Serviettenapkin Folding Maries Lily Pad Variation Lotus Recipes

Steps:

• Lay your serviette square out flat before you in a square shape.
• Take the top right corner and fold the point into the center point of the square. Repeat with the other 3 corners. You should have a diamond shape in front of you.
• Take the East point of this diamond and fold it into the center point, and repeat with the other 3 corners. The serviette will be square again and have gaps in the form of an X.
• Carefully turn the serviette over and fold each of the corners into the center point again.
• Carefully turn it over and you will see 4 loose points on the underside.(this step is only to make the next step clearer).
• Turn back over to the previous side, lay the serviette down and press firmly on the center point where the 4 corners meet. Carefully reach underneath with your other hand and grab one of the loose points on the underside and bring it to the outside of the corner that it belongs to. This creates the outer petal of that quarter of the flower.
• Repeat with the other 3 corners.
• If you are not putting something in the center of this serviette you may need to carefully secure the 4 central points with a pin.

Steps:

• Lay your serviette square out flat before you in a square shape.
• Take the top right corner and fold the point into the center point of the square. Repeat with the other 3 corners. You should have a diamond shape in front of you.
• Take the East point of this diamond and fold it into the center point, and repeat with the other 3 corners. The serviette will be square again and have gaps in the form of an X.
• Carefully turn the serviette over and fold each of the corners into the centerpoint again.
• Carefully turn it over and you will see 4 loose points on the underside.(this step is only to make the next step clearer).
• Turn back over to the previous side, lay the serviette down and press firmly on the center point where the 4 corners meet. Carefully reach undernieth with your other hand and grab one of the loose points on the underside and bring it to the outside of the corner that it belongs to. This creates the outer petal of that quarter of the flower.
• Repeat with the other 3 corners.
• At this point you have the napkin that I call Marie's Lily Pad Flower. but the Lotus calls for an extra step.
• Reach undernieth again and you will find a second layer of 4 flaps on the bottom, gently pull them out to the front side ( hold the centre points firmly so that everything stays intact) and you will have a fuller looking flower that has additional petals/ leaves at the sides, inbetween the main petals. This addition turns the napkin into a "Lotus".

Steps:

• Lay your serviette out flat before you in a square.
• Take the top left and top right corner and bring them 1/3rd of the way down the square.
• Now take the bottom left and bottom right corners and bring them up to meet the new corners at the top. You will have before you a long rectangle that is 1/3rd the width of your original servietter square.
• Take the top let and bottom let corners and fold them 2/3rd of the way towards the right.
• Place your finger about half way down the line that now runs vertically down the serviette at the 2/rd mark, and with your other hand, bring the bottom right corner of the flap folded in the previous step, up to meet your finger in the center. This should produce a horizontal band in the center if the left 2/3rd of the serviette, and the bottom left corner should turn into a triangle.
• Now repeat by bringing the top right corner of the flap at 2/3rds down to meet the bottom crease fold of the band you just made. Once it's flattened out it there will second band directly above the first and another triangle will appear in the top left corner of the serviette.
• Take the free end of the band in the center of the serviette and fold it back over to the left so that it sticks out to the left, past the left edge of the serviette.
• Now take the top right and bottom right of the serviette and bring it over to the left so that what *were* the right edges of the serviette not are level with the outer edge of the band that's sticking out on the left. You will have before you a square shape.
• Place your finger in the center of the left edge and with your other hand, bring the bottom left corner up to meet your finger. This should make a flat horizontal band in the middle again and a triangle will form in the bottom right corner.
• Finish this band by bringing the top left corner of the serviette down to meet the bottom crease mark of the band you have just made, and as before a second band will form directly above the first and the last triangle should form in the top right corner.
• As with the previous side, take the long loose end of the band on the left and fold it back on itself so that it sticks out on the right side. Your serviette will now look something like a rowboat with very fat oars in the middle that stick out on each side.
• Place your fingers inside the triangles in the center of the serviette and holding the left and right ends very firmly, turn the serviette inside out. It will look a tad messy at first but the square box form should be there, and I neatened mine up considerably by easing everything into place.
• To make this serviette really impressive, carefully hold the little serviette basket open on each side in turn, while ironing the inside of the four sides.
• Fill your basket with a bread roll, a cookie, a few crackers, a small gift, party favours and confetti -- in fact, whatever takes your fancy.

Steps:

• Lay your serviette square out flat before you.
• Fold the top and bottom left hand edges to meet the top and bottom right hand edges. You will have a long rectangle with the fold on the left hand edge.
• Fold the bottom short edge up about 1/3 of the way up the rectangle. Then repeat another 1/3 of the way up.
• Carefully turn the serviette over and fold the top and bottom East edge to the centre.
• Repeat with the West edge.
• Carefully turn this over again and you will have a neat package that has a pocket at the bottom into which a nametag, cutlery, flowers or a small gift can be inserted.

Steps:

• Take your square napkin, lay it totally flat before you, then fold it in half horizontally.
• Fold again, this time vertically so that you have before you a square a quarter the size of your origonal square.
• Only one of the 4 corners will have 4 open or loose edges. Rotate the square before you so that it looks like a diamond with the four open edges pointing to the bottom.
• We will call the points on your diamond shape East, West, North and the open egded bit, South.
• Make a horizontal fold between the East/West points, bringing the open ended South point up to meet, and on top of, the North point.You will now have a little triangle.
• Take the East point of the triangle and fold it in towards the middle. What was the sloping right hand edge of the triangle is now a vertical edge running down the center of the triangle and there is a little flap sticking out at the bottom.
• Take the West point and fold it into the center the same as you did with the previous East edge, the two vertical lines should meet in the middle, and you will have a diamond shape that has two long sides at the top and two short sides (the two little flaps) at the bottom.
• Pick up your diamond shape and fold the two little flap bits at the bottom completely under, so that they only show on the back of the triangle. The front will now look like a steep triangle with a vertical slit down the middle.
• We will call the points of this triangle East, West and North. With the flaps still folded to the back of the tiangle, fold the East and West points backwards until they meet, and gently crease the two folds that form and meet at the North point.
• The slit in the front will have opened and the 4 open points of the napkin will be hidden in layers inside. Pull very gently on them one by one and they will stand up like the sails of a boat. Some people I know call this napkin a boat, some a flower and some the Sydney Opera House.I don't know its' offical name but set onto a plate or into an empty wine glass, this a very elegant addition to a classy table setting.