Napkin Folding
Techniques
5 great ways to fold napkins
Great for any meal or party!
The Diamond
Napkin Fold
Got some really limp
napkins and want
something nice to
make without eating
up too much time?
2. Fold the napkin in half
and turn the open end
toward you.
1. Lay the napkin face-down in
front of you.
3. Fold the napkin into
quarters.
4. Fold the top-most layer of the napkin in
half diagonally - up and to the left.
5. Fold the next layer of napkin diagonally up and to
the left, stopping slightly before the last fold to
create an even, staggered effect.
6. Repeat by folding up the next layer of napkin to
a point just before the last one.
7. And one last time with one last layer.
Keep them as uniform as you can.
8. Now fold both sides of the napkin under and in to
create an even, staggered diamond effect on the napkin.
Press it down as flat as possible and you're ready.
The Basic
Silverware
Pouch
Setting the table for
lunch? Want simple
and functional? Then
go with a classic.
These also work well
with chopsticks.
1. Lay the napkin face-
down in front of you.
2. Fold the napkin in half and
turn the open end toward you.
3. Fold the napkin into
quarters.
4. Turn the napkin so the open corner is
facing away and to the left.
5. Fold the top-most layer of napkin in
half diagonally and press it down.
6. Turn the napkin over so that
the open corner is now facing
away and to the right.
8. Fold the left-side back also about 1/3 of
the way and press.
7. Fold the right-side back about 1/3
of the way and press it down.
9. Flip it over, straighten it up
and insert those shiny eating
instruments. Perfecto!
The Bird Of
Paradise Napkin
Fold
This is a classic and classy
napkin folding technique
that requires a stiff
napkin.
1. Lay the napkin face down
in front of you.
2. Fold the napkin in half.
3. Fold the napkin in quarters.
4. Fold the napkin in half diagonally,
creating a triangle.
5. Turn the triangle so the open
tip is facing away from you.
6. Fold the right corner diagonally
towards you - laying it down along the
center line of the triangle, making a new
tip pointing towards you. An iron can
make this important fold a whole lot
easier.
7. Do the same with the left corner, fold it
diagonally toward you and press it down
next to the previous fold. Now you have a
diamond.
8. Fold the two "wings" that you just made in
folds 6 and 7 under so that you have your
original triangle shape back.
9. Fold the triangle in half by bringing
the center seam towards you and
allowing the ends to fall.
10. This bird's almost ready to fly,
but first you must give it some
feathers. While holding the base
firmly to keep your folds together,
pull up the four 'flaps' created by
the napkin's corners.
Pretty cool fold, isn't it? This fold can be
difficult if you don't use an iron or have a
fairly stiff napkin so be prepared to put a
few minutes into making each one.
The Standing Fan Napkin Fold
Elegant and decorative, this is a classic
napkin folding technique. As usual, and iron
helps but is not necessary.
1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.
2. Fold the napkin in half and turn
the open end towards you.
3. Fold the napkin like an
accordion starting at either
narrow end. Leave one end
with 2-3 inches of unfolded
napkin to support the standing
fan.
4. Fold the napkin in half with
the accordion folds on the
outside.
5. Grasp the unfolded corners where they
meet on the open end and fold them in
diagonally, tucking them under the accordion
folds.
6. Open it and stand it up. A
beautiful fan for a beautiful
dinner.
The Hat
Napkin Fold
This is a classic
dinner napkin
fold, but it can
be difficult to
line up the
corners in the
cap.
1. Lay the napkin face down in front of you.
2. Fold the dinner napkin in half so that the open end is
towards you.
3. Fold the far-right corner diagonally towards you, resting
the point in the center of the side closest to you.
4. Fold the near-left corner diagonally away
from you, resting it so that it lays right next to
the previous fold.
5. Flip the napkin over and turn it so it
points to the far-left and to the near-
right.
6. Fold the bottom half of the napkin up and away from you, laying it so the far edges run on
top of one other.
7. Reach underneath of the napkin and pull out the flap on the right, making the near-side
come to two points as seen in the picture.
8. Gently roll the left half of the left triangle
over and tuck it's end underneath the right
triangle.
9. Flip the napkin over, points
pointing away from you.
10. Fold the right-triangle to the left, tucking it's end
into the other triangle.
11. Open up the hat and press the material inside down to
fill it out so that it becomes circular, this may take a little
fidgeting.
There you go, now all you need is
a person to wear it.
