As a kid I always looked forward to staying the weekend with my New Zealand Grandma, because we got to do fun things together.
Since she was home baker extraordinaire, and baked with the patience of someone who was totally at ease with family recipes that she made on a weekly basis, she was happy to let me into the kitchen to learn.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
I would fetch and carry in the kitchen as she patiently oversaw my rubbing butter into flour to make scones, or creaming butter and sugar for biscuits (cookies) or cakes.
In the evenings when we weren’t in the kitchen, we sat in her little back sitting room that had the yellow deco fireplace in it with a tray table each and endless games of cards. Every so often I would help out with some ironing… and accidently pulling down some cloth serviettes from the linen cupboard one day, I got an introduction to the art of napkin/serviette folding.
Gran knew quite a few basic folds and I mastered them quickly, but it was in the years between then and now that my interest and my ”stash” of various folding techniques grew.
These days, with a busy household and the perpetual lack of time, this napkin fold is one that you can iron into accordion strips whenever you have a moment, build up a stack of them in the back of the linen cupboard and whip them out at a moments notice to make your table suddenly impressive.
Because this fold suits a very large serviette very well, a few years ago I actually cheated and snapped up some plain solid colour tea cloths that were in the bargain bin of a local shop … they make dramatic serviettes and I can use them to dry dishes too!
Beautiful, lazy , dirt cheap and dual purpose… what more do you need? … Instructions? (it’s your lucky day…)
Serviette/Napkin, Dramatic Fan
1. Place your serviette flat before you in a square shape.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
2. Carefully make accordion pleats from the very bottom of the serviette to the very top. You will have before you a long thin rectangular strip of pleated material.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
3. Starting at one end of the strip, carefully roll it up until you reach the 2/3 mark of the strip.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
4. Lay the spiral shape down so that it sits upright and gently fan out the last section that isn’t rolled up.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
5. Holding the rolled up spiral section firmly, reach into the centre of the spiral and pull it the beginning edge and form it into a small peak in the center. Arrange the serviette on a plate for dramatic effect.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
