On my recent trip to PA I helped my mom go through some things. Tucked away in a box of my grandmother's was a little zippered case of 68 little beauties. I've always loved little hankies. I remember using them as doll blankets when I was little. Now I am always impressed with the creation of something so elegant for the purpose of something so practical. Now what to do with them...
One thing my MIL has done with some old handkies is to applique them to quilt blocks and then make a quilt.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought -- Applique and then frame some.
Holy Guacamole!
ReplyDeleteWhat a find!
I cannot believe you didn't show them off to me when we visited...hmmm...probably thought I might pocket a couple of those pocket hankies.
I've picked up a few handkerchiefs and napkins, and mostly just hold onto them because I have trouble CUTTING...well, anything. New fabrics, even, if they're favorites.
I made doll clothes with a couple that I still feel good about: a shirt and a simple gathered skirt. The skirt involved no cutting, just stitching a casing and seam (I overlapped the narrow hems and just zigzagged, making a flat (and nearly invisible, because of the way the hem was) seam. For the shirt, I wanted to showcase a pretty scalloped hem, so cut it out so the hem and back edges (I left it open in back, closing with a pretty button) retained the handkerchief hem.
I'm planning on making curtains for our office/sewing room with some fancy linens I got at an estate sale. I'll use the small tablecloth for the main body of the curtain, and line the hem with the napkins (quite small & dainty). I think I'll try using flat overlapping and a narrow zigzag again for the seams, so the curtains don't have a "wrong" side, and because they're pretty delicate and I have this idea that spreading the stitch around will be less stressful. Not that hanging in full sun won't be (and bleach-y).
I really just forgot about them. My mom had found them, said I could have them and immediately put them in a chest I was bringing home with me. I didn't even get to go through them until yesterday. Next I need to figure out how to wash them to get some of the brown spots off and then figure out what to do with them. One idea I have is to attatch them to this shear white fabric I have to make curtains for the girls room. Kind of a random block look. We'll see, but I'll keep you updated. Good luck with your curtains. I would really like to find a good flea market type place here to get old linens.
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