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Lisbet
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| Posted: Jan 08 2007 at 8:31am | IP Logged
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Does anyone use these? I've been thinking about this for awhile. We use papertowels at every meal. I used to half each one and each person got half until everyone complained that it was not enough. Papertowels are plenty expensive, and when you use 8-10 per meal 3 times per day, plus any we may use for clean up, that's alot of towels.
We rarely use disposable anything, I don't use baby wipes, throw away diapers, or any tableware, so cloth napkins seem logical.
How many do you think I'd need per day? How often would be realistic for me to wash them? I could probably make them fairly easy. Any tips?
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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kingvozzo
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We have gone through phases when we use them, and I have been very pleased. Each person in the family has their own napkin ring, to hold their napkin in between meals. If we eat all meals in (which, unfortunately rarely happens), I'll usually change them out before dinner. If we've been out, it might be after the next day's breakfast. Usually 3 meals, it seems like.
I guess how many you would need depends on how often you do laundry. I have a restaurant 12 pack I got at Sam's Club a few years back. That lasts us a couple of days, usually, but wouldn't get you very far 
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Noreen
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JennGM
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Lisa, I'm not in good practice here with cloth napkins except for company right now, but I thought I would share my mother's method, which is similar to Noreen's.
I grew up in a family of seven. We all had our own napkin rings (different colors). My mother also used terry cloth (one side has velour feel) finger towels. Every person had their own color, and two or three for each person. The napkins were kept for a few meals and rotated.
Later when the girls got crafty, we bought finger towels that have the cross stitch band. Each person's name was cross-stitches, but then the colors of the napkin all matched. We also stitched a few "Guest" to have available.
I loved using the finger towel for napkins, although I didn't realize it wasn't a napkin until I was older.  They are more absorbent, and in darker colors shows less stains.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Jan 08 2007 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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I don't like paper towels/napkins....it seems just as much work lugging those paper products around as it would to just throw them in the wash.
We do a similar thing.
although, we we them only for dinner: each person has a napkin ring. right now, they are Plain white with their name written on it/decorated (sort of). found them at a thrift store. I have also let the kids pick out their own at the thrift store. I keep them in a nice basket, so when the kids set the table they just grab the basket and put them out. when we're finished eating, we try to grab the napkins that are dirty, and then ask the kids with clean ones to put their napkin back in the ring thmselves. this is a work in progress.
I don't use them for b'fast and dinner. kids sit at the kids table for these two meals. I just put one cloth in the middle of the table and they share if there hands get dirty...but that wouldn't work for 8 kids!
On average I change them every other day....depending on the child and what we're eating, of course. In France, with adults, my French mother changed them only once a week.
I toss them in on the second wash with my diapers...unless they have LOTS of food on them, they'll go in from the very beginning....rinse included. Or just wash them with the rags, or any load. I'm not picky about this.
NONE of my napkins i have paid big money for. My mom finds them at JCP and burlington coat factory for sometimes .10/each. I find them at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. People know I use them, so I get everyone's cast-offs, too! I have about 3-4 napkins per person upstairs at one time. so, in my kitchen right now, there are about 15-20 napkins being rotated. I have about 30 more downstairs. These are all soft cotton. I don't think it's worth your effort to make them, cuz you can find them so cheaply.
Lisa, my mother is a professional "tableware shopper". she stalks the clearance tables at JCP for tableclothes, napkins, placemats, etc. (I can't, for the life of me, get her to buy new underwear or sheets ) I've told her to STOP for me...i have enuf. but, I COULD put her back "on it"......
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amiefriedl
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We have just begun our cloth napkin adventure. I'm going to get personalized napkin rings because of this nice thread of ideas. Thanks!
To get started with cloth napkins I bought 3 12-packs from Sam's Club. It seems like plenty to have because I just throw them in the wash with my ever going stack of kitchen rags.
For the kitchen rags, which I have been doing successfully for years, I buy 2 of the big terry rag pack (44 I think) from Sam's every other year or so. I keep them under the sink in a huge stack and grab them often - I use them like many people use paper towels, going through possibly 5-10 a day. So I end up washing bath towels, napkins and rags in 1-2 loads per week. I now never buy paper napkins or paper towels much at all. (Can you imagine using paper bath towels! haha)
The old rags (and eventually the old napkins) always head out to the garage area for one last hoorah before being pitched.
My biggest challenge for the napkin changeover will be becoming accustomed to having a slightly used napkin at a new meal. But we will persevere because it seems to be worth it.
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Amie
Blessed with an awesome hubby and Mom of ds10, dd7, dd3 and dd 10months.
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JennGM
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One more thing, when I had a brief stint in the convent, each place had a drawer in the table, where we kept our napkins. The napkin was used during meal and stored in the drawer afterwards. I can't remember how long we used it, and if each napkin had our number on it, or they were community owned and we just refreshed them periodically.
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SuzanneG
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amiefriedl wrote:
| my ever going stack of kitchen rags. For the kitchen rags, which I have been doing successfully for years, I buy 2 of the big terry rag pack (44 I think) from Sam's every other year or so. |
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I'm always relieved to find others who do the "cloth rags" concept. When IRL friends hear about this, they look at me like i'm crazy! I use old socks, t-shirts, towels, diapers, etc. for rags too. dh laughs when I say, "No, don't throw that away, THAT will make a good rag!" We did this growing up....i thought everyone had a rag box!
