The 22 Most Unique Ways To Repurpose Vintage Handkerchiefs Around Your Home

You've already found tons of creative ways to repurpose old scarves in your home, not to mention other old linens, like tablecloths and napkins. It's finally time to do something iconic with that pile of your granny's vintage handkerchiefs — or all those pretty squares of antique fabric you've gleaned from thrift stores over the years. 

Let them spill from a pretty porcelain vase or bowl when styling your mantel or sideboard. Try simple techniques, like folding the handkerchiefs in half to form a triangle and stitching them to a length of ribbon to craft cute bunting, or tying them in a bow around teacup handles at your next luncheon party. Frame them or secure them inside embroidery hoops and hang them on your wall as decor. If you're nifty with a sewing machine, you can make everything from sunglasses cases to cushion covers and even enormous quilts.

If you get your handkerchiefs as hand-me-downs from family or friends, they're probably already clean. However, if you purchase them from online shopping sites or find them while rummaging in thrift stores, you may want to launder them before repurposing them to ensure they're hygienic. Soak or scrub them with white vinegar, baking soda, or peroxide (not bleach) before washing them in cool water, and then treat them with a fabric restorer to remove stains. If you're a bit uncomfortable using secondhand hankies, you can buy vintage-look pocket squares, like this Goaste 40-Pack of Floral Print Cotton Handkerchiefs for about $25.

The easiest way to craft a handkerchief-adorned pillow is by sewing an entire hankie laid out flat to the fabric square that will form the front of your cushion cover. Match the cover fabric to the handkerchief by picking out one of the hues found in the design. Once you've attached it securely using a combination of iron-on adhesive and stitches, you can go ahead and sew the rest of the cover as you usually would, choosing either a zip, a snap, or an envelope closure. Lean into cottagecore and add ruffles.

Get an 18-pack of Crafare 2.35-Inch White Polystyrene Balls for about $10, and cut grooves like orange segments. Press pieces cut from your vintage hankies into the grooves, patchwork style, and border them in rope or ribbon. You could also simply wrap the ball in a handkerchief and tie the top with a bow. Alternatively, scrunch up a hankie or two, and push them inside a transparent — glass or plastic — bauble. A 24-pack of Liliful 2.36-Inch Fillable Clear Glass Ball Ornaments costs about $36.

Make this tissue holder with or without a sewing machine. Place a small tissue packet in the middle of the hankie, and fold the horizontal edges toward each other until they meet in the middle. Stitch along the vertical sides until the ends are completely closed. (You could also use hem tape.) You can now pull your tissues from the slit in the center of the flat pouch. If you want something cuter, leave a border on the vertical edge and stitch a series of X-style crosses into it in a contrasting thread color.

Recipe cards were popular throughout most of the 20th century as a way to find and organize family favorite meal ideas. Consider them the Pinterest pin or #cookingtok of their day. If you've inherited a collection, keep them protected in an envelope made from a vintage hankie. Lay it flat in a diamond shape, fold the two sides inward until they overlap slightly, fold the bottom triangle up to meet them, and then sew the two seams. Add embellishments at the closure, like teeny fabric roses or a button.

You can't beat a hanging pocket organizer for adding storage to a shelf-less room or the back door of an overflowing wardrobe. Fold a couple of vintage handkerchiefs in half, and sew them to a large rectangle of heavy cream canvas on all sides except the top. Sew horizontal lines of stitches to divide the pockets into smaller sections for everything from make-up sticks to notepads to bracelets. Add a wooden dowel fixed with twine to the top of the canvas backing as a hanger — or attach it to an actual coat hanger.

The simplest way to preserve and make art from your handkerchiefs is to iron them flat and mount them in square picture frames. An Americanflat Picture Frame with Polished Plexiglass costs about $16. Variations on this idea are near endless. Hang the frames on the diagonal like wall tiles. Mount the handkerchief behind glass stenciled with a meaningful phrase and floral imagery. Use a frame with picture dividers or overlap the handkerchiefs on an angle, similar to giant fish scales, and mount them behind a mounting board. Hang your creation horizontally or vertically.

Don't own a sewing machine? You can still make bespoke doll clothes without one if you have a vintage hankie or three. All you need is a needle and thread and the ability to master some origami-like folding techniques, as demonstrated by crafty YouTuber Rachel's Super Cute Creations. These quaint doll dresses boast pleats, frills, long skirts, and pioneer-style collars that perfectly fit with the floral flourishes so often found on vintage kerchiefs. Add tiny embellishments, like old-fashioned buttons, lace hems, or bows, to complete the antique look.

Start with a large brass ring or an embroidery hoop — about 6 inches in diameter works best. Don't have those? You could fashion a wire hanger into a circle instead. Fold the handkerchiefs into dart-shaped triangles, and tie them around the hoop using MOTYYA Mini Clear Rubber Bands – about $7 for a pack of 1,000. The wide side should face away from the center. Finish the project by clipping a vintage brooch from your collection to the top or bottom of the wreath. Hang it on your door from a ribbon.

Cut small squares — large enough to fit a large mug with room to spare — from vintage handkerchiefs and some felt. Adhere them to one another using HeatnBond UltraHold Iron-On Adhesive for about $2.50 a roll or a similar iron-on fabric tape. You could also sew the squares to plastic canvas. If you want to get really eco-friendly, pick up a bunch of old CDs from the thrift store and use them as the base for the coasters. Cut circles from your hankies, and fold and layer them onto the CD.

