The Italians turned napkin folding into an art form that persists today. Imagine sitting down to a meal with a napkin folded into a crown, a swan, a fan, a bird of paradise, a tulip or a shirt front. In the middle Ages, tablecloths nearly reached the floor and served both as tablecloths and napkins. The guests simply used the overhanging cloth to wipe their hands and mouth. Since forks had not yet been invented, a bowl of water was passed around between each course so diners could wash their hands. The first napkin was a lump of dough the Spartans called "apomagdalie" a mixture cut into small pieces and rolled and kneaded at the table, a custom that led to using sliced bread to wipe the hands. In Roman antiquity, napkins known as sudaria and mappae were made in both small and large lengths. The sudarium, Latin for "handkerchief" was a pocket-size fabric earned to blot the brow during meals taken in the warm Mediterranean climate.

The mappa was a larger cloth spread over the edge of the couch as protection from food taken in a reclining position. The fabric was also used to blot the lips. Although each guest supplied his own mappa, on departure mappae were filled with delicacies leftover from the feast, a custom that continues today in restaurant "doggy bags.”.

In the middle Ages, tablecloths nearly reached the floor and served both as tablecloths and napkins. The guests simply used the overhanging cloth to wipe their hands and mouth. Since forks had not yet been invented, a bowl of water was passed around between each course so diners could wash their hands. Today, the fingerbowl is the only reminder of that custom. The Italians turned napkin folding into an art form that persists today. Imagine sitting down to a meal with a napkin folded into a crown, a swan, a fan, a bird of paradise, a tulip or a shirt front. There are napkins for formal dinner parties, buffets, weddings, children’s parties, as wine bottle coasters and to disguise a plant pot; each giving the table a special feel and ambience. Depending on the material used to fold your napkin it will define the type of result achieved. Linen is noted for its elegance, cotton for durability, synthetics for easy care and paper for practicality, therefore each responds differently to being folded.

The French court imposed elaborate codes of etiquette on the aristocracy, among them the way to use a napkin, when to use it, and how far to unfold it in the lap. A French treatise dating from 1729 stated that "It is ungentlemanly to use a napkin for wiping the face or scraping the teeth, and a most vulgar error to wipe one's nose with it." "The person of highest rank in the company should unfold his napkin first, all others waiting till he has done so before they unfold theirs.

When all of those present are social equals, all unfold together, with no ceremony." Fashionable men of the time wore stiffly starched ruffled collars, a style protected while dining with a napkin tied around the neck. Hence the expression "to make ends meet." When shirts with lace fronts came into vogue, napkins were tucked into the neck or buttonhole or were attached with a pin. In 1774, a French treatise declared, "the napkin covered the front of the body down to the knees, starting from below the collar and not tucked into said collar." In 1740, the tablecloth was made with matching napkins. According to Savary des Bruslons, "Twelve napkins, a large tablecloth and a small one, comprise what is called these days a 'table service'."

The napkin folds presented here are not complicated or difficult. Each one will take only a few minutes, and you'll be pleased with the results. Start out with the easy ones and attempt something a bit more complicated when you've mastered one. Some are easy, and some more complicated, some use napkin rings, and all will look more presentable if you have the iron out when you're working. Try all the folds to decide which one you prefer. You might feel that one style is more casual and another more formal. Choose your favorite for the occasion.