Hankies

[eleny]

I came across a bag of 31 vintage hankies I bought at my thrift a few years ago. I've looked high and low for it and was worried that it got tossed. But it popped out of a bag of fiber fill. I took the tags off last night, most were 29¢.

They may have all belonged to one person since a couple are embroidered with a name, "Betty Burns" and they were all on the same sales rack. There's nothing too unusual. No kids hankies, darnnit. But I like the ones with big floral designs and the xmas ones. There are some embroidered that look nice but not too exciting.

Most don't even look used so I'll launder them all and keep a few in my pocketbook in case I run out of tissues. Reminds me of the old days.

[grasswire]

1. oh hankies (swoon)

I love hankies. I have a lot of them in a tub somewhere. I gave away dozens of them to a family member who uses them daily.

Are the floral ones you speak of kind of 1940s style? Some of those fetch a pretty penny.

I had some from the fifties with poodles and those sold on eBay for about $15-20 each.

Kids hankies can be very collectible. I sold an old one once on eBay for almost a hundred bucks. Unfortunately, I decided to hand-wash it before mailing it, and our modern soap leached out part of the pattern. BOOOOO. I had to return the money.

That's about all that I know about hankies except they are cool to use for crafts, too.

[eleny]

3. I worry about today's soaps on old textiles

Have you ever heard of a product called Synthrapol fabric detergent? It's very mild and good to keep in mind if you haven't used it. Dyers who print on cloth like silk use it to remove excess dyes from the fabrics. It's very mild. I'm going to wash my hankies with it but will do a test on one first and report back.

The florals are the 1950s ones for sure. I had some like these when I was young. I never had any of the "kid" hankies but how I love those cuties. Maybe some day I'll see one at the thrift. I always look.

Here's a scan. The colors aren't quite so vivid as this scan. I lightened and softened it for the jpg to get it like it really looks but when I uploaded it to Photobucket it looks darker.

[Vinca]

2. I had the cutest kid's hankie once. It was from the 1950's and based

on one of the Little Golden Books. It was so nice I framed it.

[eleny]

4. It sounds adorable

I love childrens books. I just returned an armload of them to the library the other day. So the hanky must be kee-yoot.

[Paper Roses]

5. Don't laugh. I still use them. I do hankies because I love the old prints

and the ones with embroidery or lace. I use just the white ones but will buy the old printed ones just for fun. Every once in a while I will find some still folded in their original box. They are so beautifully presented that I hate to disturb them.

When the need arises and my everyday hankies are getting old and threadbare, I undo a box, wash and iron and they are ready to use.

My kids tease me. They think I'm the only one in the world that still uses them.

[eleny]

6. You won't hear me laughing!

I'm a big fan of tissues with lotion. But for a trip to the library or the market, it's nice having a real hanky.

I remember buying the hankies in the boxes as gifts at the holidays. It was always hard to choose.