Table Linens

Cloth and paper for the table — satin and gauze dinner napkins, cotton toile and botanical napkins, round paper placemats, cutlery pouches and cross-back canvas aprons. Sizes are given in inches on every listing, commonly 16x16, 18x18 and 20x20 inches for dinner napkins, with counts from 12 up to 120. Prices run $22 to $69.

What size should a dinner napkin be?

Twenty by twenty inches is the standard dinner size and the one to choose for a seated meal; it folds large enough to cover a lap and to hold a shape on the plate. Sixteen by sixteen and eighteen by eighteen suit lunch, brunch and cocktail service. Guest and cocktail napkins are smaller still and are sized for a drink in the hand rather than for a lap.

Satin, gauze or cotton — which should you buy?

Satin has a sheen and a crisp fold, so it suits a wedding or a formal dinner and comes in the widest colour range here. Gauze is loosely woven and falls softly, which gives a relaxed table and reads well in daylight. Cotton is the one to buy if the napkins will be used weekly, because it washes repeatedly, absorbs properly and presses flat.

How do you wash and press table linens?

Wash cotton and satin napkins warm and remove them from the dryer slightly damp, then press from the back while the fibres still hold moisture — this is what gives a sharp fold without scorching. Gauze is meant to look crumpled and needs no pressing at all. Treat any oil or wax mark before the first wash, because heat will set it permanently.