Table Setting — The Linen

In the colored damasks every woman will find an opportunity to vary her table setting effects occasionally with a harmonious combination of pastel shades in tablecloth, glass, china and centerpiece. But the conservative woman still uses white damask for her formal dinners, and undoubtedly will continue to do so.

White linen damask is the classic covering for the dinner-table. Linen and lace are often combined and sometimes elaborate all lace tablecloths are used. When a lace cloth is used, it is placed on a bare table.

In the colored damasks every woman will find an opportunity to vary her table setting effects occasionally with a harmonious combination of pastel shades in tablecloth, glass, china and centerpiece. But the conservative woman still uses white damask for her formal dinners, and undoubtedly will continue to do so.

Tablecloths

Before you buy your tablecloths, carefully measure your tableand allow a twelve-to-fifteen-inch overhang for your dinner cloths, and an eight-to-twelve-inch overhang for your luncheon cloths.

Tablecloths should be French hemmed, with the hem three-eighths of an inch to one-half an inch wide, and napkins, also French hemmed, have hems of from one-eighth of an inch to one-quarter of an inch wide.

A white linen damask cloth is as appropriate for the formal or informal luncheon as for the formal or informal dinner. Gay colored sets of damask or of less formal materials are often used. Linen runners, with small luncheon napkins to matchare popular, especially on long tables like refectory tablesAn especially beautiful table is sometimes left bare except for the mats under the centerpiece, plates, and glasses. Damask napkins are used with these.

Luncheon sets are appropriate for use at breakfast, luncheon, an informal dinner, or supper.

For the tea table one may use an embroidered or hemstitched teacloth, or a simple or elaborate lace cover, or a combination of linen and lace.

Napkins

Tablecloths and napkins should match. For formal dinners an unusually large napkin is smart, but nowadays napkins, like most other “furnishings,” have shrunk, and one rarely encounters dinner napkins larger than twenty-eight inches and usually not larger than twenty-four inches.

Luncheon napkins are from thirteen inches to eighteen inches square. White hemstitched luncheon napkins are often used with a white linen damask cloth.

Breakfast napkins, often colored or with a colored border to match the cloth, are usually a bit smaller than luncheon napkins but may be the same size.

Appropriate to the appointments of the tea table are the small tea napkins, sometimes of fine handkerchief linen with scalloped edges, sometimes of damask with hemstitched borders, and sometimes of heavy linen with drawnwork borders. In houses with Early American furnishings —and with excellent laundry technic— the old-fashioned damask napkins with fringe edges add a charmingly quaint touch. But with uncertain laundering these are very apt to be unattractive looking. — “The American Woman’s Cookbook,” 1951

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Napkin Folding Etiquette

“If the monogram was placed in the corner, she turned in three corners of the square to give a shield shape. Sometimes she folded in two corners, which gave a six sided figure.”

Fashions in Folding

Followed by “Nancy Page”

When Nancy came to arrange her new linen closets, she decided that she might as well settle upon some definite rules for folding her freshly laundered linen. Then having settled that it would be easy to keep the shelves looking neat and tidy. She had small napkins of tea size, napkins used for breakfast and luncheon and the larger dinner napkins. 

In addition, there were the tiny fruit or cocktail napkins, but these small bits of linen needed no folding. She instructed her laundress to fold the tea napkins in triangular folds. The breakfast napkins were folded into squares and then diagonally across. The dinner napkins were folded into thirds, length-wise and then thirds, cross-wise. Sometimes she placed them folded this fashion on the dinner plates. Sometimes she gave them a narrow long appearance by turning in the two sides of the large square. 

If the monogram was placed in the corner, she turned in three corners of the square to give a shield shape. Sometimes she folded in two corners, which gave a six sided figure. All of these last folds were done loosely at time of setting the table. She instructed the laundress to fold towels so that they could be hung on racks with no refolding, and sheets were to be folded into thirds. length-wise and then in as many cross folds as necessary. This always brought the monogram on sheets in center top. – “Nancy Page” is by Florence La Ganke, 1929 

Etiquette Enthusiast,Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia