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A lovely post. I love vintage handkerchiefs. The ones with colourful embroidered flowers have 1939 written on the box. The plain ones have the Utility Mark CC41, showing they are free from purchase tax.  Clothing was rationed by coupons, one coupon would allow someone to buy two handkerchiefs. These are good quality Irish linen from Belfast. The wartime regulations banned any lace or embroidery so items could be produced economically, saving resources. 

Irish linen handkerchief makers served a six year apprenticeship, the drawn thread work and embroidery are skilled pre-war work on finest linen cambric

I like the beaded jug covers.  I've been using elastic to hold the cloth covers on my kombucha jars, but the elastic only lasts a year or so before it has to be replaced.  Maybe I should weigh the edges down with beads instead.  I'll have to see if there's a way to attach the beads without any crocheting though, as that's beyond my skill set.  

I use cloth handkerchiefs every day- I don’t understand how people live without them. I inherited all of my great grandmother’s- many were hand crocheted by her. Vermont Country Store (online catalog ) used to sell very good quality ones- not sure if they still do. I’ve bought some on Amazon but felt the cloth was too hard and they were not quite large enough. My grown children think it’s “gross” to use them but I use disposable Kleenex if I have a bad cold. Once they go through menopause they will understand how nice they are to have in your pocketbook. And speaking of purses- have you noticed how young girls don’t like to carry them anymore? Where do they put their wallet, sunglasses, medicines, cell phones, hairbrush, etc? 

If you know how to buttonhole stitch, you can use that stitch to add a beaded edge. If you don't know, it's a very simple stitch that only needs a needle and thread. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that show different ways. I did it on a collar a few years ago and it was fast and easy!

Jenny Wren,

Thanks for the great suggestion:)  I do know how to buttonhole stitch, so that method of attaching beads should be easy, even for me!

The beaded covers are lovely. I've been using beeswax wraps but I think I will have to make some like yours. They are very pretty. 

I have quite a collection of beaded lace covers in different sizes - very rarely do they get used on jugs but mainly over bowls of food that are left on the side to cool. Some of them I made but I have a lovely set I bought many years ago on a visit to Kenya where flies are rife and refridgerators scarce!

Really appriciated the post. I like vintage handkerchiefs, too, thanks for the nice pictures, Janet! Gift boxes with handkerchiefs were very popular in former days but I think nowadays nobody would be happy to receive one. The box with the more white ones is not that old, the company is still producing. Such boxes you can often find on fleamarkets for little money. The box with perfume is from the fifties I guess. The company started with this perfume from 1953 on in West Germany. And the last picture  shows my daily used handkerchiefs. My mother made the small bags, so I can easily take 5 of them with me.

Thank you for such a varied and interesting post GDonna, I do have a few of my Mum’s beaded covers but also use waxed ones for covering food.

Being in the UK I think our cottage must be quite small compared to houses in the US, it was built in the early 1920’s and was originally just a two up, two down property but was doubled in size 30 years ago to add an extra two bedrooms plus en-suite. It suits us and I wouldn’t  want to keep a bigger house clean :-)

Thank you everyone for such lovely photos of your cotton / linen handkerchiefs, it’s inspired me to find some

Your home looks quaint and cozy. Cleanliness surely is more important than clutter-free. Do you happen to know how large your home is? We have a 1300 square foot home, but 200 of that is an enclosed porch that can't be used during the extreme temperatures of summer or winter. With 9 of us living here (our oldest has moved out) I find it difficult at times to keep everything tidy. Adding in homeschooling is an extra challenge. We're very thankful for our little country home and I'm glad it's not too big to care for when the children grow up and move away. I've never seen the jug covers! I'm always so happy to come here and learn new things!

When we purchased our home we had small children. At the time my husband suggested we add on to it for more space but we never did as more important things came along we needed to spend on. Now all the kids are out and our home is now the perfect size for 2 people. I'm glad we didn't add on. 

I'm going to make some of those jug covers tomorrow.  We live in the woods and I'm always covering my drinking glass or a bowl of food to protect from stray bugs passing through.

I am also looking for handkerchiefs already made but  I will make some if none are to be found (if I can find the right fabric). 

Thank you for this post! I love this idea! Such practical,wonderful things women busied themselves making in years gone by.

Grandma Donna wrote, I am enjoying seeing the handkerchiefs in the pictures, thank you for sharing.  Thank you Jenny wren for sharing about the button hole stitch.   Janet W and Petra B, thank you for the pictures, Petra, that is a very nice crochet bag that your mother made. 

Melissa M, I don't know where the young ladies keep their personal items, things have changed so much.  I don't think that many of the young generations understand the cost of disposables and how important it is that we understand how much purchasing disposables adds up quickly.

