Every year I tried for a long time to get my husband a package of handkerchiefs. In his business he carries one in his pocket every day in case he needs one (really it works better than my system of collecting paper towels folded up in my pockets and constantly putting them through the laundry...one of my faults I've had for years). The last couple of years, however, I've stayed away from the stores at Christmastime as much as possible and I refuse to pay the full price they want you to pay for handkerchiefs at Christmastime.
So, in short, some of his handkerchiefs are getting really thread bare. So, this year I figured I'd make him some.
I used bleached muslin and then simply took one of his handkerchiefs and added two inches onto the width and length I got (as the handkerchiefs I've gotten him have shrank over time) and then used that handkerchief as a template to cut out the others. I used a 1/4 inch rolled hem (fold in 1/4" and then fold 1/4" again, hiding your raw edge) and sewed it down as close to the edge of the fold as possible to avoid any pokey edges getting someone in the nose.
I made him six of them, which I'm hoping will help pad out his current stock.
I know, not a very exciting gift, but a needed one and really if you have someone in your family who likes handkerchiefs (we use them around here, obviously) this is a pretty practical gift that will be appreciated I'm sure.
Total Cost to Make Gift: I had all the materials, so really free, but the muslin was .99 a yard on sale a while back when I bought it, so I'd say about .80 worth of materials were used.
Total Time to Make Gift: Two hours. I had a cat helping me pin, which didn't help my speed any.
Several years ago, I cut up a shot, white sheet into squares and hemmed them to make hankies for my husband. I didn't tell him what I had done, but he happily used them for a long time.
ReplyDeleteNice! I bet those were nice and soft too. I would do that with our sheets around here, but I always end up using them for fabric for bigger projects or something. Nice idea though. I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time I see a sheet on it's last legs!
DeleteWhat a wonderful, useful gift for your husband. I bet these will be more durable than the one you would have bought!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is the stitch you used for hand-sewing your hem, but I discovered this rolled hem stitch on Pinterest and just love using it!!! Here's the link: http://illusionsandlagniappe.blogspot.ca/2013/03/how-to-make-rolled-handkerchief-hem.html?m=1
*Laugh* I honestly don't know if I'm patient enough to do that. Somehow I can do embroidery for hours, but when it comes to doing edges I just use the sewing machine. I'm odd ;).
DeleteHonestly, it goes extremely quickly. I love how you sew the stitches, then pull the thread to instantly make a rolled hem. I was so excited when I first tried this stitch that I ran around showing everyone I worked with how to do it!
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