Monday, April 27, 2009

Vintage Monday- Hankies

Today I thought that I would continue the Mother's Day theme and show you my vintage handkerchief collection. This is one of the largest collections that I have besides my aprons and embroidered linens of all kinds.
As you can tell, I just LOVE handkerchiefs. I am especially fond of the printed ones. They are so beautiful and colorful and each is very unique. I started my collection about 15 years ago and I'm still adding to it.


Most of them are floral and I adore anything floral and vintage. Some have fancy scallop edges that look like church or dress up hankies to me.

Some have straight edges and look like they were used everyday but still are very feminine. I really like how they all look together with all of thier different personalitys.



My older sisters and I always had handkerchiefs. My Uncle Ron used to buy each of us a boxed set every year for our birthdays. He lived down the road with my Grandma and wasn't yet married.
He was very good to all of us girls and when we would see him (almost every day), he would pick us up one by one and twirl us around and say, "How's my favorite niece?" He had a way of making each of us think that he was really meaning only us!
I remember one year, he gave my sister Tammy and I a set of days of the week hankies. I sure wish that I still had those...
These are all handmade and very beautiful. They are all linen with crochet or tatting around the edges. Some of them have pulled work in the linen also. They are all in excellent condition.



These are all white linen and also crochet or tatted lace. These are so gorgeous! The lace on these are so intricate it's amazing. All of these are in perfect shape with no age spots although I know they are very old.

Look at this round one. I have only seen one of these and of course, I bought it.
The following photos are all childrens handkerchiefs. I believe that they are because of thier size.
They measure about 7 to 8 inches each and are so cute.



















I'm sure that I will continue to collect these treasures from the past. I can't seem to resist them and after all, they don't take up alot of space but sure do add a nice punch of color to my 1930's bedroom. I keep them in an old pink basket with a big handle on my dressing table. I love to switch them around so that a different one is showing at the top for me to enjoy.
Every woman in my life as a child always had a handerchief. I used to like to sit by my Grandma in church and she would show me how to make dolls with her handkerchief or a small one with mine.
My Mom always asked us if we had a hanky before we left to go anywhere. My school teachers used them and all of my Aunts and everyone else I knew.
Even the men except of course, they would not be floral. My Grandpa used to always have one in his pocket and Dad still uses red bandana handkerchiefs when he's working outside. He and also Mr. Honey use white cotton ones for church.
Do you have any handkerchief memories?


post signature

24 comments:

Ruth said...

Wow! That is some collection! I have quite a few, but now as many as you. I mostly look for the plain ones that have crochet or tatting around the edge. I especially love the tatted ones because my Grandma used to make those - and hardly anyone tats anymore. I recently got 5 beautiful ones at an estates sale for $1 each!!! Someday, I plan to use them to make something - maybe angels or to decorate quilted picture frames - or something! I might put some in a basket so I can see them every day - that's a good idea!

Nedra said...

Yesterday in church our first two speakers started to cry and reached down to the ledge on the podium to get a tissue. The box was empty. After the third speaker started crying, an older member of our bishopric handed his nice starched white hankerchief up and smiled. She proceeded to blow her nose wipe makeup all over the clean hankerchief. The audience saw his kind gesture and laughter went through out the congregation.

Funoldhag said...

That is one beautiful collection of hankies! You have some truly lovely ones there. Over the years I have had some but not so many any more. My middle granddaughter showed an interest in hankies and I gave her most of mine. My wedding hankie that I carried got lost, darned it. My husband always carried a cloth hankie and I still have a couple of his left. Like you, I adore vintage things with my chamber pots being my favorite. Thank you for sharing your lovely collection!!
:-)

Funoldhag said...

What a great hankie collection! You have some beauties there and so many. My best hankie was one I carried at my wedding - and then my daughter and daughter-in-law also carried it. But the next time it was lost and that was sad for me but not the end of the world, of course. Life happens. I had several other old ones which I gave to my middle granddaughter when she bought some at an antique store. My husband always carried a cloth hankie in his pocket. Don't think many people carry them anymore. Thank you for sharing your beautiful hankies!!!! :-)

Sherri said...

