Napkins come in about four sizes and almost nobody labels which one they are selling. The word on the listing is "napkin." The number, if it appears at all, is buried in the specifications. Here is what the sizes are and which one you actually want.
Cloth napkin sizes
| Type | Typical size | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Cocktail | 6 x 6 to 9 x 9 in | Standing drinks. Wraps a glass, holds one small bite. |
| Luncheon | 14 x 14 to 16 x 16 in | Lunch, brunch, anything served on a single plate. |
| Dinner | 18 x 18 to 22 x 22 in | The everyday size. Covers a lap properly and folds well. |
| Buffet | 24 x 24 in and up | Balancing a plate on your knees. Rare outside catering. |
If you only buy one size, buy 20 inch
Twenty by twenty sits in the middle of the dinner range and does everything. It covers an adult lap, it folds into anything you would want to fold a napkin into, and it does not look absurd next to a lunch plate.
Sixteen inch luncheon napkins look correct on the table and then slide off your lap all evening. Below sixteen you are in cocktail territory, which is a different object with a different job.
How many do you need?
Count your usual table, then double it. Napkins spend time in the wash, and a set that exactly matches your seating means eating off paper the week you have people over twice.
For a table of four that is eight napkins. For six, twelve. This is the calculation most people skip, and it is why half-used sets of four sit in drawers.
Hemmed edges and why they matter
Look for a proper hem rather than a raw or serged edge. Cotton frays at the cut line, and a napkin is washed more than almost anything else in the house. A hemmed edge is the difference between something that lasts a decade and something that looks tired in a year.
Handwoven cotton will also shrink slightly on the first wash, usually under half an inch. Buy the size you want, not half an inch bigger to compensate.
What I actually stock
My handspun cotton napkins are 20 by 20 inches, dinner size, and they are sold in sets of two.
That is worth saying plainly, because it is the thing people find out at checkout. A table of four needs two sets. If you are following the doubling rule above, a table of four needs four sets. I would rather you know that here than be surprised in the cart.
They are handspun and handwoven, so no two are exactly alike and the size varies by a fraction either way. If you are setting a table where everything has to match precisely, these are not the napkins for that.
If you are working out the rest of the table, I also wrote about choosing a table runner length.
