I love dressing up my dining table when I have friends and family over. Nothing fancy, just a few pretty touches to make the table look inviting.
In addition to all the stuff you need like plates, glasses and cutlery, I like to add one or two handmade touches. I didn’t have any napkin rings in light, summery tones so I decided to make some for my next gathering.
I went for these clay rope effect napkin rings – I love how versatile clay is and how you can turn it in to pretty much anything. I chose a neutral, light sand kind of tone as I think it works really well with white linen which is my preferred choice for summer gatherings.
DIY napkin rings with polymer clay
Materials:
polymer clay (UK readers find it here and US readers here)
sharp knife
1. Start by taking a chunk of clay about half the size of a golf ball and roll it in to a long shape.
2. Keep rolling out the clay until it resembles a long piece of rope with a thickness of about 6-7mm or 1/4″ (err on the side of thicker rather than thinner. I rolled my piece to about about 23″ or 56 cms long. 3. Now double up the ‘rope’ making a loop at the top, making sure the loop is big enough to put a napkin through.
4. Gently press the rest of the doubled ‘rope’ together and make a knot.
5. Tie the knot just as you would a normal knot however being very gentle as you don’t want to break the clay. Keep easing the the clay through until you have a knot.
6. If it’s too long, cut off the excess.
7. Place on baking tray and re-shape the loop until you are happy. Also very gently press down the knot part a little bit so it doesn’t stick up too much. And finally you can separate the ends to give it even more of a rope like look.
8. Bake according to instructions.
Note: It might take you a couple of tries to get the shape looking as you want it – it took me a few tries too. If it doesn’t look quite right, just scrunch up the clay and start again. And the main thing to remember is don’t make the clay too thin. In the end, each one will look slightly different because it’s handmade and thats the fun and beauty of it!
Here’s a quick video of the DIY napkin rings:
So as you can see, it’s not hard to make these napkin rings, but making the knot is a little fiddly as the unbaked clay is so delicate. Once you’ve made the knot, remember to press it down a little, otherwise your napkin rings won’t sit flat on your napkins.
As I mentioned, I made these napkin rings for summer gatherings – I love the soft, natural tone of this clay. If you want something bolder, check out these faux granite DIY napkin rings or make these rope ones in a brighter colour.
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