How to fold napkins nicely?

Everything should be great on the festive table! The best service, beautiful appliances, elegant tablecloth - every little thing indicates that an important event is happening in the house. Napkins have a very important place in this process. They can decorate the most modest serving, and spoil the impression of an exquisite service and luxurious appliances. How to fold napkins beautifully will be discussed in our article.

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Two words about the intricacies of serving

The subtleties of serving have been formed for many centuries. In aristocratic houses, sometimes such objects were used, the purpose of which the modern man does not even guess. The use of a particular dish, as well as appliances and other items, depends on many factors:

• countries where the celebration takes place;
• occasions;
• age of owners and guests;
• taste and aesthetic preferences of the hostess and guests.

Important! Classic Italian dinner differs from Russian or English not only in what lies on the plates, but also in serving items. Chinese and Japanese traditions, although they have found many adherents in different countries of the world, are still very different from European ones. But certain hygiene items are used everywhere.

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Types of Wipes

It just so happened that the European tradition involves the use of napkins. There are a lot of species, they differ:

• material;
• appointment;
• color;
• size.

If we talk about the material, then mainly two types are used:

• tissue;
• paper.

Fabric

Napkins made of fabric have the shape of a square. They serve so that the guest does not stain clothes:

• Many hang such a scarf on their chest, putting a corner under the collar. This method was often used among the Russian petty nobility and philistinism.
• However, the rules of secular etiquette instructed to spread tissue napkins on his knees. This is done at the moment when the first dish appeared on the table.

Important! In modern serving, napkins and scarves are also used. When preparing the table, they are usually folded four times and placed next to the plate or under the devices. If the guest needs to go out during lunch, he leaves this item on the back of the chair or near his plate. But in some circles there is another rule: if a person rises from the table and puts a napkin to the left of the plate, this means that lunch is over. But what should not be done is to defiantly wipe your lips and hands with such a napkin.

As for folding methods, some options are suitable for paper and fabric, but only those where the ability to hold the shape does not play a big role.

Important! At a celebration for young children, cloth napkins can also be hung on the chest.

Paper napkins

These paper squares, triangles or rectangles are truly universal. They wipe their lips and protect them from stains, and lay them on the table as decorations. Most often on sale there are square napkins, folded four times.

You can place them on the table in several ways:

• in napkin holders;
• on plates;
• under the appliances;
• in glasses.

There are several rules that it makes sense to consider when decorating a table with napkins:

1. Despite the fact that the decoration of the festive table allows the hostess to be creative, folding napkins should be done beautifully, but simply so that guests do not have to bother with them for a long time.
2. All serving items should be in harmony with each other in color.
3. It is better to choose a form taking into account age and occasion - the New Year's table for adult guests is always very different from the one that is prepared for the children's holiday.
4. Prepare napkins in advance so that you can quickly set the table.

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Which color to choose?

Of course, fabric or paper napkins for table setting should match the color of the tablecloth and the service. But this does not mean at all that if the tablecloth is blue, then that which lies beneath the appliances or stands in cups should be the same. On the contrary, it’s better to think about color combinations, given the occasion:

• For Valentine's Day, red and pink are most suitable, symbolizing passion, beauty and joy.
• Traditional New Year's colors - green and gold, but in principle any shades are suitable - dark blue and silver will also look pretty good.
• Halloween is a combination of the darkest night of the year and pumpkins, so black and orange are just perfect.
• If you are going to “wash the legs” of a newborn, the colors should be delicate. It is customary for girls to “appropriate” all shades of pink, and for the boy - blue. But this is not necessary. There are so many paper napkins on sale for decorating a table of various kinds that you can easily choose something suitable for the occasion, but original - for example, squares with flowers or toys are also suitable.

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Do I need to cut paper napkins?

Sometimes paper squares are cut into two or four triangles. To design a festive table, this method is not very suitable - well, except for the youngest guests. But napkins that always stand on the table can be cut. They are put in a napkin holder so that the corners stick out.

But you can trim the edges with curly scissors for the festive table. This is done extremely simply - a square folded in four is cut strictly along the edge, and then curled up in a fan or tube.

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Simple ways

If you seriously think about how to fold paper napkins on a festive table beautifully, you can easily find schemes in any origami book. Simple flowers, figures of animals and birds are suitable. But there are several ways to prepare paper squares that do not require special paper skills.

How nice to put napkins in a napkin holder?

Before folding table paper napkins, paper squares
need to straighten. For example, this should be done if you are going to put them in
glass corner:

1. Spread a square on the table.
2. Turn it into a right triangle by bending diagonally. The longest side is the base; in this case, it is hypotenuse.
3. Lay the triangle hypotenuse to yourself.
4. Roll it into a tube, holding one corner and wrapping a napkin on three fingers.
5. You should get a tube with an even lower edge, while the upper one will be uneven.
6. Bend the top edge out slightly.
7. Put your creation in a glass.

Harmonic

The easiest way to fold napkins beautifully, which is suitable for any occasion.

Important! If the napkins are small, they should be completely straightened out, and those that are 33x33 cm in size (or even more) should be left as is, that is, folded four times.

Procedure:

1. Lay the square in front of you.
2. Fold the left edge 1-2 cm toward you.
3. Bend it 1-2 cm away from you.
4. Bend the edge toward you again.
5. Fold the whole square in this way.

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Paper flowers

Flowers have always been the decoration of the table - whether it is living or paper. Why not follow this tradition? A worthy answer to the question of how to fold paper napkins on a festive table beautifully - to fold a lily or lotus.

