The Linen Four
Better for having been used.
Four napkins, 100% linen$29
Linen creases, and it should. Four plain squares for people with better places to be than the ironing board.
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The feel
Linen is flax, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. You can see the weave. You can see the odd thicker thread, which is how linen goes and not a mistake.
In the hand it is dry and a little cool, and it tends to soften the more it gets used. A napkin kept for best never finds that out.
The fold
Three, in rising order of effort. None takes longer than opening the wine.
The plain fold
In half, then in three the long way. Left of the fork. Done.
Effort: none.
The pocket
Fold it in four. Turn one corner down. Holds a sprig.
Effort: a little.
The knot
Take it by the middle. Tie it once, loosely. Holds its nerve.
Effort: showing off.
The crease
Choose how far into the evening you’d like to be.
Now it looks like somebody ate here.
From the kitchen
An iron takes the lines out. Dinner puts them back. The cloth doesn’t mind either way, and after a while neither will you.
A napkin that has never been unfolded is a decoration. One with a few lines in it means somebody stayed for pudding.
The facts
As served
- Cloth
- 100% linen
- Each
- 40 × 40 cm (15.7 in)
- In the set
- Four
- Colour
- Natural
Goes well with
- A Sunday roast
- The plain fold
- Anything with herbs
- The knot
- Soup on a Tuesday
- No fold at all
- A late breakfast
- Yesterday’s creases
How to lay four
On the plate
Folded, in the middle, until the food arrives. It gives an empty plate something to do.
Left of the fork
The usual place. It leaves the plate free for whoever is serving.
Under the fork
Folded narrow, with the fork on top. Useful on a small table, where every inch is already booked.
In the glass
Gathered by the middle and stood in an empty glass. Before the wine, obviously.
All four the same looks like a restaurant. Four different looks like a good evening.
Only two of you? Two on the table, two in the drawer for whoever turns up.
Giving them
Stack the four, tie them with kitchen string, push a sprig of rosemary under the knot. That is the wrapping done.
A housewarming, a friend who always hosts, a first proper table: any of those will do. If you’ve been invited to dinner they go well with a bottle, and you may be invited back.
Ask your server
- Will they crease?
- Yes. That is the dish.
- Do I have to iron them?
- You may. Nobody at your table will check.
- Are they only for Christmas?
- They are for Tuesdays too. That is rather the point.
- How big are they?
- 40 × 40 cm (15.7 in) each. Room for a lap, and for a loose knot.
- Can I order just one?
- They come as a set of four. One napkin is a handkerchief.
- Is this a real menu?
- The napkins are real. Please do not order the soup.
The bill
- The Linen Four
- $29
- Cloth
- 100% linen
- Each
- 40 × 40 cm (15.7 in)
- In the set
- Four
- Colour
- Natural
- Shipping
- Free on every US order
- Returns
- Within 14 days of delivery.
- Under $50 we refund you and you keep it.
- If it’s damaged
- We send a replacement or refund you, whichever you prefer.
Service included.
