DIY Cloth Napkins and Tea Towels with Mitered Corners

I hope you enjoy this sweet tutorial for sewing napkins (or tea towels) with tidy, mitered corners.  My Mom & I have gone a bit play kitchen mad and we sewed mini tea towels and mini quilted pot holders for the in-progress play kitchen I'm making.  Although the finished products are wee, you can use the same techniques to create larger tea towels or make napkins - just change the amount of fabric used!

Start by ironing and cutting out your fabric.  Then fold, iron and measure your edges once, and then turn them over once again and iron, for a tidy edge:

Do this all the way around your fabric.  Then gently unfold your ironed edges and take a look at where the folding has created a square.  Fold the corner in toward the fabric at that point and iron it in place:

Next, test out your mitered corner before making any cuts.  To make the miter, trim the edge of the corner:

Then re-fold the edges iron back into place, like this:

Pin . . . 

. . . and sew along the edge.  When you have sewn all the way around, tie off the thread.  You can also do a second row of decorative stitching.

And ta da!  Depending on the size, you've created a pretty cloth napkin . . .

or mini kitchen accessories for a play kitchen . . .



And you can make a full-size tea towel, table cloth - anything (as long as it is a rectangle or square)!  I love that napkins or mini kitchen accessories are such a great use for fabric leftovers.

Check back tomorrow if you're curious about how to make the adorable teeny pot holders (a fabulous use for scraps of batting from upholstery projects).

P.S. I linked this up to the DIY Project Parade at the DIY Showoff!