Option 1.Lily

Such napkin decorations can be made of paper or dense fabric:

1. Spread the square face up.
2. Fold it diagonally, aligning opposite corners. You will have a right angle at the top, sharp - on the right and left.
3. Lift sharp corners and combine them with straight lines - you get a rhombus.
4. Lay the rhombus at an acute angle to you.
5. Fold it, combining the upper and lower corners - you get a triangle.
6. Fold the top of this triangle onto you.
7. Insert the left corner into the right (or vice versa).

Option 2. Lotus

This option is for paper napkins only. To fold your napkins nicely, experiment first with one:

1. Spread the square.
2. Connect in its center all the vertices of the corners - you have a smaller square.
3. Connect all the vertices of the corners in the middle again.
4. Bend the vertices of the corners down.
5. Flip the shape.
6. Pull all corners to the back.
7. Pull back slightly - volume petals should result.

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Tool bag

Folding napkins for serving the table also serves to make the instruments look attractive and impressive. One of the options is a handbag for a fork, spoon and knife:

1. Spread the square face to the table, one of the sides should be directly in front of you.
2. Fold the napkin, combining the right and left sides - you get a rectangle located vertically.
3. Fold the rectangle in half, combining the short sides - you get a four-layer square.
4. Bend the free corner of the top layer to the center.
5. Do the same with the bottom layer.

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Heart

Turn the square into a triangle, folding diagonally. And lay it with the long side toward you:

1. Align the left corner with the top of the line.
2. Right - also combine with the same point.
3. Turn over the workpiece.
4. Bend the top of the right angle so that the other two corners become visible.
5. Bend the closed sides to the middle (about a third).
6. Bend the dull corners on the left and right inwards.

The heart as a decoration for a table made of napkins is ready!

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Peacock tail

Peacock tail is a great way to decorate a table with napkins. Suitable for both children's and adult holidays:

1. Spread the square face up.
2. Bend it in half, aligning the right and left sides.
3. Bend the strip into an accordion, leaving about a third of the length smooth.
4. Fold the blank in half so that the accordion is on the left.
5. Spread out the feathers.
6. Bend the straightened part with a corner - you get a stand.

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Fan

Before you arrange your napkins nicely in this simple way, take care of the coasters. It can be, for example, a cardboard ring. For this:

1. Cut a strip of 5-8 cm long and 4-6 cm wide from color cardboard.
2. Punch holes 0.5 cm apart from each short side.
3. Insert a short lace into the holes and tie it with a bow.

Important! As a lace, you can use gold or silver thread, synthetic twine, etc.

Folding fan

Having made coasters, you can beautifully fold paper napkins on the table - step by step it will look like this:

1. Take a square folded in four (as they are most often sold).
2. Put it in a closed corner towards you.
3. Bend the left edge slightly towards you to get an obtuse triangle on top.
4. Bend the same edge away from you - it turns out something like a “harmonica”, but not with stripes, but with triangles with a common vertex.
5. Having bent the whole square in this way, put the fan in the holder.

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Herringbone

How to roll napkins on the festive table, if the New Year or Christmas on the nose? Of course, the Christmas tree will help you out. For this method, you need napkins folded four times - as they are in the package.

The first stage is the trunk:

1. Put such a square in one of the open sides towards you.
2. Fold one side (for example, the right) so that 1 cm or so remains to the opposite edge.
3. Do the same with two more sides - the opposite and the top. Get a wide strip with an open edge.
4. Turn over the workpiece.
5. Fold the right side to the middle.
6. Tighten the opposite side so that its edge covers the right slices.

The second stage is the crown

It is made of two or three napkins folded four times:

1. Put one square at an open angle to you.
2. Fold the top and second layers inward.
3. Turn over the workpiece.
4. Fold two more layers - you get a triangle.
5. Lay it with the long side toward you.
6. Insert inside the “trunk” - the strip that you already have.
7. Make one or two more such triangles.

Important! These napkins are placed next to the plates, and on them - for example, appliances.

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We make a children's holiday

Simplicity and joy is the motto of any celebration, the main participants of which are preschool children and younger students. Translated into the language of the home “head waiter” this means that it is best to take bright colored napkins, fold them in the easiest way and put them in wooden or plastic napkins.

For this:

1. Take napkins of several saturated colors - for example, red, yellow, green and blue; straighten them do not need.
2. Fold them in accordion.
3. Put in napkins, alternating shades - the child will not only receive pleasant emotions, but will also remember the colors of the rainbow.

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We lay the table with disposable appliances

Fancy porcelain sets are rarely taken to the woods or cottages. Single dishes are in many respects more convenient, and bother with it less. But who said that a table covered with paper plates and plastic forks should look bad? Not at all. Firstly, you can buy a variety of dishes, and it costs a lot. Secondly, the devices can be selected by color, and the rest too.

And how to spread the napkins? The simplest options are:

• put them in a corner;
• roll up the tubes.

Option 1

You can take simple, but bright and suitable for the character of the celebration napkins, just arrange them in napkins, folding them in a corner. The reason can be emphasized with the help of special stickers - Christmas trees, pumpkins, etc.

Option 2

It is not difficult to roll up a napkin with a tube; for this, a square that is enough folded four times simply wrap around two or three fingers. And you can bandage each tube with a colored cord - for example, synthetic twine or ribbons, which are usually used to bind gifts.

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Stock footage

In this article, we have offered you some ideas on how to fold napkins nicely. But you can not limit yourself to these methods - practice different options for decorating the table with napkins for each event, and soon you will notice how cleverly it goes and you can easily start experimenting when serving.