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It takes only a few stray buttons and some embroidery floss to transform plain napkins into a harvest of whimsical linens.

Tools and Materials
Buttons, embroidery floss, thread (in the color of the fruit you want to create)
Standard sewing needle
Embroidery needle
Fabric napkins (we used 10-by-10-inch tea napkins)
Embroidery hoop (optional)
Fabric pen

Fruity-Button Napkins How-To
1. Lay out your design on the napkin, arranging the buttons in place (mark with a disappearing-ink fabric pen if necessary), then sew on the first button, using matching thread. (For easier stitching, you may want to use an embroidery hoop.) Sew on the remaining buttons.

2. Using the disappearing-ink fabric pen, lightly mark out the leaf or stem of the fruit or vegetable. Stitch along the pen marks, using embroidery floss and a classic chainstitch or a stem stitch. To make a stem stitch (which works well for stems), working from left to right, make standard, slightly slanted stitches along the line, keeping the thread below the needle. For leaves, use a satin stitch, making straight (not slanted) stitches, each touching the next, across the width of the leaf.

This project appeared in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.