I never used these before (I love my white stain resistant table cloth which I can pop in washer with bleach and it is as clean as new). But recently I decided to buy table mats and will make a set of napkins to use for a small formal type of party. Mats made of some kind of brokade/satin type of fabric and I wonder how do you clean/wash them, especially how do you remove the food stains, which will be there unavoidable? Also, what type of fabric would be better choice from the handling/washing point of view. Thanks!
of some kind of brokade/satin type of fabric and I wonder how do you clean/wash them, especially how do you remove the food stains, which will be there
My Sunday, holiday and company ones are all 100% cotton damask, approx. 18" square. They get tossed in the washer (with bleach if necessary) after every use, and being small, they are very easy to iron. For everyday, I have a bunch of birdseye fabric ones which don't seem to need ironing.
Interesting. So do we, although every time my father-in-law has a meal with us he begs me for a paper towel. LOL He doesn't realize it's much easier to just throw the napkins in the laundry than to shop for, and store paper towels, paper napkins, etc.
I also love white linen napkins, and will use them Thursday. The ones I have came from antique stores for about the same price that new ones would cost (some less). But these are ever so much softer, and are huge (20" X 20"). We had a sit-down dinner party for 22 earlier this year for my fil's 90th birthday, and since I didn't have quite enough, I just went to the local antique store and stocked up. They have survived more than just my dinner parties, and hopefully will go on to survive a lot more!
ones would cost (some less). But these are ever so much softer, and are huge (20" X 20").
A lot of mine came from estate sales, back in the days (not so long ago) when no-one else would buy anything that had to be ironed. About two dozen of them were bought for $2 each!!! Now I have so many that if one of them gets a hole in it, I either toss it or put it aside to use as a pressing cloth. (p.s., I have never tested to see if they are cotton or linen - they work the same on the table.)
Hancock's stocks a nice selection of damask, for anyone who wants to make their own napkins. I also use cloth napkins everyday, and love them. I have a huge stash of new and vintage tablecloths and napery to play with, and I've been known to share with my sybbles. :) Cea
I prefer cloth napkins, also. And up to a few years ago, you could find them at yard sales, thrift shops, auctions, etc., and at a reasonable price, too. But not any more. When I find them now, they're in antique shops, estate sales, etc. And not cheap by any means. Store bought seem to be primarily synthetic or blends, which wash up nicely and don't require ironing, but also don't really fulfill their purpose.
So I decided to make my own, and bought a rolled hem foot (Husqvarna Viking). Too bad I can't seem to develop the knack for using it, because I cut out about 18 napkins [:>(
I've used quilting cottons for holiday napkins, with great success. In fact, I just realized the other day that our entire "wardrobe" of holiday napkins is made of quilting cottons.
Re: Washing cloth napkins snipped-for-privacy@aol.comspamless (SewStorm) =A0=A0=A0=A0Hancock's stocks a nice selection of damask, for anyone who wants to make their own napkins. Cea, is it all cotton, or synthetic? I've used quilting cottons for holiday napkins, with great success. In fact, I just realized the other day that our entire "wardrobe" of holiday napkins is made of quilting cottons. Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
Well, good luck with that one! Maybe making a resolution on a non-traditional resolution day will help, Cea. LOL
On Thanksgiving, one guest insisted on using paper, instead of the pressed cloth napkin at his place. All we had were itty bitty cocktail napkins, so he ended up using a fistful. Sigh.
I haven't used paper napkins in years, the closest I've come to them is when I had a big BBQ rib dinner and then I just set a roll of paper towels between each place setting, it was a rather INformal meal LOL None of my cloth napkins are "stain release" or poly mixed. I toss them into the washer with HOT water, laundry soap and a cup of washing soda. Seems to work well at getting all the stains and grease out. The one thing that I just love though is my old Ironrite Mangle Ironer. I found it at a rummage sale about
15 years ago, and what a find it was! This thing still had the store tag on the cord and the manual taped to the lid and I got it for $15. I dry my table clothes and napkins completely, then I spritz them with a very dilute solution of liquid starch and water, roll them up and put them in one of those big heavy zipper bags a bedspread comes in and toss them in the freezer. When I "get in the mood" I just sit down at my mangle and I can have 3 dozen napkin and a half dozen table cloths beautifully pressed in less than an hour. That mangle also works great when prewashing fabric. I just take the length of fabric when slightly damp, give it a good shake, snap and run the whole thing through the mangle in one swell foop! If I'm doing anything with embroidery on it I have a sleeve I made that is padded with an old bath towel and covered with muslin. I run it through with the right side of the embroidery up towards the padded roller and it just stands out as nice as can be.
Back in the days when men did not do house work my dad bought a mangle, not for mom but for himself. He loved to sit down and do sheets, pillow cases, and table cloths.. Dad was a mechanic and did " dirty hands work." He would come home, scrub his hands until they were really clean and sit down at the mangle. He said he loved the smell of the laundry when he pressed and found it very relaxing. We always had pressed sheets and table cloths. Mom wasn't to big on cloth napkins. She always used paper. That never made much sense since dad did the pressing. It was a wonderful machine. Thanks for the memory. I can smell that lovely steam as I sit here and write.After dad died mom got rid of the mangle. She said it was dad's and she didn't want to see it around the house because it reminded her of him and made her sad. JJ
I worked heavy construction for years so I know about the "dirty work". I bought liquid starch by the gallons. It's the best "Scotch Guard" around for those doing grimey greasy work. I starched all my jeans and work shirts and then ran them through the ironer. Talk about a military crease! I never had a stain that didn't come out on a regular wash.
I iron sheets, pillow cases, (boy, do they smell great when you crawl into bed!) table cloths, flour sack dish towels anything flat and also shirts, blouses, slacks and just about any piece of clothing. I think you get addicted to that smoothness and sharp creases that just don't happen with a hand iron. I love the smell too, it's very unique. I remember when I had a neighbor drop by when I was ironing and as soon as she stepped in the door she said, "My god! That smells just like my mom at her Mangle when I was a little girl!" She then sat with her cup of coffee and watched me iron while we chatted away. It is relaxing, almost a Zen thing, I just love it. And it's not only the fragrence of ironing, it's also the soft rythmic sound of the mechanics, there's just something about it.
Memory is such a strong emotion. I can understand both your feelings. I had never used the ironer when I was a child but remembered sitting and being facinated by watching my mother and grandmother use theirs. As soon as I saw that machine at the sale I swear I could smell that hot steamy fragrance. That's why I impulsively bought it. I never really thought I'd be using it as much as I do.
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