What a gorgeous collection! I remember my grandparents always having handkerchiefs, but I don't remember any as lovely as the ones in your collection!

Auntie Em said...

Thank you so much for sharing pictures of your lovely collection. My grandmother always had a hankie in her purse that she would spray with a little perfume. What nice memories it brings to see vintage hankies.

Funoldhag said...

Who leaves more comments than I do? LOL - I got messed up and thought I'd lost the comment so did another one - so that explains the two earlier ones! Chalk it up to a Senior Moment - except sometimes they extend into hours!!

Betsy said...

wow!

Eileen said...

As soon as you said that about the men having handkerchiefs in church.. it brought back the memory of my dad and his handkerchief in church. Of course we girls always had flowered pretty ones, but Daddy would fold his big white one into a little mouse and would make it jump out of his hands. Mother would give us a scowl.. because it would make us giggle. But then he taught us how to fold a baby in a cradle.. and we could play with that. the hour sitting in church would fly by.

Your collection is exquisite! I only have a few.. but you seem to have hundreds!

Anonymous said...

So many gorgeous hankies! I love the one with the bunny. Too cute. x

Dawn said...

What a wonderful collection of hankies!! I still have one of my hankies from when I was a little girl!

Unknown said...

I learned how to iron my Dad's hankies, before I got to try out ironing anything else. I guess Mom figured that was the least expensive thing to burn-just in case! I didn't burn it though. My most recent hankie memories include that of my daughter finding a pretty one in an antique store with pink and yellow crocheted edging. And that of my Dad handing me his hankie for my tears at his Father's funeral last fall. A bittersweet memory, because it is a reminder that my Dad is always watching out for me, even when he lost his.
I still love hankies new and old.
Kari

Jocelyn said...

Wow what a collection! I have the hankies that were mine when I was a little girl. They are not very fancy, but it is nice to hand them down to my daughter. She loves hankies, and I try to buy them for her once in a while. My mother in law still uses them :-)

Becca said...

You have lots of cool hankies! I used to love making babies in a cradle with grandma's handkerchief at church too, although I didn't have any of my own as kleenex was invented by that time. =)

Elizabeth said...

I love them all, but especially the ones with the crocheted edges.

Sherry said...

I love your hankie collection. I have quite a few & many were my Grandma's. I always love visiting your blog, always takes me back to my childhood! :)

Nanette Merrill said...

Oh my the good old days. The hankies are beautiful and sweet. I love them. Lori you have the very best collections!!!

Red Geranium Cottage said...

I love all your wonderful hankies. There so pretty.

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Wow, what a collections and what memories! Thank you.

Susan said...

My hankie memory is of my DH's grandmother. She always had a hankie up her sleeve with just a little peeking out. I loved it. My daughter had a hankie doll for church when she sat with us. I still have it. Your collection is wonderful.

Carrie P. said...

Wow, what a collection. I bought some at an antique store recently and I thought I would like to make something with them but don't know what yet.
My grandma always had a handkerchief in her sleeve. When she passed away my aunt made all the girls in the family a small wallhanging folding the handkerchief in the shape of a triangle and it looks like a butterfly. I am so glad I have one of her hankies.

Jewels said...

I really enjoyed looking at your hankie collection - I also collect but don't have anything near as extensive as yours - lovely to look ! Thanks for sharing. Jewels

Anonymous said...

V here...
I can relate!! My mom gave me a handkerchief the first day of school and my lunch money ($1.25) was knotted in the corner. Each Monday I took my lunch $ this way. Love the little bottle aprons. What a fun clothesline club!!Wonderful POST! I still own my little red childhood toy sewing machine.(like the one in the bottom right of the first photo) V.

Angela said...

Hello!
Just stumbled across your site, love it! Love the vintage Monday posts. I'm a big thrift hunter as well, and can never pass up a hanky.lol I still carry one every day, and have fond childhood memories. You have a beautiful collection. Thanks for sharing. :)

Angela

Related Posts with Thumbnails