Three ways to fold a napkin for your Christmas table
When I am cooking and hosting I think about the whole process, from beginning to end. It may start with the greens I buy from the local grocer to be cooked lovingly with chilli, garlic and good quality olive oil, and it continues with the delicious pot I will spend my day gently stirring. But the table it all gets served on is just as important, especially at Christmas. The festive season is the perfect time to get crafty with your decorations, whether you're potting up amaryllis bulbs for a centrepiece or stringing orange slices into a garland for the mantel. Your table provides plenty of opportunities for handmade decorations, and napkins can be included in that category!
It's particularly enjoyable to make the most of a table linen collection, since they often come with memories and stories of their own. I’ve been collecting table linen for years now, stockpiling stacks of napkins from my travels, different events I’ve worked on and endless hours spent rummaging through baskets of miscellaneous goods at markets. I like to have an array of colour, size and style in my wheelhouse. A good tartan napkin makes for a very classically festive feel. I particularly love monogrammed linens, and I have a set of rather regal white damask cotton napkins with an embroidered P (these are so big, it’s like having a blanket on your knee when eating). I found eight of them at an antiques fair in the north of England and I’ve used them constantly ever since. My most recent purchase is a set of six Irish linen napkins with a scalloped lace trim, which I found at a thrift sale on Fishers Island, New York. They are starched, spotless and ready to begin their new life across the pond with me.
I take comfort and joy in the stories behind my personal things and pride in the journey of it all. It makes for wonderful table talk and also reignites memories of past trips with the people who might be joining you at the table this year. Here I have thought about three ways to fold napkins for your Christmas table – all simple but joyful ideas that make the perfect Christmas adornment while also recalling my travels and experiences.
Milo Brown1/33The Bow
Milo Brown2/33Choose one of your bigger napkins here - bigger the napkin, bigger the bow! You also need a piece of ribbon. I went for a sage green velvet.
Milo Brown3/33Fold the napkin into a triangle with the point facing the bottom and do a 4 inch fold so the point is facing towards the flat edge.
Milo Brown4/33Start folding the napkin in 2 inch folds until you reach the long edge.
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Milo Brown6/33Bring the left handside tail and cross it down diagonally, do the same with the right side so they overlap. You will see the bow taking shape at this point.
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Milo Brown8/33Get your ribbon, length depending on how big you want the ribbon bow to be. Run the ribbon behind the napkin, including the tails and cinch the top and tails together, creating a bow like shape. Tie the ribbon as you wish - I did a bow.
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Milo Brown11/33You can shimmy everything around to make it the bow of your desire - big loops and long tails.
Milo Brown12/33Place in the middle of the place setting and enjoy.
Milo Brown13/33The Tartan Rose
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Milo Brown15/33Fold the napkin in half on the diagonal into a triangle, with the point facing away from you.
Milo Brown16/33Roll the long edge of the napkin up towards the top of the triangle until you have couple of inches left.
Milo Brown17/33Now roll the napkin into a spiral from its tail end left to right, tuck the end into the folds to hide the crease.
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Milo Brown24/33Pull out the inner flaps and flip the napkin, Readjust the ears so they look like petals.
Place nestling against the wineglass or sitting pretty on the side plate.
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Milo Brown26/33The Menu Holder
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Milo Brown28/33Fold the napkin into a triangle with the tip of the triangle, at the bottom. Get a piece of card and write your Christmas menu on it. Illustrate it how you like, maybe write your guests names on the top of each one. People love anything personalised!
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Milo Brown30/33Place the menu on the middle of the folded napkin, with the top of the card peeping out the top.
Milo Brown31/33Take the right corner and place it on the left side and follow suit with the left corner and take it to the right.
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Milo Brown33/33Make sure your napkin is snug in the middle of the folds, flip your napkin over.
Pull out the top of the menu so the name is peeking out the top and place in the middle of the setting.