Here's how to use lavender to keep your closet smelling fresh. Make a small pouch or pillow from a vintage hankie, fill it with lavender, and sew it up or pull the drawstrings. If you're not handy with a needle and thread, simply pile dried lavender blooms in the center of a square kerchief, bunch up the corners, and tie the whole thing tightly with a rubber band and ribbon. Make a sleep aid by adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to the handkerchief and stuffing it into your pillow.

This idea is similar to the various other pouch DIYs we shared above. Fold down one side of the handkerchief about a quarter of the way, pin it in place, and sew horizontally along the hem to create a thick casing. Fold the hankie in half, and sew up the open side, all the way from the bottom of the kerchief to the bottom of the casing. Thread a length of ribbon through the casing. You're done! Test the case with your sunglasses to make sure they fit inside when the drawstring is pulled tight.

Ready to jazz up bathroom tissue with a thrifted glass hack? It's as easy as laying a vintage hankie on a baroque-style plated silver tray and setting your tissue dispenser atop it. Other ways to use vintage handkerchiefs in home styling include draping one over a kitchen shelf with a ceramic milk jug, placing a folded kerchief between a teapot and saucer, and pairing a vintage hankie with an antique perfume atomizer on a dresser. Adorn your fall pumpkins, either real or imitation, by tying a vintage hankie around their stems.

Just as you can frame handkerchiefs in picture frames, you can also affix them inside embroidery hoops. For interest, we recommend getting a set of hoops in assorted shapes and sizes, like this 9-piece set of Qunclay Circle, Oval, and Octagonal Wood Cross Stitch Hoop Rings for about $27. This way, you can potentially get more than one piece of art from a single large vintage hankie. Iron your handkerchief, and cut out pieces to fit each hoop. Glue or otherwise stick down any overhang before hanging them on the wall.

Create a classic pin cushion by hand-stitching the hanky around a ball of stuffing. Fold three corners of your vintage hankie into the center, hand-stitching them together at the joins. Stuff the pouch with pillow stuffing, and then fold over the fourth corner and stitch it in place. Sew a button in the center — choose something vintage to complete the look — to tuft the pin cushion. Then, for something really cute, stuff it into the upturned lid of an antique ceramic teapot, or make teeny-tiny pincushions from hankie scraps for acorn caps.

Handkerchiefs are already square; use them to assemble a quilt just as you would regular quilt squares. Pin them to backing fabric side by side, add a border fabric between them, and adhere them at the hems, at the corners, or using a grid stitch. If you have different sizes of kerchiefs, you'll need to spend some time matching them up and arranging them in an even pattern. If you have just a few hankies to repurpose, make a baby quilt or stitch whole kerchiefs or pieces to a throw blanket.

Sometimes, with fabric curtains, just pushing them to the side of the railing isn't enough to maximize the sunshine hours in a given room in your home. Heavy curtains tend to slowly work their way back to the center of the window. Hold them neatly to one side using curtain ties fashioned from vintage hankies. It's really as simple as affixing hooks to each side of the window trim and tying each end of the handkerchief to them. You have a cute and affordable solution to your dark room problem.

Maybe you've never considered handkerchiefs among the household items you should be repurposing into stylish curtains. They are, after all, just small squares of thin fabric. Line them up side by side and sew them together at the hems, and you quickly have a sheer curtain worthy of the shabby-chic-est of rooms. You don't have to cover the entire window, either. Use fewer hankies and make cafe curtains for the lower half of your window, or tie vintage kerchiefs to the railing to create a rustic valance quick-smart.

Handkerchief dolls – also called hanky, church, or prayer dolls — were traditional toys crafted by parents to keep children occupied when in public places. They were affordable and soft; they didn't make a noise when dropped. To make one, simply stuff the top of a tied handkerchief with a little pillow stuffing and tie it with string to create a round head. The rest of the hanky forms the dress. Change up the style of the head or add embellishments to personalize your doll, or theme it for Halloween, Valentine's Day, or other festive occasions.

Pull a hankie tight around a small ball, and tie it with a ribbon. Join two corners of the handkerchief like an angel's hands in prayer, and add a pipe cleaner halo and lace wings. If you prefer your angel to have a face, bunch a piece of tulle at the center and attach a ​​Toyvian Crafts 1-Inch Wooden Doll Face Bead — a pack of 20 costs less than $10 — with a needle and thread. Sew on one or more vintage handkerchiefs in a cape-like fashion around the bead to create the dress.

A simple way to make bunting from vintage hankies is to cut them on the diagonal and sew them to a length of seam binding or thick ribbon. Or, for an even quicker, easier option, fold the handkerchiefs — on the diagonal or not — and lay them over the binding or ribbon. Secure them in place with pins to stop them from blowing off. Alternatively, roll the handkerchiefs into strips and tie them in bows. Use floral wire to attach them to a length of PH PandaHall Wheat-Colored Pom-Pom Fringe Trim — get 25 yards for about $10.

To create a simple table runner, iron about five handkerchiefs, and then sew them together along one edge — all in a long row. You could also fold the hankies lengthwise and sew them together at odd angles for a patchwork-style runner or cut triangles from the handkerchiefs and attach them pointy side together to create a snowflake- or flower-shaped charger or placemat. Tie the handkerchiefs together at their corners and spread the chain along your table, or lay them on the table haphazardly with other decor atop them.

You really can't get simpler party decor than a teacup bow. Start by rolling a pretty vintage handkerchief into a long, thin strip. Once you're satisfied with the shape of the bow and length of the ends, thread it through the teacup handle until the handle itself sits in the center of the bow. You could also tie the bow to the handle, but it won't look as neat. The only caveat here is you want to make sure the hankies you use are pristinely clean — they'll be close to your guests' mouths, after all.