Wrinkled Napkins

Don't dry them fully and then spread them flat to finish. Don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets if you want them to be absorbent. You can't really get away without working them over in some way (stretching by hand or ironing) if they are all cotton. Poly blend would wrinkle less but they are not so nice/absorbent.

Sounds like you have very comfy full cotton napkins-why not try hanging them folded once over hangers to dry-this will set them then when they are real dry you can "fluff" them to soften for yur face---this works great for me. I will straighten then on the dryer then put them on a hanger-one each so they can dry nice--then fluff a day or so later. My family just doesn't know how I have such pretty napkins and I did not iron them? I won't tell--will you?

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The reason most t-shirts do not wrinkly and napkins do is because t-shirts are knit and napkins are woven. Whether or not wovencotton fabrics wrinkle depends on the way the fiber is woven, the thickness of the yarn, the finish on the yarn or the fabric. You can usually tell if a cotton napkin is going to wrinkle in the dryer is to scrunch it up in your hand before you buy it. If it forms deep wrinkles it's going to wrinkle in the dryer. Same for woven clothes.

Taking them out of the dryer while still a bit damp and smoothing them out will work for some napkins. They have to be a bit damp for this to work. How damp depends on the fabric. I dry some of my blouses in the dryer until they are just barely damp and then hang them up, smoothing the placket, collar and seams.

My grandmother never ironed. She also did not have a dryer. She hung all of her clothes on a hangar and "ironed" them with her hands. They were always presentable. She did have one of the first front loading machines and used a small amount of detergent so that the clothes were completely free of detergent residue.

I also like the idea of smoothing our the damp napkin and placing it over a plastic hangar to dry. You can then fluff them up by putting them in during the last minute or so of a dryer load if the load is not overly or bone dry.

I had the same issue with my placemats, so I tried line drying them (hangers works too) and they come out pretty wrinkle free. Do it all the time now and they look newer longer without the dryer heat.

Iron them on a towel while slightly damp - the heat from the iron helps to disinfect them as well as making them smooth. Since people touch their mouths and faces with them it's a good idea to make sure no-one is "sharing" germs. I've used cotton napkins for years - the synthetic blend type don't clean your hands as well and tend to absorb food odors that are hard to wash out.
I set up my ironing board in my bedroom for quick jobs or set up in front of the TV if I have a lot of things to iron like shirts etc. and put on a favorite movie.

Congratulations for using cloth napkins daily! Wow! I try to be earth friendly but we still use paper napkins for daily use. I think you've inspired me to try. :)

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Lay them flat to dry. No dryer.

Nahhhh...best you can do is fold immediately while still warm & flatten as best as you can with your hands. If you want them smoooooth, you gotta iron them!

If you don't have time to iron, I suggest you hang them on hangars to dry. Just one to a hangar folded over the bottom rung and hung up in your laundry room.

They are 100% cotton. Look for some that have a little bit of synthetic or deal with the wrinkles.

Hi R.,
Try using fabric softner in the wash cycle and line drying your napkins instead of tossing them into the dryer - if you don't have a line, HomeDepot, WalMart, etc. does sell racks for drying.
I think this will work! Happy Napkins!
N.

I know you said you don't like to iron them, and believe me I'm the world's biggest don't iron it if you don't have to person. But since your stated reason is that you don't have much space to set up in your laundry area, I would make this suggestion. If you do decide you have to iron them, simply put a folded towel... make it really thick... on top of your washer or dryer. Plug in the iron and use the towel as your ironing board.

Can you hang dry them? Shake them out and try to shape them as wrinkle-free as possible and hang them, that usually works for us.