I tend to prefer plain white so they can be bleached if necessary.

Incidentally, that's why napkin rings were invented. Instead of the matching sets popular now, originally everyone had a different one to distinguish each person's napkin at the next meal.

Growing up we never used paper napkins, my father was against it! We always had our own napkin rings and I always did that with my family as well. That way everyone puts there napkin back in his or her ring and no germs passed! It is fun for the kids to pick out what they would like. Pier One used to have a good selection for rings and napkins, too!

I always use cotton. For formal occasions, I will use linen but for everyday, I prefer the dish clothes that I use the kitchen. Not the full kitchen towels but the smaller dish clothes. They are really absorbent and can take bleaching. Crate and Barrel used to have an all white version of the Williams Sonoma clothes. I have quite a few of those. I also have the striped ones from Williams Sonoma and they are very durable.

Striped Dish Clothes from William Sonoma

I have purchased multiple sets of napkins from Cost Plus World Market. Every family member has their own color. They come in multiples of 6 which gives me plenty of back up if needed. I also have enough should I have a large party or wish to set the table with just one color. I had hoped to purchase a nice silver figural napkin ring for everybody but it is just easier for everyone to have their own color right now.

I also like the napkins at World Market, and sometimes buy them on clearance at Pottery Barn. I prefer the PB napkins as I never need to iron them. I smooth them with my hands when they come out of the dryer. I usually must iron the WM ones. My favorites, though, are the ones I have made myself, using heavier weight cotton, like the fabric made by Moda and others for quilting purposes. (As compared to 95% of the quilting fabric at Joann's which is lesser quality.)

Love Crate and Barrel napkins and tablecloths. We collected vintage sterling napkin rings, each one different. Some with names, some with initials, have had fun imaging their previous lives.

I also have sets of napkins from Cost Plus. They are affordable, come in a wide range of colors & they do wash well. For everyday use or larger gatherings, they are my go to place.

I have some from just about everywhere. Old colored linen ones, well worn and washed, from Dansk are favorites for everyday. I have a lot of white for dinners and many for seasonal use from Crate and Barrel, Pier 1 and W-S that I like too. Always bought on sale.

We use the white hotel napkins from Williams Sonoma. Had our first set for 10 years. Then refreshed. I like all white so they're easy to bleach. I would either do a white on white monogram or napkin rings to keep straight.

When we converted my children were quite young. I purchases a slew of cotton bandanas in different colors and used those. They were very soft after a few washing. Used them for years. Now I have a few sets from PB, and different rings.

My mother was quite sure that using paper napkins was a quick slide into being poor white trash, so I've always used cloth. My now grown children do, too. We always had monogrammed silver napkin rings. When my grandchildren were born, I found ones on eBay very inexpensively and had them engraved.

I like William Sonoma napkins for everyday as they are nice and big. Where napkins are concerned, bigger is better! 22" is an ideal size.

My daughter used cotton dish towels for her boys...well...because they're boys.

If one has the time to iron, there is nothing as nice as 22" Irish linen napkins. They can often be picked up on eBay for a song, especially if unhemmed.

You can find dirt cheap linen napkins at thrift shops like Habitat for Humanity.

I was thinking the same thing. I don't know where I got mine but I know I don't iron them. I do pull out of dryer right away and even when very slightly damp and smooth out by hand.

Another vote for Williams-Sonoma, especially at end of season there are good deals on their cloth napkins.

For everyday, I like PB or WS linen napkins (and yes, they need ironing). I have white ones because they can be bleached. I also have some woven napkins from Vermont Country Store http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/Kitchen/Kitchen/Table_&_Kitchen_Linens/Mountain_Weave_All_Cotton_Napkins/54201 but I use them in either the breakfast room or outdoors but they don't need ironing.

The WS hotel napkins don't need ironing. I wouldn't use them daily if they did!

I'm almost embarrased to admit how many sets of vintage cloth napkins I have... But for messier meals (and when kids visit,) we tend to grab the IKEA tekla towels. They're cheap, sturdy and wash up very well.

I always find mine at Home Goods and a local place called New River Pottery that sells pottery (shocking, I know!), kitchen wares, candles, crafting supplies. Local pottery places almost always have cute and cheap no-iron table linens. It may be because I live in a beach town and people are always looking to find less expensive table linens that are also cute to decorate their beach houses with, but I can always find something pretty at those large, all-in-one-place types of stores. You just have to look passed some of the junk!

I love the idea of using cloth napkins for everyday dining...never really considered it, but find the paper ones wasteful, and not very effective. Curious though, how many of you that use cloth napkins, wash them between each use? Where do you keep the "used" napkins between meals? I fear I would always want a fresh, clean napkin - and that the amount of laundry that would entail might be wasteful as well!

