used a decorative “arrow” preset stitch. Technically it’s a stretch stitch, which you don’t really need – I just liked the way it looks. Below is a close up of the fabric I used so you can get a better idea of what to look for.

Step Two

Now we’re going to make the fabric covered beads that go on each corner. For each corner thingy (from now on I’ll call them tassels) you’ll need three beads, a rectangle of fabric about 2in x 3in (I just eye-balled it), and a needle with a reeeeally long thread. I used a piece of thread that was the same length as my arm span. You want it extra long because we’ll use it to sew the fabric to the beads and sew the finished tassel to the corner of the napkin, all of which is much easier to do with a little extra thread.

Step Three

This part is a little tricky to explain, but hopefully the photos help.

1. Take one bead and place it towards one edge of the

fabric, but far away enough that the fabric can

completely wrap the entire bead.

2. Then, stitch around the bead so that the fabric closes

up over it. You should basically make a little purse with

the bead inside. Make sure it’s stitched tightly and that

it’s fully closed.

3. Next we’re going to add the second bead. It should be

as close to the first as possible while still being

completely covered with fabric. Repeat the stitching

process, including at least one stitch that goes in-

between the two so there’s good definition.

Still with me? I swear it doesn't get any more complicated.

4. We’re going to do the same thing with the third bead,

but this time we need stitches around that one and in-

between it and the other two.

5. Once that’s all stitched tightly and securely, wrap the

thread around the top of the bundle several times, and

then stitch it a few times to make sure all of that stays

in place.

6. Leaving the needle still attached, cut off the excess

fabric, and seal the raw edge with a little bit of fabric

glue.

Since the glue needs to dry before you can move on, I continued a little tassel assembly line. Wrap, stitch, glue, set to dry. Wrap, stitch, glue, set to dry. I did four at a time, although you can do way more than this of course. Honestly, I just worried about what kind of accident I’d have with more than four needles hanging out on my desk, and decided to play it safe.

Step Four

The hard part is over! Allow the glue to dry completely, and then you can use the still attached needle and thread to sew it onto the corner of your napkin. Rinse and repeat – I promise it’ll get easier with practice.