Mexican cuisine and its textiles: napkins for tortillas

Napkins are made from cotton, blanket or commercial fabrics such as poplin and check. The linen of the napkin can be embroidered using different techniques such as cross-stitch, basting, filling embroidery and edging stitching, among others.

For example, this checked cloth napkin shows flowers embroidered using cross-stitch technique and colored in two colors. The beautiful lace of the napkin is woven in crochet and recalls the European designs introduced to Mexico during the 19th century.

Some napkins are made in a circular shape to hold tortillas more naturally.

In this case, the napkin is a cloth embroidered using the basting technique and with traditional designs of the Nahuatl culture of the Northern mountain range of Puebla. The edge of the napkin is finished with a hand stitch. 

The decoration on the edge is usually finished with crochet cloth work whose designs may vary in the different places around the country. The napkin's decoration or lace may include very colorful designs of flowers, arches, half shells and others.

Here, for example, we see a round napkin of tortillas with traditional motifs from the Nahuatl region of Chachahuantla in the Northern mountain range of Puebla. 

The fabric is a cloth with flowers embroidered in two colors: yellow with black and green for the leaves. The edge of the napkin is simple but fine hand-finished.

In this other case, we see a square napkin in poplin with a scene of the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, an identity for our Mexican culture.

Flower designs complement the scene. In addition, we can see that the edge is woven in crochet with a single color design.

Sometimes, napkins are made for a specific purpose in addition to containing tortillas.  For example, to place them on the altars of the dead or as a memory of a specific celebration.

In some towns, it is customary to embroider napkins with a special inscription and to give to guests at weddings, baptisms and quinceañera celebrations (15th birthday) as a memory of the occasion. Here we see the inscription "Sleep my angel" on linen held by angels, using the edging stitching technique.

In this case, we can see tortillas wrapped in a cotton napkin with a beautiful design of flowers and leaves embroidered with a two-color outline.  

The edging is woven in crochet with a very common design on kitchen napkins. The palm basket containing the tortillas is used to hold them and serve them at the table.