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Suzanne in ID
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Maddie
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We use cloth napkins. It has been a small ongoing project for all the children as we make our own. I buy the $1 fabric at Walmart or where ever, my oldest daughter measures, cuts them out then hems them for us and the younger children embroider on them. It has been so much fun and we are now into "themes" for holidays. By this I mean we have Christmas fabric, Easter fabric, etc. We don't have all the holidays covered but they're working on it. I found a beautiful basket at an antique store and I have it on a cabinet in the dining room where we keep them.
One caveat:Take care to wash them quickly in the summer lest you get ants....
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sewcrazy
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We have a fairly large stack of napkins. I justed started with the bundles of washclothes from Target (or where ever it was) They are easy to care for and cheap.
Over the years we have added to our collections as I taught each child to sew. That is our beginning project.
LeeAnn
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Jess
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We use cloth napkins too. Everyone has such great ideas for them. I will have to use those because right now we just wash them really often. I actually never thought to reuse them if they weren't really dirty. My oldest dd does have some fabric we got specifically for cloth napkins but she hasn't started them yet. That will have to be her next project 
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almamater
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/Raising my hand! We use cloth napkins here. I usually have one roll of paper towels stored in a rarely accessed cupboard, just in case we need one for something. Paper napkins are only for the really big crowds (parties of more than twenty and such)
I used to work in a Montessori classroom and each of the twenty five children had a cloth napkin and napkin ring. Worked there and works for us at home.
On a tangeant...
My friend told me that while staying in India, she used little cloths in lieu of toilet paper. There was a stack of cloths and a pot of water. You would pour a little water over your private area to make sure the bladder had emptied (prevent bladder infections), wipe dry with a cloth and deposit it in a designated receptacle. How about that? I actually think it is pretty cool and, afterall, I use cloth wipes for the baby. But, I think dh would feel that I had bucked the mainstream a little too much with something like this. 
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St. Ann
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We were using cloth napkins regularly also with rings, but unfortunately I have to iron our napkins, so we have gone without for the last year! The adults and older children use a napkin for a week and everyone gets fresh white napkins at Sunday breakfast. I still give our 3yr old a bib (large terrycloth). How long you keep the napkins depends on your eating habits. If you serve a lot of meals where you can eat with your hands, like fried chicken and sloppy joes, then the napkins will not hold out a week. Traditional German meals are usually with cutlery, that is why a week is possible. BUT spagetti with tomatoe sauce is reserved for Saturday lunch. That is definitely a napkin changer!
I like using white napkins because you can also you bleach to get out the nasty stains.
I think that is a great idea to sew them with your children...hhmmmmm?
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Erin
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Lisa
We use napkins although often only for the 'messy' ones. You know the child who would wipe his face on his shirt or tablecloth if I didn't supply the napkin then there is the child who would lick their fingers clean You get the drift
Like Stephanie mine should be ironed but I don't and we use cutlery here too, well at least we are 'meant' too. But there is no way they could last past two meals tops.
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mavmama
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Lisa,
We have used cloth napkins for about 2 years. I bought 6 packs of dish rags at WalMart, and each family member has a certain color of napkin ring. The kids can put them out where they belong because they know each person's favorite color.
For napkin rings, (we started this accidentally, but it stuck  ) those fuzzy, colored ponytail holders work very well! I wash them in a lingerie bag when I wash the napkins with the dish towels and such. When we have a guest, they get a one without a ring.
When we moved, we had paper napkins for a while, but the kids protested!
HTH
Liz
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SuzanneG
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mavmama wrote:
For napkin rings, (we started this accidentally, but it stuck ) those fuzzy, colored ponytail holders work very well! Liz |
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Liz: This is a GREAT idea! 
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Suzanne in ID
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mavmama
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Suzanne,
I'm glad you like it! Sometimes my best ideas are really just accidents
Liz
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chicken lady
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We use cloth napkins here as well. We make them in liturgical colors and for the various holidays. We also give them as x-mas gifts with scented trivets. They are wondeful starter sewing projects you cannot go wrong. I made 24 the other night in less than an hr. dd's cut and I run them through my serger! Super easy, fast and beautiful!
As for washing just make alot, or as someone else stated I see them often at tag sales and thrift shops for next to nothing!
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KellyJ
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We use cloth napkins too. I've gotten ours as gifts or inexpensively, but brand new in packaging still, at Goodwill.
Molly, what kind of material do you use to sew your own? I like your idea of using liturgical colors.
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chicken lady
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Kelly, usually cotton, or a cotton blend. I go to a fabric store and look at all the wonderful clearances fabrics, but look through different eyes, look for purples, greens, blue (for Mary) etc. you will have so much fun. LAst year Joanne fabrics had this wondeful purple cotton that looks like stain glass windows, at first one might not see how it looks like stain glass but sewn up and on the table they are perfect! Have fun!
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Donna Marie
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My latest love is refashioning things out of good used materials. I am reclaiming tablecloths to make into nice napkins. Dd has expressed an interest in embroidery and she wants to do something special on the corners. My goal is to get them in all of the liturgical colors!
God Love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc 
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Cloth Napkins?
