By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by BalsaCircle.com.
A folded napkin makes a plain place setting look planned. This tutorial follows BalsaCircle, the event decor shop, as they fold three easy napkin designs with coral cloth napkins on a navy table. You get a waffle cone fold that stands up in a napkin ring, a bow that sits flat across the plate, and a pinwheel that turns into a neat geometric square with a silk flower on top.
None of them takes more than a minute once you know the moves. The pinwheel needs a little practice. The other two work on the first try.
The waffle cone fold is tall, so it shows from across the room. Use it when the plate is the star of the setting. The bow fold is flat and playful. It works well on a small plate stacked on a dinner plate. The pinwheel square covers more of the plate and gives you a spot for a flower, a menu card or a name card.
All three folds are made for cloth. The napkins in the video are 20 x 20 inch polyester, which is the standard dinner size. Polyester holds a crease, does not wrinkle much and survives the wash. Cotton and linen look softer but need pressing to keep sharp lines. Paper dinner napkins can do the bow and the waffle cone, though they tear if you pull the pinwheel points too hard. Cocktail napkins are too small for any of these.
Iron each napkin flat before you start. A light coat of spray starch makes a big difference on the pinwheel and the waffle cone, because the folds stay put instead of sliding open. Press each crease with your fingers as you go, the way the demo does on the pinwheel. If a fold keeps relaxing, iron that crease on its own.
Two of the folds use a gold napkin ring. A coil style ring grips well and slides on easily. A thin band ring works too. You can tuck a sprig of greenery, a pressed leaf or a small silk flower into the waffle cone. Small handmade gift tags make good name cards on the pinwheel square.
Folded napkins come out most in November and December. For Thanksgiving, try rust, mustard or deep green napkins with gold rings, and tuck a leaf from our preserved fall leaves guide into each one. Pair the table with a Thanksgiving centerpiece and a fall wreath on the door. For Christmas, red napkin bows on white plates look festive with no extra work.
Like folding fabric? Try the paper version with an origami swan.
10 steps · about 4 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Lay the napkin flat as a diamond in front of you. Bring the bottom corner up to meet the top corner so you have a big triangle. Now take the right corner of the triangle and fold it up to the top point. Do the same with the left corner. You end up with a smaller square diamond, with the open edges running down the middle.
Tip
Run your hand along each new edge to set the crease before you move on.
This is the tricky part of the waffle cone fold. Find the inner edge of the right flap, near the middle of the diamond. Grab it and pull it out and across toward the center, so it opens into a wide point. Flatten it down. Repeat on the left side. The napkin now has two sharp points sticking out to the sides.
Tip
Go slowly. If the fabric bunches, smooth it flat and pull the edge again.
You could stop here and slide the napkin through a ring. For the full waffle cone look, fold both side points back behind the napkin. The front now looks like a cone with crossed layers on top. Slide a gold napkin ring up over the narrow bottom and rest it about a third of the way up. Set it on the plate.
Tip
Tuck a small flower or a sprig of greenery into the top of the cone for a finishing touch.
Start again with the napkin as a diamond in front of you. Fold the top corner down to the center. Fold the bottom corner up to the center. The two points can meet or overlap a little. Either is fine. An overlap gives a slightly thinner bow. You now have a wide six-sided shape with points at the left and right.
Tip
Keep the two folded edges straight and parallel. That makes rolling easier.
Starting from the top and bottom folded edges, roll both sides toward each other. Stop when the two rolls meet in the middle. What you have now is a long, slim rope of napkin with pointed ends on the left and right. Keep the rolls snug so the bow holds its shape later.
Tip
Roll with flat palms, not fingertips. You get a smoother, even tube.
Slide a napkin ring onto the rope and move it to the middle. It does not need to be exact. You can adjust it later. Bring one end toward the middle and push it through the ring to make the first loop of the bow. Do the same with the other end. Tug the loose tips so they match, and fluff the loops for a fuller bow.
Tip
Set the bow on a small plate stacked on a dinner plate so it stays visible.
Lay the napkin flat as a square. Fold each of the four corners into the center so the points meet. Run your fingers over every fold and press the fabric down. Firm creases help the pinwheel hold its shape. When you are done, the napkin is a smaller square with a seam in the shape of an X.
Tip
Spray starch helps most on this fold. Press the creases with an iron if they slide open.
Turn the square slightly so it sits straight in front of you. Fold the top edge down to the middle, then fold the bottom edge up to the middle. That makes a long rectangle. Now fold the right side in to the middle, and the left side in to meet it. You are back to a small, thick square. This is the base for the pinwheel napkin.
Tip
If the pinwheel goes wrong later, come back to this small square and start the next step again.
Reach into the folds near the middle and pull out the hidden corners. Each one slides out to make a point. Work in a circle, clockwise or counterclockwise, and flatten each point as you go. Once all four are out, the napkin looks like a pinwheel. This part takes practice. If it looks wrong, refold the square and try again.
Tip
Follow one direction all the way around. Switching direction twists the points.
Set the pinwheel on the plate. Fold each of the four points back underneath the napkin. That turns the pinwheel into a neat square with folded seams, a modern geometric fold. Place a silk flower in the center and turn it toward the guest. You can also set a menu or a name card in that spot.
Tip
Fold the flaps back on the plate, not the table. Moving the finished square can loosen it.
Keep going
How to Draw a Present
How to Fold Napkins: 3 Easy Napkin Folds
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