off quilt topic - hanky fabric

[sammi357]

After nearly being driven completely crazy by my incessant sneezing in my house and wondering if I was actually allergic to my house, I decided to try giving up facial tissue.  

 

Ever notice how linty they (as well as toilet paper) are? and the duct cleaning guys wanted 900 bucks...(whew).  I could almost replace all the duct work in the house for that much!  Yikes!  I had convinced hubby to help me disassemble all the ducts, chuck them out in the yard and pressure wash them ourselves as soon as it warmed up. 

 

Last Saturday was my last tissue. Dear Hubby, bless his heart, gave me his very softest, most broken-in bandanna~handkerchiefs to use, and the sneezes are stopping!  We've been counting sneezes, and they went from about 14 on Sunday to four yesterday, and I'm up to three so far today.   I'm completely amazed.

 

Of all the weird things to discover- a facial tissue allergy?

 

So I got online and searched for information about handkerchiefs because I don't particularly want to use DH's big ol' bandannas forever.  He likes 100% cotton bandannas because he says they soften up with washing and that the white, packaged men's hankies don't seem to ever get really soft.  I can't even find any real ladies hankies here.  The only ones I have belonged to my grandmas, so I don't really want to use them. They're the pretty, embroidered, lace, vintage variety. 

 

I am accustomed to squirreling tissues all over, so it's taken a while to get used to using the hanky, and, yeah, there's a little yuck factor, too.  Sew, I was thinking I'd make enough to have a fresh one for every day, or enough that I could fold them like tissues and use them that way & washing as needed.  But I haven't a clue what fabric to look for, other than the cotton ones seem to get softer than the blends, and seem more absorbent. There's one fancy hanky online that claims to be the very softest that is made of a supima cotton, and that would be nice fabric, but what's it called? I don't know what to search for, and it's awfully hard when one can't fondle the fabric. 

 

I'm going to go mining in my stash and see what I can find in my cottons that are soft, and also try some vintage fabrics that I've gathered, I know there are some linens and things in there, so I'll have to wash them up and see how soft they get.   It doesn't seem like it would take long to stitch a rolled hem on a square of fabric, since these are to be functional and don't necessarily have to be pretty. (pretty would be ok, though!) 

 

Do you use hankies? Did your mom/grandma? Did they make them or buy them? Do you know someone to ask?  

Unfortunately, my grandma, who used to run the dry-goods department in my great-grandpa's store, passed away. I bet she would have known what to use. 

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated!  You all are such a fountain of information, I just know someone here will be able to help. 

 

Sammi 

[HeidiP]

You are so right...Kleenex makes you sneeze, especially the ones with lanolin. They are also rough on a sore nose. Cotton hankies are so soft, especially after they have been washed many times.

My Grandma and Mom had boughten hankies, and Grandma was a tailor so she could have easily made her own. Sometimes they got plain ones and did some embroidery on them, or where you pull threades out to make little squares and then stitch in the holes with fine thread. (Don't know what it's called.)

[quiltedsunflower]

One of my best friends only uses hankies.  She buys the "bandanas" from Hobby Lobby and washes them a couple of times before use.  They come in all kinds of prints besides the typical red and blue "badana" design.  She has them for all seasons.  She says it's because she's frugal and hates to spend money on tissues to just throw away.

[cherylannie]

nice soft single knit works really well.  Soft but no fuzz.

[GrandmaLKB]

MY DH only uses the bandana hankerchiefs too.    Mostly the blue ones..........we got some green ones, but they would not soften up after washing multiple times.   I've seen them in pink and light blue as well.............he likes them when they are just about worn out.   

[whitepinesquilter]

 Pima cotton knits are amazingly soft and absorbent. I would think it would make wonderful hankies.

[UK Liz]

How about looking out for cotton lawn or old cotton sheeting.

[sewhappy]

Home Sew Inc. has ladies hankies in their cataolque!  Pg.54  Vintage hankies!  VERY soft and pretty.

