What can I make with vintage hankies?

Question

I havea bunch of vintage floral print handkerchiefs that I LOVE for their cute, cheerful prints. I am "crafty"/artisitic but I have NO idea what to do with them! I Googled it and all I found was "Wrap one around a bouquet!" "Tuck one in a card!" "Frame it!" I want to MAKE something with it. I'm not a quilter, either, and not really interested in quilting. I do like collage and paper arts (altered books and etc.) but they are too big to lay flat in an altered book, and I hate to fold them up in an altered book and hide most of their pattern.

Do you have any good ideas as to what one can make with vintage hankies?

Answer 1

sachets, you can put potpuourri in them in your drawers or in a vase on an end table...

very good for aromatherapy, and less messy!

Answer 2

How about curtains for your bedroom, or even just a valance for the window with a solid color curtain?  Use them as dresser scarves.  You could make small throw pillows for your bed.  Make a tablecloth that will fit one of the small round tables, and put a piece of round glass on top.

Answer 3

I, too, have a lot of old hankies.  I intend to do an "art" type quilt/wall hanging with mine. I've seen them used on a quilt as "skirts", with the top part of the "lady" being embroidered. Some or all could just be framed individually as art. I would also suggest making a wall hanging. It wouldn't have to be too big, just big enough to show off your beautiful hankies. It could be sewn together in some creative way, some folded, some flat. If you framed it, as art, use acid-free matting and materials. That would protect those vintage hankies, and you'd be able to enjoy them everytime you saw them.

Answer 4

I know you say you hate it but quilting is the best thing to do with it. You dont have to make a huge quilt, just a trow blanket or something more up to date. Quilting is very easy, dont even need a sewing machine but it would go by faster.

Curtins, recover pillows.

Answer 5

Ok one time I made a skirt out of cool bandanas and you could do the same with your hankies.  Just find a simple bohemian style skirt pattern and sew them together. That way you can show them off to the world:)

Good Luck

Ochre

Answer 6

i like ochre's idea of makeing a skirt but i would find a handkerchief  style pattern instead of a bohemian, you will be able to use more of the hankies that way.  it will look uber cute and very unique!!!

Answer 7

how about putting them on acid free paper, and displaying the one's you like the best in shadow boxes.  You can do it yourself, or have Aaron bros, or another framing place do it for you.   You can hang them on the wall, or if you have a table with a glass top and a drawer under it you can fold them all and put them in there, or put one in and change them as you wish.  If you have a glass top table and acid free paper, pin the hankies in place on the paper and then tape the paper to the underside of the glass. If you don't have pets, that would be something to try, and you could still change them as you wish.

Answer 8

My friend used to collect silk scarves and what she did that was really cool was put her bed in the corner of her room and then used push pins to tack one corner of each of them to the ceiling so that they hung down like the top of a canopy bed.  She just spaced them like an inch apart or so... just enough so that each one still touches mostly.  It was so cool and pretty!  I don't know if you have enough to do that but if you do, it looks really neat.

OR a girl at pier one once told me that they buy the fabric napkins on clearance and make throw pillows out of the so you could do that with the hankies maybe, it would be easy and not that hard of a sewing job.

OR you could always make little handbags with them.

Answer 9

Hi,

I just finished making the "Hanky Panky Crazy Quilt" wall hanging for my granddaughter.  I used the book by Cindy Brick.  I'm hooked now and want to make more.  I have a picture if anyone wants to see it or better yet, go to Amazon.com and look at the book.  It's awesome.  Wish it was easier to find hankies these days.

Linda