How to Set a Formal Table

By nlhartman

This is just a self-help guide to the proper way to set a formal table. Many of the tablecloths hang down so far on the sides. Martha Stewart says they should be lap length 10-15 inches.

Ingredients

• Formal dining room table

Preparation

Step 1

Formal Table Setting
1.The bread plate and the butter knife sit above the forks.
2.Above the dinner plate are a dessert fork and dessert spoon.
3.The stemware forms a triangle. The water glass sits above the knife, the white-wine glass is to its lower right, and the red-wine glass is above them.
4.From the left, the forks are for the salad and main course.
5.For a formal setting, the napkin is placed on the center plate or charger, but it can also be placed to the left of the plate under the forks or to the left of the forks.
6.To the right of the plate, from the left, are the dinner knife and the soup spoon.