Napkins Folding Guide

Cloth napkins come in several sizes, each size tailored to a specific use. A beverage napkin, used when serving drinks and hors d’oeuvres, like most cloth napkins, is square, about five inches to each side. A luncheon napkin is a couple of inches larger, and a dinner napkin larger still. The theory, evidently, is that the more food and drink that is served, the more potential there is for spillage, so the bigger the napkin must be to catch it.

Cloth napkins may be purchased in a rainbow of colours and a variety of fabrics, imprinted with custom designs and monograms, and can even come with matching tablecloths. However, a high-thread-count, white, linen or linen-cotton mix damask napkin is still considered the zenith of elegance.

Whether the napkin is cloth or paper, when in polite company, a napkin is to be used with a measure of etiquette, so as not to offend other diners.

Rule 1: When you’re given a napkin, use it. Don’t let it sit beside your plate. It was given to you for wiping your face when you need to and to protect your lap from spills.

Rule 2: Wait for the host to pick up and unfold his napkin before you do the same with yours.

Rule 3: If the napkin is larger than your lap, fold it such that it just covers your lap.

Rule 4: In polite society, movements at the dinner table tend to be small, so don’t make any ostentatious displays like wildly shaking the napkin to open it. Just unfold it. And when you wipe your mouth, don’t use the napkin as you would a wash cloth during your morning shower; gently dab at your mouth.

Rule 5: Don’t wait for the food to be served before you open your napkin. Should your napkin still be sitting on the table when the food arrives, the server may have to create space to set your plate.

Rule 6: Should you have to leave the table during the meal, leave the napkin, loosely folded, on your seat or on the table to the left of your plate. Also put the loosely folded napkin to the left of your plate when you’re done eating, never on the plate.

Rule 7: The place for a napkin? On your lap. It is not tucked into your pants, nor does it belong tucked into your shirt collar. However, if you are in a milieu where that kind of behaviour is acceptable, don’t be afraid to go along. For example, diners from Southern Italy (or southern New Jersey) have long known that a bowl of spaghetti topped with marinara sauce can be better enjoyed when you don’t have to worry about the red stuff splattering on your shirt. Many Italian and Italian-American diners therefore tuck the napkin into their collars as a matter of course. Feel free to do the same. Live! Enjoy!

There are numerous ways that napkins can be folded depending upon the type of setting and appearance you wish to achieve. Some sample napkin folds follow:

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!

• Lay the napkin face down in front of you.
• Fold the napkin in half diagonally
• Rotate the napkin so the open end faces away from you
• Fold the right end up to meet the far corner, ensuring the edge of this new fold lays on the centerline as shown.
• 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.
• Turn the napkin over, keeping the open end facing away from you.
• Fold the napkin in half by bringing the farthest point of the diamond up and back to the nearest point.
• Turn the napkin over again, this time keeping the open end facing towards you.
• 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.