Easy DIY napkin ring ideas for Thanksgiving

I am all about easy DIY décor ideas, especially cheap table setting ideas that bring more fabulousness to a holiday table. We’re all busy, so quick and easy, but high-impact DIY projects are my absolute favorite finds. One great way to spruce up your Thanksgiving table is with these easy DIY napkin rings. I made the cutest DIY Thanksgiving napkin rings using Martha Stewart’s tissue paper flowers (I love Martha!) this year for my Thanksgiving table and I just loved the way they turned out. I’m sharing the instructions for how I made mine along with a few other DIY napkin ring ideas to try out next, including raffia napkin rings (easy pom pom napkin rings you can make without any special tools), and DIY rustic napkin rings made from twine (this twine napkin rings DIY can be made with wood napkin rings or even empty paper towel or TP rolls for cost-effective toilet paper roll napkin rings). If you’re looking for easy ideas for napkin rings, save this article!

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DIY Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

Here are my DIY tissue paper flower napkin rings from this Thanksgiving. Such a simple, cost-effective, yet elegant touch.

DIY Tissue Paper Flower Napkin Rings

I was first inspired to make tissue paper napkin rings from Martha Stewart’s DIY tissue paper flower pom poms. You can also use this method to make tissue paper poms for other chic DIY party décor (see my article on DIY Tissue Paper Party Decorations), or even a DIY designer-style Christmas wreath. Here’s how I made the napkin rings.

Supplies Needed for these DIY Thanksgiving Napkin Rings:

• Tissue paper
• 24-gauge floral wire
• Scissors

Instructions:

Cut or fold a sheet of tissue paper into eighths (each standard-size sheet of tissue paper should creating eight approximately 10″x5″ rectangular sheets – this is enough for one flower), and layer the 8 small rectangles on top of each other.

Fold the 8 sheets of tissue paper together in an accordion fold like a fan longways.

Wrap a piece of wire around the center and twist it to secure, but leave the long pieces of wire sticking out (you’ll use them to wrap around the napkin later).

Trim the ends of the tissue to create the petal edges. The look of the flowers can be customized by cutting the tips more round (for a fluffier mum-style look) or more pointy (for a more dahlia-like look). You can also make the flowers more full by increasing the number of sheets of tissue paper you use, but I think 8 sheets works perfectly.

Carefully separate and fluff each sheet of tissue paper, pulling away from the center one sheet at a time, to create individual flowers for each DIY napkin ring.

When done, wrap the attached wire around a rolled napkin. It’s as easy as that!

DIY Raffia Pom Pom Napkin Rings

The next of the napkin ring ideas I’m sharing is also inspired by Martha Stewart. I loved her patriotic raffia pom-pom napkin ring idea for the Fourth of July, and thought it would be easy to customize with different colors for different holidays. Her instructions call for a pom pom maker, but here’s how you can make raffia napkin rings with supplies you have around the house.

Supplies Needed for these DIY Raffia Napkin Rings:

• Standard-size credit card or business card
• Raffia (in your choice of fall colors)
• 24-gauge floral wire
• Scissors

Instructions:

Wrap raffia around the long side of the credit card. Make a nice thick mound of raffia in the center (see above).

Cinch one side tightly together with a piece of wire.

Remove the card, then wrap the wire around the other side to cinch the center of the other side of the raffia loop with the wire as well. Make the wire as tight as you can around the two sides of the raffia loop, and trim the raffia ribbon to separate the loop you made from the spool.

Use scissors to cut each half of the raffia loop (as above) to create the pom pom fringe.

Carefully pull, separate, and fluff the pieces away from the long wire edges to create rounded, half-circle pom pom napkin rings.

You may need to use scissors to trim and even out the pom pom half circle for these raffia napkin rings. When done, wrap the wire around the napkin to secure the easy DIY napkin rings into place.

Twine Napkin Rings (DIY Rustic Napkin Rings)

The final of the DIY Thanksgiving napkin rings I’m sharing is inspired by these DIY jute bangle bracelets I made for my Kenyan safari wardrobe. Some of the things I love about this twine napkin rings DIY are that they’re boho-style DIY rustic napkin rings, they can be customized with different colors of twine (including a combination of colors), and can be made starting with simple wooden napkin rings or empty paper towel or TP rolls for cost-effective, repurposed toilet paper roll napkin rings. Here’s how to make DIY twine napkin rings.

Supplies Needed for this Twine Napkin Rings DIY:

• Wooden napkin rings or empty paper towel or TP rolls cut into 1-inch wide rings
• Jute twine
• Scissors

Instructions:

Start by tying the jute onto the ring with the knot on the inside of the ring, leaving some excess at the end to tie later.

Depending on the size of your rings and spool of twine, you might be able to fit the spool through the center of the ring to wrap it, but you’ll most likely have to cut off a really long piece, then ball it back together for easy handling. Wrap the thread around the ring, leaving the loose end from the knot free (to tie later), going all the way around. Be careful to keep a single layer of twine, and not overlap. You will need to pull the twine tight periodically and push the loops together. This ensures that there are no gaps that would reveal the wood on the ring. 

When done, tie the loose end to the excess twine from the starting knot on the inside of the ring. Pull the knot as tightly as you can, then trim the twine as close to the ring as possible so it can barely be seen (though since this is done on the inside of the ring, it won’t matter if you can see the knot or loose ends a little, as they’ll be against the napkin).

If you want to make these DIY rustic napkin rings with a combo of colors, you can follow the instructions for how I did that with the jute bracelets in this post.

Which one of these easy napkin ring ideas is your favorite?

Like these DIY Napkin ring ideas? See more inspiration like this in these articles:

• Chic, simple but bold DIY Christmas table décor
• Silver and gold Thanksgiving table setting idea with DIY pumpkin centerpiece
• Designer knock-off easy DIY contemporary Christmas wreath
• 10 DIY tissue paper party decorations
• Must-haves for hosting Thanksgiving (cooking tools, dinner supplies, and other essentials)
• Fab holiday table styling: Silver and gold Thanksgiving table and DIY floral pumpkin centerpiece