In praise of the cloth napkin

When the whole family gathered around the table last weekend - something that only happens once in a while now - it was set with heirloom china and crystal and a snowy linen napkin at each place setting. As we ate, the topic of conversation turned to the pros and cons of using cloth napkins. I was surprised that my two oldest children, both living on their own, one married and the other solo, are using cloth napkins every day instead of paper. Pleased and surprised. My son made his own napkins by cutting an old towel into squares. My daughter, like her mother, favors vintage finds. Unless, say, ribs are on the menu, each napkin is used several times before laundering. I love cloth napkins and have a stack of thrift store and other vintage finds in the linen closet. I keep paper napkins around, the big, square, buffet style. But I prefer cloth. Besides being a thriftier option, they simply work better at covering your lap, and feel better to the hands and lips. There is some argument that using cloth napkins is one of the false-green adaptations that actually uses more energy that it saves. Laundering the napkins, the argument goes, is more of a drain of resources than simply composting or discarding paper. Others are put off by the idea that cloth napkins are not as sanitary as paper. If someone has a cold and is coughing into a napkin (really, a nasty thing at the table, anyway) that’s true. But, as a rule, most of us make it through a meal without dirtying the napkin in any significant way. Discussing this with a friend, she rolled her eyes and pointed out that most of us use a single towel for several days. “Just think about how you use that towel,” she said, giving me a meaningful look. “I’d say patting your mouth with a napkin at a few meals is practically sterile.” I had to laugh. Of all the comments I’ve read about the pros and cons of using cloth napkins for more than one meal, that was the first time anyone had brought up the subject of damp bath towels. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Victorian mothers gave each child a napkin ring, either monogrammed or otherwise unique, to hold their napkin. After each meal it was returned to the ring to wait for the next time the family sat down to eat. I’m going to revive the tradition in my own home.