DIFFERENT NAPKIN FOLDING STYLES

A napkin, or face towel (also in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia

and South Africa: serviette) is a rectangle of cloth used at the table for wiping
the mouth while eating. It is usually small and folded. The word comes from
Middle English, borrowing the French “nappe”—a cloth covering for a table.
Conventionally, the napkin is often folded and placed to the left of the place
setting, outside the outermost fork. In an ambitious restaurant setting or a
caterer's hall, it may be folded into more or less elaborate shapes and
displayed on the empty plate. In table napkin folding there are some steps
that you must follow to create a beautiful napkin folding and it must be
pleasing to the eyes.

Points to Remember in Napkin Folding

1. The table napkin should be spotless and reasonably starched
2. Use folds, which are simple to make and unfold.
3. Use folds that can be used for lunch and dinner.

Basic Table Napkin Folds

The Pyramid Napkin Fold

This classy napkin folding technique is simple, fast, and can be made
easily with most napkins. If the napkin being used is thin and flops
easily then iron it with light starch prior to folding and it will turn
out perfectly!
1. Lay the napkin face down in front of you.

2. Fold the napkin in half diagonally.

3. Rotate the napkin so the open end faces away from you.
4. Fold the right end up to meet the far corner, ensuring the edge of
this new fold lays on the centerline as shown.

5. Repeat the last step with the left side, folding the left tip up to the
far corner, creating a diamond shape with a seam running down the
center.

6. Turn the napkin over, keeping the open end facing away from
you.

7. Fold the napkin in half by bringing the farthest point of the

diamond up and back to the nearest point.

8. Turn the napkin over again, this time keeping the open end facing
towards you.

9. Fold the napkin along the center seam and you have a neat, sturdy
pyramid. If your napkin won't stand neatly then you may need a
little starch.

The Arrow Napkin Fold

This method of folding napkins is very simple and can be done with
almost any napkin without a need for starch. It adds a flowing,
elegant look to your table.

1. Lay the napkin face down in front of you.

2. Fold the napkin in half and orient the open end towards you.
 3. Fold the far-right corner over to the center of the side that is
closest to you. The edge of this fold should run down the center of
the napkin.
4. Repeat the last step with the other side, folding the far-left corner
in to rest along side the previous fold.

5. Fold the right-flap out diagonally so that it's outer edge runs even
with the far edge of the napkin.

6. Repeat the previous step on the other side, folding the left-flap out
diagonally to meet the far edge of the napkin.

7. Slide the left and the right sides together, allowing the napkin to
bend at the farthest point. This will cause the flat, center part to bow.
Pretty easy, huh?

The Bird Of Paradise Napkin Fold

This is a classic and classy napkin folding technique that requires a
stiff napkin. If you don't have any dinner napkins made of stiff linen
then a light starching should fix you right up.

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. Orient the triangle so the open tip is facing away from you.

6. Fold the right corner diagonally towards you - laying it down

along the centerline 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, you're rich! Yay!.

8. Fold the two "wings" that you just made in folds 6 and 7 under so
that you have your original triangle shape back. Once again an iron
can make a world of difference.

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.

. 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 Diamond Napkin Fold

 Got some really limp napkins and want something nice to make
without eating up too much time? Then this one's for you, if you're
using thick/stiff napkins then an iron will help.

1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.

2. Fold the napkin in half and orient the open end toward 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 for guests within 60 seconds!

The Rose Napkin Fold

Despite looking fairly elaborate, this fold is an easy one, and it can
be done with almost any variety of napkin. Display small bowls or
glasses on top of these, or use them as novelty cocktail napkins.
1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.

2. Fold the two right corners of the napkin in so the tips rest at the
center.

3. Fold the remaining two corners of the napkin in so the tips meet
with the last two in the center.

4. Once again, begin folding the outer corners in so they meet at the
center.

5. Once all of the tips are folded you are left with a square about 1/4
the size of the unfolded napkin.

6. Flip it over.

7. Fold the corners in so they meet in the center and then place
something sturdy in the center, or hold it with your fingers.

8. While maintaining downward pressure in the center of the

napkin, reach underneath each corner and pull out the flaps to
create petals.

9. Remove the center weight and your rose should look as pictured
here.
 10. If you like you can reach underneath the center of each side and
pull out a second set of petals to fancy it up some more. Place
something in the center and you're done, have a rosy meal!

