Cloth napkin folding

I love origami and cloth napkins, which is a match made in heaven. And not only are they zero waste, but they are cost effect and luxurious too. Here are some of my favourite cloth napkin folds. Enjoy!

Starting with the simple fan napkin fold, which can be conveniently placed inside a glass:

Followed by the gorgeous rose napkin, which is also very easy and looks very striking. Perfect for valentine’s day or mother’s day!

The Lotus is a classic fold which is easy once you have practised a couple times – in the beginning it can be hard to pull out the leaves without destroying the base!

I designed this swan napkin fold myself – the usual swan napkin folds only work for paper napkins or require a lot of starching and ironing which I definitely don’t have time for.

Finally the Christmas Tree, the perfect napkin for festive occasions!

6 thoughts on “Cloth napkin folding

  • 9th May 2024 at 5:16 am
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    Hi, I’m trying to make the swan, but when I stand it up it like pops up at the front, do you have a picture of the swan from the front so I can see what it looks like? Thank you!

    Reply
    • 21st May 2024 at 12:53 pm
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      Hi Jilly, thanks for your comment!

      The front of the swan is quite open, unfortunately. You need to be firm with the cloth napkin to avoid it popping open. You can also try adjusting the fold in step 7 so it’s less than half so the swan is less “top heavy”. Another trick may be to skewer the swan onto the fork to keep it in place.

      Here’s the picture:
      Swan front view

      All the best,
      Dagmar

      Reply
      • 21st June 2024 at 2:23 am
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        A fork worked perfectly! Thank you!

        Reply
  • 19th October 2024 at 10:33 pm
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    hey same thing ummm with the swan my table cloths dont hold the shape anytype of matriel or cloth you know would work? other then that this was amazing, and very helpful

    Reply
    • 28th October 2024 at 10:42 am
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      If your napkin fabric is too thin, perhaps you could try some starch to stiffen the fabric?

      Reply
  • 20th February 2025 at 6:42 am
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    I may try to use your swan fold for a culinary competition I have coming up, if you have any tips for slightly thicker clith napkins to hold the shape correctly please let me know!

    Reply

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