Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A bishop's hat, a bird of paradise and a candle...

*
...all walk into a bar...no, wait that isn't it. What do these things have in common, you ask? Well, they are actually folds for napkins. Yes, those fancy schmancy folds for slippery napkins that are done up in restaurants the world over. Fleur de lys, the lily, the crown and the rose are all variations of folding up your napkin to impress your guests.

Why on earth am I mentioning this, you may be asking, and rightly so. Well, Father's Day is around the corner and we all know how impressed Dad is with napkins...er..well, maybe not. But there is a particular cute folding method, aptly named The Shirt, that would be very impressive at your Father's Day breakfast. A good runner up would be The Necktie, found at the same link.

If you find yourself smitten with folding, the Internets have many resources for you. Martha shows you how to make a turkey, as well as a lotus flower.

If that's not enough, check out this book with 35 different folds for your origami inclinations.

In the end, the intricate folds are only temporary and hardly necessary, but there is something pretty nifty about seeing a table with linens folded just so.

*Visit Fashion-era.com for more illustrations from Mrs. Beeton's 1923 Family Cookery Book.

7 comments:

Heather said...

Posts like this are what keep me coming back for more! Can you imagine the time and energy expended making every day's table beautiful? I wish I had the time, energy and a proper table! LOL

Kimberly Ann said...

Heck, some days we are lucky to have napkins! But I gotta try those elf shoes in the diagram; they look adorable.

Sling said...

I spent years in the food and beverage biz,but never learned how to do these cool napkin folds.
I'm gonna check out the links!

rosemary said...

10 years ago when my youngest son married a lovely Japanese girl I was enlisted to help fold 1000 cranes for their own personal family crest....i was fired after 3 cranes...maybe I started too high...napkins may be a better starting place.....I'll try it.

Anonymous said...

I'm all thumbs with crane folding too. But these na'kins are charming and should be applied more often on the family table, me thinks.

Greyhound Girl said...

I think I need a support group. I tried to follow the directions and all I get was a knotted mess! But folded napkins always look so pretty on the table. I'm going master one of these. It's now on my summer to do list!

Lorraine said...

My standard napkin fold is to take an (unironed) napkin, fold it in thirds and put it in a napkin ring.

But at least there are napkins. And they aren't made of paper.