Last week I blogged about a Vintage Hankie Heart Pillow I made from the book, Hooked on Hankies by Laurene Sinema and Janet Carruth, Suzanne McNeill Design Originals. The post is here.
I have a lot of vintage handkerchiefs of varying sizes and I started thinking how I could use the idea of a pocket along with a holder that could be hung on the wall and that was easy to adapt to different dimensions.
I have a nice collection of children’s scottie handkerchiefs which are much smaller than the standard. This is the formula I worked out:
Formula:
- Front – Fabric A – Side measurement of hankie folded in fourths plus 1″
- Pocket – Fabric B – Same measurement as Fabric A
- Backing – Fabric C – Same measurement as Fabric A plus 2 inches extra
- Batting – Same measurement as Fabric A plus 2 inches extra
- Binding – One side measurement of A x 4 plus 3″ extra
I started out by folding the hankie in fourths and measuring along one side. In this example, it was 5-1/2″. I added 1″ to this measurement to equal 6-1/2″
For this dimension I used:
- Fabric A for the front of the holder – 6-1/2″ square
- Fabric B for the pocket – 6-1/2″ square
- Fabric C for backing – 8-1/2″ square (6-1/2″ plus 2″ extra)
- Batting same size as backing – 8-1/2″ square
- Binding 1-1/2″wide x 29″ long (4 sides @ 6-1/2″ = 26 plus 3″ extra)
Cut 6-1/2″ square from Fabric A – set aside
Cut 6-1/2″ square from Fabric B and fold in half, wrong sides together. Press. Top stitch 1/4″ from folded edge. Set aside.
Cut 8-1/2″ square from backing fabric and place right side down on worktable. Place 8-1/2″ square of batting on top of backing. Center 6-1/2″ square of Fabric A on top of the batting. Pin in place.
Quilt by sewing straight lines, beginning at the center, from corner to corner and from each mid-section across the piece. Decorative stitching would be nice here.
Trim away excess batting and backing.
Place the pocket Fabric B on the lower half of the front Fabric A, matching the bottom point. Pin and then baste 1/8″ from the two raw edges.
Press 1/2 inch from one end of binding. Place binding right side down on the right side of the front with the pressed section facing up. Sew 1/4″ seam to attach the binding and overlap at the end to cover the folded portion.
Trim off any excess binding. Press and hand-stitch the folded section. Turn binding to wrong side, allowing 1/4″ to show on the front, fold under binding and hand-stitch to the back.
As a hanger, attach a ribbon, ring or maybe a vintage belt buckle if you have one. I like to use drapery clips on my wall hangings.
Embellish any way you like. I’m partial to vintage buttons.
Fold the handkerchief and tuck it into the pocket – no damage to the hankie itself and easy to change out.
I made another holder for a smaller handkerchief, using the formula …
…and for this standard-size hankie. I folded it a little differently so more of the floral design would show.
It’s a fun, fast project, uses up scraps, and offers a chance to display some of those treasured handkerchiefs we all have tucked away in a drawer somewhere.
LILLIAN'S CUPBOARD 