Michelle K, thank you, beeswax covers are good too, sometimes we need different things for different situations. The beeswax cover is good when we need to seal something.  Air can get into the beaded covers, they are mostly to keep the flies and gnats out.  

Lin T, how wonderful to visit Kenya, it is good to be able to get a different perspective in how people live in different parts of the world.  I would think that their beaded covers are very pretty and they most likely are very talented in how they make them. 

Lainey T, I love the cottages in the UK.  I prefer smaller spaces and you might be shocked at the size of houses here in the United States now.  I do not know how anyone pays the electric bill in large houses including my adult children and grandchildren now that they are adults.

Sarah L, we are just under 1000 square feet. That is not terribly small but the design is the problem, when they built this house they did not think about storage space. the closets are small and few, no coat closet, no utility closet no basement and attic space that can be used. No garage and such as that, but we do have a pantry so that is a good thing. I would be happy with less space if I could design it, and I would give up room size for more storage space to be able to put our winter coats and the vacuum cleaner and such as that.  In the pictures I put on the blog the kitchen looks very large, I have always said that the designer of this house did not know anything about keeping a house.  They should have asked me right?  Lol  I am truly thankful for our home because it has sheltered us well.

Margaret P, I do see the older handkerchiefs in thrift stores, seems that the younger generations are not interested in them.  They usually do not cost much even in the antique stores.  I love to look at the older linens in the antique stores, I always feel better when I come home from just browsing in those places. It is like taking a trip down memory lane. :)

Grandma Donna wrote, Tea S, let us know if the button hole stitch has solved your problem with the edging. 

I won't be trying it right away, I'm going to wait until next time the elastic wears out.  In the meantime, I need to find some heavy beads.

I’ve been using handkerchiefs for years and always keep one in my pocket.  Tissues are saved for colds.  My husband thinks I’m gross, but I know I’m saving resources.  Daddy carried a clean handkerchief every day and Mom gave his to me when he passed.  One of my grandmothers often crocheted around the edges of hankies and would give them away as small gifts.  When Mom passed, I found some she’d never used but had stashed away. One of those is currently in my purse.  Besides, I learned years ago that hankies are safer for wiping eyeglasses.  Since tissues are made of wood fibers, they can leave scratches.

I grew up using handkerchiefs and still use them (I am 70).  They were my grandmother's favourite gift to give people.  My mother never used tissues.  As children, if we had a heavy cold, she would give us a supply of torn squares of old cotton sheet (we always referred to them as 'rags').  These would then be either boiled and washed for reuse, or burnt in the coal range if they had become too old.  

I so enjoyed reading this post Donna and all the lovely comments ! We are all so similar :) My mum always sent us to school as children with a handkerchief in our pocket and even now I love to use cotton handkerchiefs and so does my husband; we also save tissues for colds ! 

I have two of the little crocheted covers with beads. They are very special to me and when I wash them I always try to take great care as they are hard to come by now.  I used to be able to purchase them through a store called Trade Aid, but that has closed down now. I don't crochet or knit, so it's unlikely I would be making any of them :) A little bit of sewing and mending now and then is about as close to a needle as I get.

Many blessings ~ Linda

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's experiences with handkerchiefs.

Growing up my family never used them, and I don't really understand why, because in many ways my mom was super frugal.  For example she cloth diapered three babies while doing laundry by hand, but somehow thought handkerchiefs were gross?

I switched to handkerchiefs as an adult, mostly for environmental reasons, and quickly learned that they are actually less gross to use.  They do a much better job of containing what's blown into them vs paper tissue, meaning my hands stay cleaner.  There is always one on my bedside table, and another in my coat pocket for when I'm out.  

For everyday use I find men's handkerchiefs a more practical size, but the vintage women's ones with embroidery are very pretty.  

The beaded covers is something I've wanted to learn to do for a long time. They seem so simple to make and fun as well. I love the old hankerchiefs. I remember my grandparents and great grands using them. Sometimes they carried 2 in a pocket. My one grandpa always had white ones with a stripe on them.  I can still seem them to this day. There's truly calm when you have a budget for food or any budget at all and a good menu. I'm always bothered for some reason that my friends never know what's for dinner. I had a problem recently and called my husband because dinner got really messed up. Long story short I didn't crack the egg separate as I normally do and the one time it was a bad egg from the hot weather. For the first time in probably 10 years he said we are ordering a pizza. It was good pizza, but not what I had planned. Things happen and I learned a $20 pizza on paper plates even was alright. There's something about having a pie in the house. My grandparents on both sides always had ice cream hidden away in the ice box too. When it rained we always pulled it out. Such a nice treat. 

I also forgot to say the others who shared photos of the linens and hankerchiefs are really pretty.