From Napkins to Shorts

Before I was a fashion blogger, I was a regular contributor to a beer magazine as their food and recipe columnist. My job was to pair beer with original recipes, style and take pretty photos, and write about it in an entertaining way. I did this for about five years. Over those years, I created countless recipes and collected a lot of food-styling paraphernalia. Some of this includes cloth napkins and table runners that no longer work with my home decor.

Last year I sold off or donated a lot of it, but I held onto the napkins with the idea they might come in handy someday. And, lo and behold, some of them have become shorts. On a hot day like today, that is quite handy indeed!

From Napkins to Shorts

You read that right. A few weeks ago, just as the sun was starting to hum songs of summer between spring raindrops, I pieced together a pair of shorts from two different sets of cloth napkins.

Now instead of collecting dust in a closet, my old Pottery Barn napkins are keeping me covered and cool during a Seattle heatwave.

Polkadots and Plaid with Pockets!

I made these shorts using the new Pietra pattern from Closet Case Patterns. They have pockets that run the length of the shorts. This is plenty of room to store my building keys, my ORCA transportation card, and my cell phone.

For the back waistband, I used a set of smaller cocktail-style napkins. Don’t look too closely at my work. I’m still learning and this was the first time I worked with elastic. Even though one side is more scrunched than the other, I still like the coordinating patterns of the polkadots with the plaid.

Thrifted and Staying Cool

To complete my napkin shorts look, I added two more patterns–a gauzy button-down and a pinstripe jacket for overcooled public spaces. Both of these are secondhand thrift finds.

An Outfit My Grandmother Would Appreciate

The creation of these shorts soothes both sides of my artistic and practical soul. I made something from scratch without spending a dime while simultaneously clearing out my office closet.

It also connects me back to my beloved grandmother.

Grandma Ruth is part of the reason I learned how to cook and sew. Doing either of those things connects me to her even though she’s been gone for nearly 24 years. It could be argued she was more practical than artistic, but then, she was a young widow with two small children when the Great Depression hit. It’s hard to show one’s artistic flair when you’re just trying to survive. Still, it always takes some artistic thinking to get through hard times as she did.

Lessons from Yesterday to Today

My life today is nothing like what hers was back then. Even so, I worry about how I contribute to landfills, ocean waste, and the destruction of wildlife habitats when I throw things out and buy new. I worry about water crises ahead–possibly in my lifetime–due in part to fashion’s overuse of earth’s water and other resources. And I worry about the animals whose lives have been impacted by my consumer choices. Them’s a lot of worries, so I pour those worries into practical actions like repurposing napkins into shorts. These actions are small but the lessons go beyond this one thing.

I already feel a sense of freedom from dependence on unseen others. Although I don’t know who created the fabric for my napkins, I know who made my shorts. (Me!) I also feel a slight sense of relief not doing more harm–no waste, no further use of dyes and unsustainable materials, no reliance on slave labor. Even though I will still occasionally buy things new, this one tiny thing opens my mind to even greater possibilities.

The real lesson for me is:
Creating shorts from napkins has taught me ways
I can do things rather than buy things.
It’s a small step, but it’s empowering.
And I want to keep going.

I like to imagine my grandmother there with me, cheering me on. She was never one for waste, so I know she would appreciate my efforts to reuse and repurpose in creative ways. She might even be so pleased about how these napkin shorts came to be that she would keep her opinions on the length of the shorts to herself! 🙂

---

Linking up with the lovely Patti on Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.

---

Affiliate Link Disclaimer

Links in this blog post are not ad-based. They do not connect to companies with whom I have a business affiliation. There are, however, links around my blog which do. Should you click on them and purchase something from those shops I may see a few advertising pennies from those companies. Those pennies collect and become a handful of dollars, which I use to pay for my domain name, web upkeep, and other creative endeavors related to this blog. Whether you click on those links and shop or not is up to you! I am just glad you made it my way and hope you find some fun things to read while you’re here. Thanks for stopping by!