Transform Plain Napkins with Decorative Stitches: A Free Tutorial

Margriet Smit · 2026-09-10

### Why Decorative Stitches Deserve a Second Look During National Sewing Month, we like to give a little extra love to the machine that brings our creative ideas to life. This year, we're diving into the often-overlooked library of decorative stitches on our sewing machines and giving plain napkins an heirloom-worthy finish. You might be surprised by how a simple stitch can turn everyday fabric into something special. ### What You'll Need First, gather your supplies. Here's what we used: - Woven fabric – we chose the Summer Solstice Wovens collection by Pieces to Treasure for Moda Fabrics. The woven texture gives the napkins a delicate, airy feel that pairs beautifully with sturdy decorative stitches. - Contrasting thread – we used 50wt Aurifil in Yellow and Midnight. - Totally Stable Iron-on Tear-Away Stabilizer by Sulky - A pen or pencil - Sweet Snips 6" Fabric Scissors ### Step 1: Prepare Your Fabric Decide on the size of your napkin. We wanted ours to look like little hankies, so we cut our fabric to roughly 12" x 12" for a finished size of 11" x 11". Feel free to make yours any size you like—just cut the fabric about 1" larger than your desired finished size to allow for trimming. Next, cut four 1.5" strips of stabilizer that are roughly the same length as your fabric. With the textured side touching the fabric, iron the stabilizer onto the perimeter of the fabric. Then, using a pen or pencil and a ruler, mark the desired finished size of your napkin onto the stabilizer. ### Step 2: Dive into Your Decorative Stitches Choose one of your prepared fabric pieces as a tester. Every decorative stitch is different, and by adjusting the width and length settings on your machine, you can control the scale and density of each stitch. As you experiment, write the stitch number and settings you used next to it on the stabilizer so you don't forget! ### Step 3: Stitch and Cut Your Napkins Now that you have a collection of stitches and know the perfect settings for each, it's time to work on the real napkins. Load a bobbin with your colored thread so both sides of the stitch match. We found it easiest to cut away the excess fabric after tearing away the outer stabilizer and leaving the inner stabilizer. Put on a good podcast or a weekend movie, grab a pair of sharp fabric scissors, and the trimming will go quickly. ### Share Your Creations We can't wait to see the beautiful stitches your machine can create! If you make your own decorative stitch napkins, share them on Facebook and Instagram and tag @fatquartershop so we can see and share your work. Happy sewing! > "Sewing is the magic that turns fabric into memories." – Unknown