Homemade hankies.

There are very few things I can claim to have sewn--one of the things I have made using a sewing machine is a set of homemade hankies.

I love using handkerchiefs instead of tissues. They feel so much better on your nose, and they never shred like tissues do. Best of all, they don't create garbage. All I have to do is toss them in the wash. And, if you can make some from material you already have, they're free. I know from experience how expensive it can be to keep buying throw-away facial tissues when several members of the family have a cold all at once! 

The fact that I feel self-reliant and pleasingly old-fashioned when I use a homemade hankie is just a bonus. :)

The hankies I have, I made from a set of old flannel receiving blankets my aunt gave me. I think flannel is a perfect material to use as it's so absorbent, but I'm sure you can make hankies from just about anything, as long as it's fairly soft and it absorbs moisture. 

As you can see, our hankies look quite worn! The flannel was already worn when I got it, and these have been washed probably hundreds of times since then. And they'll be washed a hundred times more before they wear through. I'm happy to think of how many tissues we've saved from going to the landfill, and how many pennies we've saved as well.

To make your own hankies, all you have to do is lay out the material you want to use, and cut it into squares. Be as neat and orderly about this as you wish. Personally, I just cut out big squares with some scissors, without measuring. None of my hankies are a perfect square, but I don't mind! Then carefully fold over a small hem, press it with an iron, fold it over again, press it again, and then sew around the perimeter with a straight stitch. Very easy! If I can do it, anyone can.

I found this post over at The Purl Bee showing a tutorial for making some fancy handkerchiefs for a Father's Day gift, which I thought was pretty neat. Perhaps I'll make some hankies for Chris--he doesn't like carrying around the ones I made, with pink stripes and little purple flowers. I wonder why? ;)

Comments

[LivingOurWay]

This is really cool! It may be a good project for me when I finally get the tangle out of my sewing machine from the last time I tried to make something. Do you wash them in a special way? I think nothing of just throwing my cloth feminine products in the wash but wasn't sure if hankies were treated differently since they might contain a virus?

[Lindsay]

I love the hankies! I'm going to have to make some of my own :) Thanks for the great idea.

[Laura Jeanne]

When I am doing laundry, I always do a load with very hot water (for the stinky socks, cleaning rags, etc) and I throw the hankies in there.

However, if someone in the house were seriously ill (say, with the flu) I would boil the hankies before washing them. In the "old days," when everyone used hankies, boiling laundry was the norm.

[Lisa]

Good idea to use old receiving blankets. I think I still have some flannel ones around here somewhere. I'll have to check and make up some hankies.

[Tricia]

They look so soft. I made a pile of hankies - but was a little lazy so simply cut out with pinking shears and didn't bother hemming. They do the job - but don't look as pretty as yours :-)

[Nelindah]

They look soft. Thanks for sharing, worth to try. Generally I make and use towel handkerchiefs for blowing nose, but in the home only, while if I go out I still use my fancy ones or tissue just for the sake of my self confidence, lol. I washed them by hand separately from other laundries with cold water & soap then dry line and ironed them at the hottest temperature. I also make them from other material too, like old cotton t-shirt and the best of all is old “batik” shirt. Batik is made from whole cotton and dyed with natural dye extracted from plants. By the way I live in tropical Asia Country where hankies are very common.