Sewing: Modern Farm Buttonhole Napkin Ties (Tutorial)

Not sure what to call these, really, they aren't "rings," as in napkin rings, so how about "ties"?

I made some similar napkin "ties" for the first time on the 3rd of July (one of my four last minute things for the Fourth) and thought of some of the other possible shapes, such as these farm silhouettes. I love how they turned out! Such fun, happy shapes I think. I can't wait to hear my younger guests talking about which of these they want to use!

For Scarlett's second birthday party I am trying to juxtapose the decidedly rural farm motif with a more modern aesthetic--it's funny to think about in which category the cotton twine belongs... Certainly it has a rural heritage but it's so modern now. I'm happy to have two large cones of it--can't wait to use it for other things.

Same goes with the gingham check. It's old fashioned and up-to-date all at the same time. I love that. The napkins are sewn from toweling fabric I purchased here. Toweling fabric was new to me--who knew? Seems a great pick for a casual napkin. This 18" wide fabric has finished selvages on both sides so I just ordered a few yards and cut squares and hemmed the two cut sides. I turned under 1/4 inch and zig-zagged for a more casual finish and I like the way it looks.

Here is a parade of the different Modern Farm silhouettes tying the napkins:

I am offering templates for these napkin ties, which also work for the small sized appliques I used on Scarlett's Modern Farm birthday dress, in my shop. If you are interested in the how-to for sewing your own buttonhole napkin ties in any shape, click on the link below to see the tutorial.




Buttonhole Napkin Ties Supplies:

• 1/8 yard cotton or cotton/poly fabric for each different color silhouette you plan to make (I used black, red, yellow, gray and pink). This will be plenty of fabric...many appliques or napkin ties.
• HeatN'Bond (I used the heavy weight/no-sew)
• Templates for the shapes you want to make. You can get my Modern Farm templates in my shop, or use some of your own.
• Matching or contrast thread (I used white for contrast)
• Cotton twine or ribbon for tying the napkins (see the ribbon I used for the Fourth of July as an example). I found my twine at my local grocery store in the hardware aisle!

To start, you need to bond two layers of your cotton fabric together with HeatN'Bond. This makes the shapes a bit stiffer, so they don't just flop over the napkin, and it keeps the edges from fraying for a clean look.  Lay the Heat'N Bond on one half of the fabric and iron per the instructions.

 

  

Peel off the paper backing and fold over the other half of the fabric, sandwiching the adhesive in between like so:

Iron per the instructions. Repeat this with each fabric you plan to use.

 

Cut out your silhouette templates and trace the outline onto your fabric. I used a regular ball point pen. Just be careful to cut just inside the line so no pen shows on the final shape. Cut out your shapes.

Mark the placement of your buttonholes. I marked the bottom with a pin and made a good hole. When I removed the pin I could still see the hole when positioning the sewing foot to sew the buttonhole.

 

Sew button holes.

Use a seam ripper to open your buttonholes. Trim any loose threads. Then thread your twine or ribbon through the buttonholes and around your napkins to secure. Tie a bow on top of the button hole or behind as I did with the stars for the Fourth.