[sewingpup]

My mom used hankies...no tissue....they were old ones...but she had lots of them....I have seen old hankies at antique shops and estate sales.....so you might want to check out some this summer....usually they are quite reasonable and usually they just sell the ones in good condition...so a little washing and there you are....I am planning on hitting some garage sales myself this summer in search of fabric and an old sewing machine...maybe I will get lucky and find a deal    Last year I found a vintage table cloth and 4 matching napkins for #10.....at a local quilt show, one of the quilters had done up a bunch of these old vintage tablecloth's as wall hangings...she used whatever was printed on them as her quilting guide plus did some pretty background quilting in the white spaces...very pretty.....Lin

[sammi357]

" where you pull threads out to make little squares and then stitch in the holes with fine thread. (Don't know what it's called.)"

 

Oh, I found a tutorial on that!  

 

Here:

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2008/11/hand-hemstitched-linen-handkerchiefs.html

 

And, bonus, even found  a  piece of 'handkerchief linen' in my stash. So, I am going to try this. It'll be just the thing to take to sewing night. I may even do a small embroidered design in a corner, too. 

[sewingpup]

ok...OT I think....but the thread work where "you pull out threads to make little squares and then stitch in the holes with fine thread" might be hardanger....it is originally Scandinavian I think....I have some from my grandmother and even attempted a project...it was fun...just too many "projects".  It could also be "drawn thread work"... kind of heirloom stitching....Lin

[sammi357]

Thank you for all the input!  

 

Another reason to 'have to go' yard sale-ing?!  yay, me! lol!  I love yard sales. Once through the oxy-clean and I'm happy. 

 

Oh, man, is there a lot of information online.  

There are a ton of sites with lots of different things to reduce waste/recycle, etc. Some are pretty ..um...out there?

One tutorial also showed how to cut and recycle an old tissue box to hold the folded hankies in one half, and had a small receptacle on the other side for catching the used ones for the wash.  Great idea, but I think I'll use something prettier than a cardboard box. 

 

One website did mention that old t-shirts did make the best handkerchiefs....so, maybe that's what we can do with the rest of all the t-shirts we've cut up for quilts?! lol!  Several sites recommend salvaging fabric from old sheets and other household goods. 

 

So, what I did to get me by for right now (besides bandannas)  was to go through some of my quilting fabric and find the softest ones and also had some cottons in theme fabrics, like little dancing skeletons, and also sewing themes, coffee, etc. that might make fun hankies.

 

I set the serger for a 3-thread rolled hem, and just used white thread for a tiny edge on the squares. I just cut about the same size as a regular tissue, and also used scraps, if they weren't quite square, no biggie. Grandma's hankies measured between 10" and 12" each. These are going into the wash today, and I'll make some more that I can take some time with later... like the aforementioned linen one with hand-stitching.  I was squaring the corner, but I may do a few with rounded corners to see if they serge easier.  

 

There's a book by a lady that makes Barbie dresses from vintage hankies...omg...it's a good thing I didn't see that when I was a kid....there wouldn't have been a hanky left in the house... but, Barbie would have been well-dressed!  

 

Incidentally, when hubby and I took the carpet out, I needed to change the vacuum bag. I always cut them open to check for small things I may accidentally have sucked up; usually, if I'm missing an earring.  When I cut the bag open, it was packed with this fuzz/lint stuff.  We think that the carpet may have been really shedding, without us realizing it. If it is true, we could have been stirring it up every time we walked across the floor.  This could account for a lot of the sneezing as well as the really strange 'lint' that I get in the house.  It's not like dust or dirt, it's fuzzy like dryer lint. The sneezes are still down! 

 

I don't have a dog anymore, so no 'German Shedder' ! (yet)

[HeidiP]

Thank you for the pulling a thread tutorial! Both grandmothers did this and I didn't realize it was part of theming process. Going to have to try this!

[whitepinesquilter]

I know this topic has been resting for a while, but today I got an email from fabrics-store.com with a 15% off sale on their white  handkerchief weight linen (3.5 oz).  I've ordered linen from them in the past and it's always been high quality and nice colors, and it washes just beautifully and becomes so soft.  Just thought I'd add this to the topic in case anyone is looking for options. 

[IQuiltToo]

Send Sammi357 a pm with this information - she is not here very often.

[sammi357]

Thank you!

I'll look at that site.