We never use paper napkins, IMO they are wasteful and ineffective. Our "real" napkins are mostly from TJX or thrift stores, the linen and cotton blends are my fav, but all cotton or all linen work too. After eating, we just fold ours and put them to the left of where your plate goes. Occasionally, after a particularly messy meal, they go right into the wash, but we usually get 2-3 days out of them. We do have napkin rings, but we don't use every day. Ours go in the washer and hang to dry (cuz we don't have a dryer) and I can assure you, an iron has touched nary a one.

i also like those woven ones from The Vermont Country Store, they wear like iron, but IMO the colors are blah, so they aren't my favs.

We keep the used napkins in a small wood trough/dough bowl on the buffet. Most of the time. The messier eaters change out their napkins more often. If someone is sick, their napkin is placed in the laundry, rather than contaminating others.

Ajuju, I am with you! I know I want a clean one every time. I don't know which is more wasteful--water for additional laundry or disposable paper--but at this point my children are messy enough that we'll be with paper a bit longer.

We do compost our paper napkins to reduce the guilt. =D

Finger tip towels for everyday with children.

I agree with dish cloths. A close second are Target napkins for the no iron requirement.

I stopped stocking paper towels couple of years ago and only keep it on hand for a couple of things now, but I don't think I could give up paper napkins. My kids are just too messy, which is suddenly a little embarrassing because my kids are not that little.

I do have a lot of different brands of cloth napkins I use for Sunday dinners and when we have people over, but they drive me crazy because they always seem wrinkled. Surprisingly, I bought 20 of the "wrinkle free" brand at Walmart for a last minute get together and they are not only the least expensive by far, but the least wrinkly napkins I've ever owned. All of my others are now up high in the back of the pantry. I have one other set that stay pretty nice right out of the dryer, but my mom gave them to me and they don't have tags so i have no idea where they are from. I do know they are thicker than any of my other napkins, and they are woven, and very soft. They would probably be my next favorite except I only have 4 of them. They are definitely not linen, though. My guess is they are some kind of polyester, which probably isn't especially green.

My mom always used cloth napkins and placemats and they were taken to the laundry room after every meal. She had a set for every day of the week and then some, so on laundry day she washed them all at once with dishtowels, etc. She also ironed all of her napkins. And pillowcases. Rephrase: it was one of my chores to iron all of the napkins and pillowcases, which is why as an adult I bought chiliwhich placemats and paper napkins. And I have never ironed a pillowcase in my adult life. I promise I do help the earth in other ways ;)

We use cloth napkins daily and most of them came from Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Crate & Barrel. They last for years.

I have heaps of cloth napkins, many vintage (from my husband's grandmother and great-grandmother), and most are linen. They have aged beautifully. We usually toss them into the wash after each use, unless it's just my husband and me at home. Sometimes I will iron, but sometimes I just take them out of the dryer while still damp, and smooth them down as I fold. We have a large drawer in the dining room dedicated to napkins; we don't use paper. In Paris, in small neighborhood restaurants, regular customers would have their napkins kept in a special napkin cupboard, full of small drawers, for reuse. I'm not sure how often the napkins got washed, but I did occasionally see these cupboards in use when I lived there (a lifetime ago).

Thanks all. Lots of good ideas here. I've never noticed napkins at home goods or TJM, but I'll have to check it out. I'm sure I just overlooked them. I like some of the designs at World Market, too.

We have cut way back on our use of paper towels -- I bought a whole bunch of cheap wash cloths at Target and we use those for spills, cleaning counters, etc., so now it's time to address the napkins.

I think it was Tuesday Morning where I purchased the package of 10 white, rather large napkins. I like white because it can be bleached, and spaghetti sauce is the worst on any light color, even a print, unless it has the rusty red 'sauce' color in the pattern. lol After I wash them, I put them in the dryer on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, then take them out and smooth with my hands. You can't dry them completely or they *will* need ironing.

Washcloths from Costco

Napkins are the easiest thing to make, if you have a sewing machine, and you can make them whatever size you want. I mostly use napkins that I make myself (fancy linen is the only exception), and I prefer to buy cotton sateen, as it will cling to your lap better than any other fabric, although I use linen for more formal meals. Before making the napkins, I always preshrink the fabric, and that way they will remain square after repeated washing. Sateen does not wrinkle as badly as some other weaves, and so I generally just fold the napkins after I take them out of the dryer, but I always iron linen napkins. You can get Irish linen napkins from eBay for cheap, although I still do not consider them everyday napkins. I have also used cotton damask for napkins, but that wrinkles a bit more than sateen, and so I iron those. It only takes seconds to iron a napkin, providing that you already have an ironing board set up for other items you are ironing. I made silk napkins and a tablecloth for my boss one time for a table setting competition, and we won first place, but I do not think silk is practical.