The Shirt Napkin Fold

This is a neat fold to have sitting on your guests dinner plates, and it's
pretty easy assuming that you have an iron. I repeat, break out the iron!
Iron, iron ironironironiron.
Iron.

1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.

2. Fold the two right corners of the napkin diagonally so the tips rest at
the center.

3. Fold the two left corners of the napkin diagonally so the tips meet the
other two in the center.

4. Fold the right side over so it's edge rests on the napkins center-line.

5. Fold the left side over to meet the last fold at the center-line of the
napkin.

6. Turn the napkin over.

 7. Fold the top 1/4" - 1" down and press it with your iron. This will be
the collar of the shirt.

8. Flip the napkin over again.

9. Fold both upper corners in diagonally, so the points meet in the center
at an angle to form the front collar of the shirt.

10. Take hold of the two corners in the center of the napkin's near side
and fold them up and out diagonally - so the edges are almost parallel to
the folds at the far end. These will become the sleeves.

11. Take hold of the near end of the napkin, and fold it up towards the
collar, tucking it underneath the lower points of the collar and pressing
it down. A tiny shirt to stain with dinner, yum!

The Candle Napkin Fold

So you want something easy and elegant? Something that looks nice and
fancy but doesn't take a boat-load of time? Try this one on for size.
1. Lay the napkin face down in front of you.

2. Fold the napkin in half diagonally.

.

3. Orient the napkin so the open ends point away from you.

4. Fold the long side up just about an inch. Press this fold down well or it
will interfere with the next step.
 5. Starting at either end, tightly roll the napkin into a cylinder. Take care
to roll it straight so it will stand solidly.

6. Tuck the end of the roll into the base on the backside and stand it up.
Put those matches down, it's not a real candle.

The Diamond Pouch

Here we have another variation of the silverware pouch. Also simple to
make, this design tends to look nicer when it is pressed down almost flat.
You wouldn't want your silverware getting cold, would you?
1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.

2. Fold the napkin in half and orient the open end toward you.

3. Fold the napkin into quarters.

4. Orient the napkin so the open end faces away from you.

5. Fold the top-most layer almost all the way forward and press it down
flat.

6. Fold the next top-most layer of napkin forward almost as far as the
previous one and press it down as well. Make sure the edges are even with
the previous fold.
 7. Fold the next layer back as you did the two before it.

8. Turn the napkin over.

9. Fold both sides back and over one another (about 1/3 of the way), check
for symmetry and press the fold down well.

10. Flip it over and insert your favorite silverware.

The Candle Fan Fold

Sometimes you just need something a little different. The candle fan
stuffed into a goblet or mug is very different. The larger the napkin that
you use is, the longer the 'candles' will be.

1. Lay the napkin face-down in front of you.

2. Fold both sides in so they meet at the center. Press the folds down well.

3. Take each of the four corners (now sitting at the center of the far and
near sides) and fold them out diagonally, pivoting at the center of the
napkin as shown.

4. Starting at one end, tightly roll the napkin half way along it's length. The
tighter the better.
 5. Accordion-fold the other side of the napkin and gather it together.

6. Fold the napkin in half with the roll in the middle.

7. Place it into your goblet of choice and you're done! Mmmmmm, nothing
like a crappy blue napkin to demonstrate with, eh? Larger ones look much
nicer.

TABLE SKIRTING STYLES

.
 Table skirting is another way of brightening up an ordinary table setting. It
makes the table setting more elegant and creates a pleasant atmosphere that is
different from an ordinary day-to-day setting. Table skirting is usually used in
formal occasions, like wedding, debut, and anniversaries. The basic skirting
are simple pleats, triplets, box pleats, meeting pleats, ribbon and diamond.

Guidelines for Table Skirting

1. Be sure that the table legs are firm and are in order.
2. Use clean and well-pressed linens.
3. As much as possible, pins and thumbtacks must not be seen.
4. Observe “floor length” height of the skirt.
5. There must be a balance of designs.
6. Observe color harmony for the linens used.

Steps in Skirting

1. Place the silence cloth on the table

2. Cover with a nice stretched table cloth using thumbtacks.
3. Take the center part of skirting cloth, and then start with center design.
4. Skirt while observing “floor length” height of linen
5. Do not cut extra cloth. Instead, place it under the table.
6. In case of shortage of skirting cloth, connect another skirt, applying the same
technique.
7. Complete the setting by putting the center piece.

Different Styles of Table Skirting