 

As a follow up, I did make several hankies from different stuff out of my stash, with mixed results.  Softness is the key, and absorbency.  The 100% cottons are softer. Anything with a blend is not as absorbent.

 

Quilting cotton: some got softer than others, and they seem to be washing well.  Some pieces are 'crunchier' than others. The softer ones of these are my favorites so far, because they are fun colors. Some people have commented, especially on the pink 'pigs'...lol!  I'm wanting to find more fun fabrics. Chickens would be fun. Sister-in-law really wanted the 'dancing skeletons' bandana, so I'll have to try to find something to make her one. 

 

Flannel: was mentioned by some bloggers that had made wipers for kidlets.  They are soft, but kind of fluffy and fuzzy, and not my favorite, though, after washing some, maybe some of the fuzzy will go away, then they might be really soft.  I do find myself grabbing these when I am cleaning my glasses.

 

Sheeting: a sewing friend bought new sheets which came with four king sized pillow cases. She cut two down to regular size and brought me the pieces. They're some 300 thread count or something, and they are really nice feeling. Still a little stiff yet, but these might soften up nicely. They feel really nice...I really like them, but they're kind of slick.  I've stashed a sheet that is well-aged, soft, and ripped in the middle, so I'll try that when I have time to cut some hankies out.

 

Handkerchief linen: there were some scraps in my stash of unknown origin, some were marked and some weren't, but they were already cut into squares, presumably, someone was making handkerchiefs.  Those are a little stiff, so hopefully, will soften with washing. One that I tried a mitered corner and a little white-on-white machine embroidery turned out nice, but it's pretty stiff. Feels like wiping your nose on the dresser scarf! lol!  They do seem to be softening a little more. It was an excellent lesson on mitering. And, I learned that machine embr. does not look the same on both sides. 

 

Already softened bandanas are still our first choice, hubby's and mine, but they tend to be really bulky in my pocket. I don't really want to walk around with a bulging wad in my hip pocket! lol!  Though, I do always have a 'dana with me in my coat or bag, always have.   I always had them for hair, tying around jeans for a belt, covering ears, riding motorcycles, covering face or neck from dust/sun. They're just all-around handy.  I'm going to watch for the parking lot sale at our local farm and ranch, and when they go on sale, I'm going to buy a few in pretty colors for myself. We usually stock up hubby there, and he likes the darker colors. And, yes, they are just about the best when they are worn to shreds! lol! 

 

And, last but not least, a lady at quilt guild brought ladies hankies for the 'free' table. I nabbed them! 

 

All of the hankies I made were serged with the rolled hem feature, and I just squared the corners off:

The ladies at the serger store showed us this:

 Serge onto the fabric, down the side, at the end, take two stitches past the end, roll the needles out of the fabric, lift the foot, tug the fabric gently to the rear to pull the thread of the two stitches off the loopers, then turn to the next side, place back under the foot, adjust & roll the needles back onto the corner, drop the presser foot, and continue.  At the last side, instead of turning, serge to the end,  roll needles out again, lift the presser foot, gently loosen the needle thread by pulling it slightly, then flip the hankie over, replace under the foot, and stitch a few stitches back the way you came. It locks the stitches. Then, you can serge off the fabric edge and cut the threads, seal them, or leave a thread tail to hide the ends.

 

Since these are for everyday use, I didn't 1/4 turn many of them. I did do a few that way, for bandanas.  It does take longer, but does make a nice finish. There's a tiny hem finish for fine fabrics in one of the sewing magazines, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

The sizes came mostly as dictated by the scraps that I used, so they do vary a lot, but I'm finding that the really small ones aren't quite as useful as the medium ones, medium being somewhat smaller than a bandana, but bigger than a tissue.

 

It also might be fun to try a variegated thread in the serger or machine embroidery.

 

Trying to remember to bring a hanky has been my biggest learning curve!  I'm so used to tissues that sometimes I forget, and I don't always have my handbag with me.

 

Thanks again for the input.

 

Sammi

[LindaSteller]

All sorts of things can cause sneezing.  I don't allow Warm and Natural or Warm and White batting in my studio anymore.  Too much lint and I sneeze my fool head off if I'm working on a quilt with it inside.  I just can't bear it.