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Basic Napkin Folding Technique

When I worked at Upstairs at the Pudding, I folded hundreds, if not thousands, of napkins into the triangular shape you see below (called a “Pyramid Napkin Fold”). And now I’m here to impart all that valuable knowledge to you. Psyched?! Thought so.

To achieve best results, use a relatively thick, cotton-poly blend. The napkin I’m using here isn’t ideal – it’s a little too un-starchy to hold the shape quite right – but I don’t have tons of cloth napkins laying around, and you’ll get the point.

First, lay the napkin out on a flat surface.

Fold over the top left corner to meet the bottom right corner.

Now fold the bottom left corner to meet the bottom right corner.

Fold the top right corner down to meet the bottom right corner; you should now have a more or less perfect square with a diagonal slash down the center. Run your hand down the crease to flatten it out.

Grab hold of the top left hand corner, and flip the napkin towards you so that the top left corner becomes the bottom right corner.

Fold the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner.

Fold the bottom left corner in towards the top right corner, but not far enough so that they meet, and set down on the base of the triangle, as pictured above (Pyramid Napkin Folds are usually placed on each guest’s plate).

Ta da!

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