Making the switch to cloth napkins and some faves

When we renovated our kitchen last year, I made the decision to reduce our usage of paper towels as much as possible, and that meant making the switch to cloth napkins and towels for cleaning. Beyond reducing our environmental footprint (which is always a plus!), I have really enjoyed how cloth napkins elevate a simple weeknight dinner and allow you to have some fun with different patterns and textures. Even if we’re just ordering in pizza, there’s something special about having nice, heavy weight napkins that make you feel like you’re having more than takeout. Over the past year, through some trial and error I’ve discovered some of my fave napkins, and I’ve rounded them up below. Some of the features I consider the most are the weight of the fabric, the softness, and how much interest they bring to the table, as well as how they have held up in the wash.

Magic Linen Napkins

We have lots of items from Magic Linen and their napkins are in constant rotation for us. They are a nice weight, come in loads of different colours, are well-priced and hold up great to constant use. We have them in light grey and ivory, but there are lots of different colours and patterns I’ve been eyeing.

Rigby x Atelier Saucier

One of my go-to brands for glassware and dishware, Rigby, has just collaborated with Atelier Saucier, an LA-based linens design studio on a line of napkins made from recycled materials. There are two styles, one that features a navy striped fabric with the coolest design feature: button holes to attach to your shirt for worry-free eating, and a denim fabric with a fabulous piped edge. I love that these napkins are conversation starters when you’re entertaining, and the fabric has some really nice weight to it.

Pottery Barn

Another go-to for us in our daily rotation are these Pottery Barn napkins in a cotton and linen blend, which have a really nice heaviness to them, but are also quite sturdy. I love the variety of colours so much.

Linen Home Decor

Another Etsy find, these ones are the most affordable by far, and I’ve stocked up in them in a number of different colours. Their weight is a bit less substantial, but the price tag definitely makes them an easy choice for daily use. I love the charcoal because it hides stains, but also love so many of the other colours.

Caring for your napkins

So, I firmly believe that your napkins shouldn’t require much extra effort than your normal laundry. We just toss ours into our washing machine after dinner, so they make it into the next load of laundry.

For especially bad stains, we’ll fill up a big jug with hot water and some OxiClean Powder and let them soak for up to a week (we also do this with our dish towels and cleaning cloths), and it will really lift the stains right out of the fabric. We then toss them into a laundry cycle.

Linen does have a habit of becoming pretty rumpled, so if I don’t grab the napkins out of the dryer fast enough, I’ll just spray them with my go-to wrinkle release spray and flatten them out with my hands on a flat surface, and they are good to go!