Well, we've been out of paper napkins for a few weeks, and we've been burning through the paper towels. So that I don't have to buy paper napkins ever again (I hope), I decided to make napkins. Since I still love this fabric, but no longer have the perverse need to wear it, I figured it was finally time to cut it up.
(I did sigh a little, noting the bitter-sweet truth that this beautiful raw article would lose its infinite potential once it became something. But by becoming something imperfect and narrow in scope, it could be seen, and touched, and stained, and worn, and faded in the sun, and remembered by people who came to dinner. The alternative is sitting in a dark closet being nothing.)
I tore eight 16-inch squares, then I pressed each piece, and pressed down a 1/2 inch hem. Then I went to the machine and folded a quarter inch under as I sewed the hem. I did a loose-ish miter corner freehand at each corner (Die, pins!), clipping the corner first. The eight napkins took me about two hours.
By the way, if you're ever driving between St. Louis and Nashville, you must stop in Metropolis, Illinois. Go see the shrine to Superman down town; the museum/comic book store, the statue of the Man of Steel, etc. But also go see this at the Metropolis Big John supermarket. It's got to be twice the size of the Superman statue, and way more impressive. If you're going to brand your town as a tribute to a fictional character, don't let another fictional character be bigger! I couldn't stop talking about Big John for weeks, but Superman was just kinda meh.
